Barrel Break-in Process

I strongly

guntech said:
I still like the theory Lilja states..."The jacket material must be removed after every shot during the initial few rounds. If this isn't done the areas of the barrel that fouled will tend to pick up more fouling and it will build on itself. It is important to get a layer of powder fouling on top of the lands & grooves. This hard deposit will prevent the copper from stripping off the bullets. However, if the internal finish of the barrel is too rough the barrel will never be completely broken-in and fouling will always be a problem. Some barrels can't be broken-in. "

That involves a few shots, not shortening barrel life as hundreds of shots and a rod pushed through the bore hundreds of times would do... and I believe McMillan's story is 100% anecdotal. His barrel makers theory and math do not make make sense to me...

With match quality barrels the only part of the barrel that is 'breaking in' is the freshly cut throat...

Certainly is controversial...

off to seek the dumb moose...:)
Click to expand...

agree with Dennis. Shoot new match barrels and you can see the advantage of break in. Factory barrels is a moot point. I have yet to own one that did not copper foul.

I HATE the thought of shooting a new match barrel and NOT cleaning after every shot for the first five and then after the first few 3 shot groups. The new barrels will strip the jackets and stick to the rifling. Why would you want to keep building that layer on top of itself? The purpose of break in is to knock the edges off so it REDUCES fouling. Firing shot on top of shot does not do that.

Anyways this is my take again and you guys can do what you wish.

Good luck Dennis with the Swamp Donkey hunting.

Calvin
 
Dennis/Calvin: I don't have a problem with Barrel Break-In, in fact I used to do it when I first started shooting because I was told it was the thing to do with a new barrel. I don't do it anymore because:

a.) It is tedious - I mean I have enough rifles as is and I don't want to spend time shooting and cleaning at a range, it isn't fun.

b.) It has no proven effect - this is the crux of why I stopped. Nobody could definitively say that it would benefit me to do a barrel break-in. In fact many shooters were recommending that it might have the opposite effect. In your own post you acknowledge that this is just a theory not proven science.

The way I look at it is simple, I want to shoot not clean. Shooting is already enough of a PITA - working up loads and playing with various components is enough why would I want to add a careful day of shooting and cleaning into the mix? It used to take me a day of cleaning and shooting to break in a barrel and that just plain sucked.

Since I stopped barrel break-in I have not noticed any difference between the shooters that I carefully broke in and ones that I just took out and just shot. Maybe copper from the jackets builds up in the bore. If it has I haven't seen any difference in the performance of the barrel - I just shoot the rifle and clean it when I think it needs to be cleaned, life is much simpler now. It is like round counts on rifles.... I still keep them on rifle like my .338LM but I question why I even bother. It is not like I am going to keep a barrel when it no longer shoots and what do I care if I got 3000 rounds or 3038 rounds out of a barrel before I change it?

Likely if you get a rifle it is going to do 2 things, shoot really well or not. If it is not shooting well, it is pretty unlikely that it was because you didn't break your barrel in. Factory pipes may not shoot - if it doesn't most sensible guys aren't going to get a factory barrel worked over, they will just bin it and buy a nice after market barrel. If you bought an aftermarket barrel and it doesn't shoot you are going to get your smith to sort it out; I have yet to hear of a reputable smith tell a customer that they won't sort out the rifle because they didn't follow a proper break in procedure. So the question I have is why bother? Sometimes I think shooters can be a bit OCD about their kit - just my 2 cents...
 
Why bother you ask?

Well I do it because when I shoot that first shot down one of my new barrels(Match one) and see copper laying in the the barel at the muzzle it is happening for a reason. The edges are definately sharper on the lands. The purpose that I see breakin is to soften these edges to help curb the copper fouling. I do not see how just taking a new barrel and layering layer upon layer helps soften the edges.

I have seen it for myself that after about 20 shots going to the line with a clean barrel and fire a few shots I will not see any visible copper signs after those first few shots. Is it because of the breakin? I cannot say 100% for certain but for the little bit it takes me to give my barrels the best care they can have I will. I have to fireform regardless which is a pain staking taskso I throw the break in as part of the procedure.

I know we hash this over and over and over again but we all agree to disagree.

If people understood the passion I have for my rifles and reloading gear they would understand. I am very anal about the cleanliness of my rifles, reloading tools, and cleanliness of my brass. That will NEVER change. I put a lot out there to have what I ahve so I take the best care I can whether we know if it works or not.

I put forward a motion that if barrel breakin is discussed again, EVER, the mods pull that topic.....................

CBY
 
I understand that friction will be a factor eventually but I'm not really seeing how soft copper jacket material will wear away steel in so few shots.Doesn't make any sense to me.
 
I guess whatever works for ones type of shooting discipline.

For myself it is about shooting smaller than 1/4 minute each and everytime. When you have aggs shot in the 1's I do what I can to help achieve this.

CBY
 
When I break in my barrels its part of the process of getting something new. I don’t think of it as a pain in the ass or anything else. I just do it and I’ve never had any ill effects from doing it so if it’s a waste of time it’s a waste of time. In my mind I’ve done everything I can to insure that the rifle is as accurate as it could be at the end of the day and that’s important to me. So when your rifle is not smashing gongs at 1000m you don’t have to double guess yourself “man I wonder if breaking in the barrel would have helped”
 
My thoughts on barrel break-in are a little like George Carlin's thoughts on germs....

“I only wash my hands after using the toilet when I get sh*t on them…and that only happens once a week or so…”
 
Well I'm not a target shooter, but would consider myself a competent hunter capable of harvesting game out to 600 yards or so. Most of my harvesting is acheived at much closer distances. I doubt if any of the many rifles I've used are as tightly grouped at is demanded by 1000 yard target shooters. But 400 yard shots for hunting are definitely do-able. And yea, I can see barrel break for 10 shots tops... So I'm guilty of not following some of the suggestions that have been provided here in this forum. In fact some ot them are confusing to say the least.

What I'm more interested in is getting a good load that shoots at close to 1 inch @ 100 yards. This is more then adequate for my pursuits. A good set of scope mounts that work for the rifle and a decent tube of glass are acceptable. If individuals feel more secure in breaking in their barrels through well regimented practices, then so be it. But I won't likely do that myself.

A case in point is when you buy a rifle and the manufacturer advocate's "best accuracy in a box", (or a variable of that statement). Sometimes a target that has been shot is included with a decent group as proof of the gun's capability. Funny how the manufacturers never say what kind of ammo, powder load, weight and type of bullet used. I wonder if the manufacturer's test firing did the barrel cleaning for the first three shots. Even without knowing this I guess most buyers feel that that is good enough. Others want to re-load and find something more accurate... That's fine too, but we all do not have the time or resources to hand-load.

Some guys want to get the best equipment they can afford (which isn't necessarily a custom built rifle) and get out in the field (or bush) and put something in the freezer. Maybe they love the time spent outdoors, and maybe they feel a sense of pride providing for their families, while keeping the grocery bills down as much as they can.

I'll admit that consistently shooting well takes, time, patience and practice. And for beginners, shooting lighter recoiling rifles, and getting familiar with what a given rifle can do is one of the best ways to acheive good results. So if that includes cleaning the barrel till it glistens. And if that brings confidence to one's shooting then that is fine. But I suspect that a lot of hunters will go with what they can afford, have their scope bore sited, and test fire their rifle with several brands of ammo (adjust scope settings) up to the point where they themselves verify an acceptable level of accuracy geared towards obtaining their main goal of putting food on the table. This is likely all that a lot of people will do.
 
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