Breaking in/Cleaning 2 new rifles

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knockturnal

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So, after much debate with the girlfriend and searching around, i managed to buy her a new Tikka 270 Stainless Laminate and myself a Remington Sendero in 300UM. Now, my question is this. Ive never bought a new rifle before and ive never broken one in before. So, how might i go about doing so? I was going to pick up a Bore saver for both of them but im stuck on whether to get copper or nylon brushes and what kind of cleaner/solvent.

Also, anyone have any idea on how to break in the barrels properly? Ive heard things such as, shoot 1 then clean. shoot another. then clean. shoot 3 then clean. shoot 3 more then clean. shoot 5 then clean and then see where you are at. Is that overkill? or bang on?

any help would be great.

Matt
 
There are a few threads on the" break in" debate. I personally have tried doing the "break in" thing, and I honestly see no difference. Now when i purchase a new rifle, I give it a cleaning, then go shoot and have fun.

Congrats on you first new rifle. Have fun with it!!!!!
 
Make sure you clean out the packing oils that are in the barrel.

After that, go shoot it and have fun. I am a no barrel break in kind of guy.

There are several threads on this. Nothing conclusive except you either believe it helps or you don't.

Considering how few rds of accurate fire you will have with that RUM, I wouldn't waste it breaking it in.

Barnes CR10 does everything you could possibly want in a solvent. Use black nylon Kleenbore brushes. A brass slotted jag is ok but will react to the ammonia a bit. A coated one will be better.

With Barnes, you will likely not need to use a brush at all if you have nice fitting patches.

Enjoy your new toys.

Jerry
 
Mix cat pee and sand. make sure you have enough sand to make a thick paste, then pour that down the bore until it spews out the muzzle. next, get a coat hanger and brush like a maniac.:evil:














I kidd.... I kidd....
 
I agree with the previous posts (well except for maybe the cat pee and sand method...)

Clean out any oil or debris in the barrels from the factory then go shoot them. Clean as normal every 50-100 rounds, trip to the range or whatever interval you normally use. Factory guns don't seem to benefit much from excessive cleaning.
 
Is it a stainless or a blue barrel?

Is it a custom barrel that has already been hand lapped?

I belive in a break in. With a borescope one can see what happens. the first shot will leave a lot of metal debris in the barrel. With a borescope it looks like a handful of gravel thrown down a bowling alley. If you don't clean, it gets pouned onto the barrel, making it a bit rougher.

Even shooting and cleaning one shot at a time for 3 shots will make a difference. I do that, then 2 clean, then 3 clean and then 5 clean. Somewhere along there the first patch will come out quite clean instead of very dirty. A very positive indication that the barrel is then broken in.

I breakin with ammo loaded with a long bullet, loaded at less than full power. No need to wear out the barrel. Just 10 such shots, as above, will make a difference in reduced future fouling.

In competition, I only clean every 200 or so shots.

lapped stainless barrels break in very fast. factory blue barrels take longer.
 
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I found this thread through the search. Of course this is after I bought my first new gun and took it to the range.....it is a new Remington 700 SPS Varmint in .204 Ruger. I cleaned it before the first shot to get oils etc. out, then shot off 40 or so rounds. I cleaned it after with patches and reminton clean bore, and I must have used up at least 15 patches before they even started to come out less then black. I even ran the copper brush through in the middle of the cleaning to try to help. I eventually ran some oil through and put it away as I ran out of time, but am going to go at it again. Please tell me I have not done any permanant damage to the bore? Any advice on getting patches to come thorugh clean?
 
Mark, you haven't done anything wrong. That is what happens when you have a rough barrel. Judge a barrels performance by the holes in the paper NOT by what you see on a piece of flannel.

Most factory barrels shoot their best when they are DIRTY - that includes a nice leveling layer of copper too.

do a test to satisfy yourself. Grab some CR10, JB, wipe out or whatever you feel and get that bore bare metal clean. Shoot it and mark where every shot goes (obviously do this with a rifle with known performance).

With a factory rifle, I bet the first 2 to 3 rds don't snuggle up in the group. Then things close up and you are back to normal. The 'worse' rifle I had needed 10 to 12 rds to settle down again but after it did, was one of the most reliable cold bore rifles I have ever owned.

Remember those suggestions to fire a 'fouling' shot after cleaning before working on a load? Guess what, the bore is now dirty and after the 3rds as fouled as when you cleaned it.

We are working on a cleaning ideology based on black powder and soft lead bullets. The 'good ole days' did require constant cleaning or the rifling would literally plug up.

With modern powders and alloys, the need to clean is drastically reduced to the point of not necessary (relative to those bygone days).

In fact, over cleaning is a biggest reason many factory rifles don't shoot to their potential.

do your own comparisons to find out how much and how often you need to clean. Start bare metal clean and fire a group (no fouling shot), cool, fire another, cool, fire another. Measure all of these groups and you will likely see a trend where accuracy improves then levels out around the 3rd group. Keep shooting over several trips if need be. Always keep that barrel at a reasonable temp for best performance. Keep shooting until the groups start to open up and keep opening up. After 3 groups of ever increasing group size, you now have the limits for fouling based on the components used. I bet you have shot more then 20rds to get to this point.

Now clean the barrel back to grey patches and you now know when to clean. With CR10 or similar cleaners, your patches start pitch black, then eventually go grey with a hint of blue, then shades of blue, lightening back to grey - I stop here.

Believe me when I say some bores are best left badly fouled to the point of looking green - all that rough stuff is nicely filled in.

Of course, if rust or corrosive ammo is used, clean and protect but you don't need to go to bare metal.

Today, I run a couple of dry patches down the bore every 20 to 30rds. That's it! I just knock out any excess powder fouling and get back at it.

When the barrel does start to loose accuracy, I will do some chemical cleaning and I will use Ammonia. Clean just enough to get the real heavy stuff out then go back to having fun. With my last 223, this was after 200rds had been fired.

Except for lapped BR grade barrels, I have yet to find a barrel that shot better clean then dirty.

Jerry
 
The reason I clean only every 200 shots when in competiton is that my barrels need 3 shots to re-foul and group well. By putting the rifle away dirty and shooting dirty the next day, the first shot is in the group - and that is what we want. To a hunter, that is the only shot that matters - the first one.

I don't know that the group opens after 200 shots, but I get nervous by then and clean and then arrange to fire a few fouling shots on a the zero range.

Rem clean is a good cleaner. I suggest a chemical cleaner after a rem clean treatment, and maybe some back and forth if a barrel is real bad. I often leave rifles muzzle down with gunk in the barrel to clean over night.

Try firing one shot ina clean abrrel then cleaning. If a lot of crap comes out on the first patch, the rifle should be given the break in procedure. After breaking in, almost nothing comes out after 5 or 10 shots.
 
AGAIN, I put the challenge to all you barrel break-in proponents:

Show me one proper objective large sample study that compares barrels "broken in" using barrels from the same batch of steel, the same manufacturers, the same bullets from the same batch, the same powder from the same lot, the same primers, and conducted in a controlled atmospheric environment.

Until then I submit to you that all these compelling anecdotes supporting barrel break-in are based on non-scientific criteria, intuition, and ritual.

I have read hundreds of emails and internet articles that ABSOLUTELY guarantee my weiner will get bigger if I use their product and they all claim to have scientific substantiation.

Until proven otherwise, Barrel break-in is a ritualistic myth.
 
barrel break in is a waste of time and barrel life... cleaning a barrel before accuracy starts to degrade is like "wiping you butt BEFORE you take a dump"
 
This is copied from kriegerbarrels.com

Finally, the best way to break-in the barrel is to observe when the barrel is broken in; i.e. when the fouling is reduced. This is better than some set number of cycles of "shoot and clean" as many owners report practically no fouling after the first few shots, and more break-in would be pointless. Conversely, if more is required, a set number would not address that either. Besides, cleaning is not a completely benign procedure so it should be done carefully and no more than necessary.

I have observed this type of barrel maintenance and have had nothing but positive results. No need to over clean but it is a good idea to know what your paticular barrel needs.
 
I LOVE this forum, thanks guys for the information!!

I have hunted all my life and consider myself knowlegable enough to be ethical and safe but, I am looking to go to the next level. More time at the range, some long range practice, and of course reloading. Off to the reloading forum!

Cheers
 
A well made clean barrel will generally shoot better than a dirty barrel. benchrest shooters generally clean after every relay (10-15 shots). In addition a "broken in" barrel will generally foul less and stay clean longer. I break in ALL my barrels, especially commercial guns or used guns. I finf that in the long run it saves time ane retains accuracy better.

The procedure I follow is:

1.Unfired barrel (to remove bore lapping and other materials from a new barrel)
a. 1 patch with bore cleaner (BC)
b. new bronze brush, 10 strokes with BC
c. degrease brush, let bore sit 10 minutes
d. 1 tight clean patch
e. 1 wet patch
f. bronze brush, 10 strokes with BC
g. degrease brush, let bore sit 15 minutes
h. 1 tight clean patch
i. if patch dirty, 2 patches with BC, dry patch repeat above until patches clean
j. 2 dry patches
k. 1 patch with Kroil (dime size spot on patch)

2. Fire 1 shot
a. 1 patch with BC
b. new bronze brush, 10 strokes with BC
c. degrease brush, let bore sit 10 minutes
d. 1 tight clean patch
Repeat above for a total of 5 shots then
e. 2 dry patches
Check bore for copper, if copper present
f. 2 patches with copper remover, using 1" strokes
g. let bore stand for 15 minutes, dry patch
h. 2 patches with copper remover, using 1" strokes
i. let bore stand for 15 minutes, dry patch, if copper present repeat
j. 1 patch with BC
k. 2 dry patches
l. 1 patch with Kroil (dime size spot on patch)

3. Fire 3 shots
a. 1 patch with BC
b. new bronze brush, 10 strokes with BC
c. degrease brush, let bore sit 10 minutes
d. 1 tight clean patch
Check bore for copper, if copper present
e. 2 patches with copper remover, using 1" strokes
f. let bore stand for 15 minutes, dry patch
g. 2 patches with copper remover, using 1" strokes
h. let bore stand for 15 minutes, dry patch, if copper present repeat
i. 1 patch with BC
j. 2 dry patches
k. 1 patch with Kroil (dime size spot on patch)
Repeat 3 shot groups for 15 rounds

Copper fouling can be detected with a borescope OR use a copper solvent and look for the blue color.

It should be noted that breaking in a barrel gives you an excuse to do more shooting and more time to enjoy being at the range.
 
LOL! I bought 3 new in the box Savage F-class rigs 2 in 6.5x284 and on in 6mm BR

I cleaned and patched one 6.5x284 right down to metal for 20 shots took me 2 days, and shot 25 rounds through the other 2 took em home and patched out with sweets 7.62
Guess what happened, Well I can tell you what happened, I wasted my time cleaning a rifle for 2 days and shot 20 rounds, because they all shoot in the .2s and the 6 BR wil sneak a .1 out of it once and a while.

I do not clean unless I have to now, may patch a few 7,62 sweets through at let stand and patch out, but I do not scrub now ever.
 
pengmcic said:
A well made clean barrel will generally shoot better than a dirty barrel. benchrest shooters generally clean after every relay (10-15 shots). In addition a "broken in" barrel will generally foul less and stay clean longer. I break in ALL my barrels, especially commercial guns or used guns. I finf that in the long run it saves time ane retains accuracy better.

The procedure I follow is:

1.Unfired barrel (to remove bore lapping and other materials from a new barrel)
a. 1 patch with bore cleaner (BC)
b. new bronze brush, 10 strokes with BC
c. degrease brush, let bore sit 10 minutes
d. 1 tight clean patch
e. 1 wet patch
f. bronze brush, 10 strokes with BC
g. degrease brush, let bore sit 15 minutes
h. 1 tight clean patch
i. if patch dirty, 2 patches with BC, dry patch repeat above until patches clean
j. 2 dry patches
k. 1 patch with Kroil (dime size spot on patch)

2. Fire 1 shot
a. 1 patch with BC
b. new bronze brush, 10 strokes with BC
c. degrease brush, let bore sit 10 minutes
d. 1 tight clean patch
Repeat above for a total of 5 shots then
e. 2 dry patches
Check bore for copper, if copper present
f. 2 patches with copper remover, using 1" strokes
g. let bore stand for 15 minutes, dry patch
h. 2 patches with copper remover, using 1" strokes
i. let bore stand for 15 minutes, dry patch, if copper present repeat
j. 1 patch with BC
k. 2 dry patches
l. 1 patch with Kroil (dime size spot on patch)

3. Fire 3 shots
a. 1 patch with BC
b. new bronze brush, 10 strokes with BC
c. degrease brush, let bore sit 10 minutes
d. 1 tight clean patch
Check bore for copper, if copper present
e. 2 patches with copper remover, using 1" strokes
f. let bore stand for 15 minutes, dry patch
g. 2 patches with copper remover, using 1" strokes
h. let bore stand for 15 minutes, dry patch, if copper present repeat
i. 1 patch with BC
j. 2 dry patches
k. 1 patch with Kroil (dime size spot on patch)
Repeat 3 shot groups for 15 rounds

Copper fouling can be detected with a borescope OR use a copper solvent and look for the blue color.

It should be noted that breaking in a barrel gives you an excuse to do more shooting and more time to enjoy being at the range.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a waste of time to me.
 
in David Tubb's own words " it takes 12 rounds to properly foul a barrel" I have yet to see a shooter come to a tactical comp with a clean barrel or run a cleaning rod down one at any time during a comp... round count is usually well over 100 in a two day comp.
 
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