Barrel break in, or not ?

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dpopl8r

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Ready to take a new rifle/barrel to the range, but am wondering if I really need to go through the tedious break-in procedure. I have always done it, but am starting to wonder (or getting lazy). What can happen if I jump right into 20 rounds before a scrub ?

Are there "real" benefits to breaking in a barrel ? What can go wrong if I just start shooting away ? Any thoughts ?
 
Four easy steps:

a) Order Microlon GunJuice (I can point you in the direction of some if need be)
b) Shove a patch soaked in said solvent down the barrel
c) Shoot once, shove a patch with Juice down the barrel
d) Repeat x10. Barrel is now broken in.

There are a number of guys on the forum who use this method and swear by it, including me.

-Rohann
 
for breaking in, you don't wanted to used Moly coating bullet, just used copper bullet, fire one and clean one till you reach 10shoot, then 5round then clean it till you reach 30round, I find this way work pretty good for me, it not the only way. Good luck and have fun...

Gb
 
I am now firmly a member of the "just shoot it" group.

I do not begrudge anyone that promotes breaking-in because for every piece of anecdote or evidence one way, I can produce an equal number that say the opposite. It is personal preference. I do, however like to minimize the number of times a bore bush is dragged over the crown. I can tell you what I think is the best way to barbeque a steak, but I bet there are plenty of differing expert opinions on the subject. .

I used a few rounds to make sure the scope is basically on target, then load develop with the necessary number of rounds, and now I have a gun gun that drives tacks, does not foul readily and is easy to clean.
 
With a factory tube I would just shoot it. I think the benifit of break-in is best served with a custom, hand lapped barrel. I have custom barrels that absolutely do not copper foul at all after a break-in. I don't kow if this results in better accuracy though?
 
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Why would a hand lapped barrel need beaking in? It should be pewfect... Maybe so it get's replace sooner?

I just shoot my factory rifles and clean as required. They shoot fine, some way better than fine... If I had a hand lapped barrel I'd do the same and expect it to shoot fantastic!

Troutseeker
 
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Just shoot it until the groups open up. Cleaning the barrel is over-rated. The people that make and sell cleaning supplys are the ones that tell you that you should clean every so many rounds.
I shoot moly bullets and have gone over 900 rounds before cleaning. The rifle was still shooting 1/2 MOA elevation at 1000 yards.
 
Looks like the "just shoot it" guys are ahead, so I'll have to climb aboard with the "follow a break in regiment" school of thought. I will step on some toes here by saying that the break in is probably most useful for a rifle with a lapped finish than it is with a factory barrel, and I will not go to the trouble of breaking in a factory barrel.

If you go to Krieger Barrels web site, there is an excellent article on why a premium barrel should be broken in. I won't repeat it here, but the logic is that you remove very fine marks left by the chamber reamer, which lie across the lay of the lapped barrel. Until these marks are ironed out, they will cause copper fouling down the bore.. Because these marks are protected by the fouling left by subsequent shots, continuous shooting will not remove them.

I am also a convert to Gun Juice, which I have treated the barrels of 3 rifles with thus far. I have found however, that despite claims to the contrary, the bore of the rifle must be cleaned down to bare metal for the gun juice to be most effective. If that is not done, you are treating the fouling, not the barrel.

The proof is in the shooting as they say, and a properly broken in barrel fouls much less than a barrel which is not.

The break in method I use is time consuming, and you might as well take a second rifle to the range to shoot while this is going on. First I clean the new barrel, then I begin the break in process by firing 5 rounds, and cleaning the barrel with Sweets, and applying Gun Juice between shots. No where during the break in process is a bronze brush put in the bore. I leave the bore plugged with a wet patch of sweets at both the muzzle and throat to prevent air flow through the barrel, and patch the barrel out after the barrel has soaked for 15 minutes. Next is 15 rounds in 3 shot groups, cleaning with Sweets and applying Gun Juice between each group. Lastly is firing 25 rounds in 5 shot groups and cleaning with Sweets and applying Gun Juice between each group.
 
Watch the borescope video on the Lilja website, you will see why I believe it is pointless breaking in a factory tube. The factory tube looks like an old rasp, where the lapped barrel is smooth and actually polished.
 
Shooting 10 or 20 rounds before cleaning the copper out won't hurt it. I would clean ever 20 round for the first few boxes.

I will read up more on this gun juice.... I haven't tryed moly coating because I don't want to get a buildup or lamination of copper and such in my bores... Im paranoid that way. I suppose either could be removed with jb bore paste?
 
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I to am a "Just shoot it" guy. Clean when the groups start to spread or before a competion, alow some shoots to get it settled in again after cleaning and before the competion.
 
Just shoot it. I am with the crowd that a BR quality lapped bore does not need me mucking up the interior.

If there is concern about the chamber, the fix the chamber not the other 30" of pipe. I will use JB bore brite if I sense a rough bore or one that fouls faster then I feel tolerable. Reg. JB does a great job but not as aggressive.

Bore brite gets rids of moly very quickly too.

I really like moly in rough bores. Reduces bullet friction so that you can get the most out of that pipe. Also provides a very stable bore so that many rds can be fired accurately. Messy and a bit more work but I have used moly for a very long time and it works.

Wouldn't use it in a hunting rifle in case I need to clean the bore in the field. Most hunters don't like someone shooting a bunch to recoat a bore while in prime hunting terrain.

Again, I am in the leave it fouled until it doesn't shoot anymore crowd. With factory barrels which tend to have tool marks, cleaning only aggrevates the need for fouling shots so why bother.

With a match barrel, they don't foul much to speak of so why bother.

As for periodic cleaning of a factory pipe, I will run a tight fitting DRY patch down the pipe a few times. If that doesn't get me shooting again, I then use a very stiff nylon brush a couple of times followed by another dry patch.

I have yet to find a modern factory barrel that didn't return to shooting its best after this very simple treatment. I usually do this around 50 to 75rds down the pipe depending on what I see on target.

Match barrels only get the dry patch and maybe a bit of chemical cleaning after a few hundred rds.

I have only a couple of rifles that must be chemically cleaned inside 20rds or else turn into shotguns. The Savage/Stevens I have been shooting have all tolerated upwards of 50rds without needing any cleaning.

Any rifle that needs a few/several fouling shots before settling down should be cleaned very very little. The bore needs to have that fouling filling in the peaks and valleys. Clean when it looses accuracy or when rust is a concern.

Yes, cleaning is grossly overrated.

Jerry
 
One important thing to remember for new guns or new tubes. CLEAN THE BARREL before you begin any shooting. Finding steel shavings in the bore before firing is better than finding them after. That goes for any debris.

Clean it, shoot it, repeat as necessary.

TDC
 
I always break the barrel, it doesn't hurt to do it.
ALways clean the barrel down to the "bones" and then shoot.
After every shot up to at least 6x, do it as well.
Then, switch to 3x and clean, try that 3x.

It will cost you 15 rounds and about one brush and 1hr work.
 
I clean my barrels first with Kroil, then shooot a few rounds and check them.
Never had a problem with any of the custom barrels I have.
Mick McPhee andsRon Smith, as well as Krieger and Dougla barrels.....
Cat
 
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