Barrel Break In

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graaf7mm

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I just bought a new Sendaro in .300 Mag, I ended up talking to a guy at the counter while i was waiting for the scope to be put on . He told me i should clean it after every round for 20 rounds to break the barrel in. What do you guys think about that?
Also, do you fire a fouling round before shooting groups, how often do you clean your bore at the range?
 
Barrel break in is a farce IMO, just clean em when you get home

Its usually a light cleaning and some heavier cleaning after a few hundred rounds.

Some barrel break in procedures are absolutely crazy, unless your shooting extreme precision, the barrel will probably outlast you with just standard care and maintenance
 
You will find varying opinions about barrel break in...

...some say do it
...some say don't do it
...some even go so far as to say it is recommended by barrel makes so you will wear your barrel out faster... (that's a myth)
...some even get pissed off talking about it

I particularly like what Lilja has to say about it.
"It is important to break-in a barrel though. 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. "


...there are breaking in procedures if you wish to do it. Factory barrels are considerably different than custom match grade hand lapped barrels.

Shooting 20 rounds before cleaning is not a break in procedure.

I am going to post one method. Search the internet and you will find more. Some barrel makers list it on their websites...

Breaking In A Barrel - Read fully before starting the procedure

When cleaning, always use a good bore guide and a good rod.

Start with a clean, lightly lubed barrel, fire one shot, then run a loose patch through with Sweets 7.62 or any other solvent that will “eat” jacket fouling. Saturate the bore and let it sit a few minutes. Sweets indicate jacket fouling with a blue colour.

Run patches through to dry the bore and then wet patch it again and saturate the bore. After a few minutes dry patch it again. Repeat until the jacket fouling is removed (no blue patches). That means the barrel is clean.

After cleaning with Sweets, brush with Hoppes #9 and dry patch the bore and then leave it slightly lubed with a wet patch of Hoppes #9 before firing.

Then fire one more shot, and repeat the above procedure. Do this for a total of 10 shots, and then proceed to fire 2 shots and then clean as above, for 10 more shots. (For a total of 20.) The barrel is now broken in. It should be cleaned after every 20 or 30 shots there after if possible, or less often if fouling is not a problem.

You will find when the bore is broken in properly; the cleaning procedure is very quick, because there is very little jacket fouling in the bore.

I prefer Sweets 7.62, because it shows “blue” if there is any jacket fouling. I never use a copper or bronze brush with Sweets, because it will eat them, and give a false blue indication of fouling. I never let any other chemicals mix with Sweets. That is why there is a lot of dry patching and swabbing with rubbing alcohol and dry patching between switching chemicals.

For storage after cleaning with Sweets, dry patch and then swab the bore with several patches using rubbing alcohol; this will dissolve any remaining ammonia. Then lightly oil the bore.

If you are shooting groups you have to know if your rifle requires any fouling shots before settling in... Some may require a couple ... a very rare rifle that does not need at least 1 fouler. When I was shooting serious Benchrest the rifle was often cleaned after every group... sometimes a couple of groups.

A hunting rifle - every 20 or 30 rounds...

Here are some links to various barrel maker's break in procedures:

http://www.kriegerbarrels.com/Break_In__Cleaning-c1246-wp2558.htm

http://www.shilen.com/faq.html#question10

http://www.riflebarrels.com/articles/barrel_making/barrel_fouling.htm

http://www.pac-nor.com/care/
 
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graaf7mm said:
THank you for your input.. What do you think about Butch's Bore clean.. is it a good everyday cleaner or is it too corrosive?
Click to expand...

I have not used it but that is only because I don't have any..

It is not too corrosive. Ammonia cleaners for removing copper fouling do not magically eat steel. They do clean the surface so clean however that it will be susceptible to rusting. With any product it is good advice to follow the manufacturers instructions.
 
guntech said:
I particularly like what Lilja has to say about it.
"It is important to break-in a barrel though. 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. "
Click to expand...

This is the reason I break in my custom barrels but don't bother with factory barrels. Like Dennis, I prefer Sweets, although there are others that will show evidence of copper on the patches, but I'm used to Sweets, so that's what I use. Make sure you use good quality cotton patches, a jag of the correct size, and a bore guide. A brass jag should be cleaned with alcohol after each contact with ammonia, or it will be eaten away.

Ammonia in itself will not harm steel, but if it is allowed to evaporate, pitting of the bore can result so it is important to follow the directions on the bottle. When I use Sweets, I ensure the inside of the bore is sufficiently coated by working the rod back and forth advancing an inch or two at a time. I found it useful to place a wet patch in the muzzle and another in the bore guide to reduce airflow through the bore and eliminate the risk of the ammonia evaporating, particularly if I am cleaning outside on a warm, sunny, breezy day.

During the break in some folks will coat the clean bore with Kroil or Gun Juice to burnish the bore, but because you are adding a lubricant more break in rounds will have to be fired.
 
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Extensive and tedious break-ins aren't necessary for a hunting rifle, depending on the barrel. A procedure like Barnes describes for new rifles is an all day affair but does a couple of things. First it improves the number of rounds between future cleanings by reducing fouling, but more importantly it's a means to remove tooling marks and rough spots from the bore. For a new factory barrel, if the best accuracy is really important, DTAC's Final Polish can make the bore look like a fine hand-lapped custom job. 50 bullets in a decreasing grit size that you load yourself and follow a cleaning regimen (as in read the instructions). After seeing what it did to my .300, I doubt I'll ever fire a new rifle without using this system again. Same results - very little cleaning needed after you're done and dramatically improved accuracy.
 
I use Montana Extreame and have been really satisfied with the results and for the break in question I always clean it when I get home shoot 20 and then clean it really well and then take it hunting.
 
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