Modern Sporter builds Q&A

quikcolin said:
No doubt about it. I'm super curious what ATRS take is on the subject. It makes perfect sense to me that it's important to clean the barrel properly to remove any debris, burrs, and gunk from the barrel before the first round is fired. From there... I have no idea? I want to make sure ATRS does clean the barrel of my rifle before the first shot is fired - which I'm sure they do!! :).
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I'd like to know what Rick thinks too. I know what other gunsmiths say and I tend to listen to people smarter than me most of the time.
 
I remember researching this a few years ago: what I found was that until the last few years nobody had even heard of this. No manufacturers had a " barrel break-in" included in their instructions. Then, barrel break-in became a hot-topic item. People kept phoning and e-mailing asking what their proper barrel break-in procedure was. Not wanting to lose sales, and not wanting to tell a customer that they were idiots, they quickly developed a "break-in" procedure and started including it with all their barrels. Nobody was going to buy a barrel from somebody that was so unkmowledgeable that they didn't have, and didn't realize the benefits of "barrel break-in"

So now, most have instructions about barrel break-in. Not because they have proven science behind it, but because customers demanded it, and sales would suffer if they didn't have it

I'm not sure what Rick's take on it will be, and I'm sure that you want to clean it before the first time out, just to make sure that there's no debris in it. Other than that, mine normally get cleaned, broke in, like they'll be shot and used.
 
From the horses mouth. I emailed Mapleridge Armoury today and asked what they recommend for break in. I have a MRA barrel going into my MS. Here is what he said:

Hey Colin,

Great choice of receiver set. These barrels are honed, 5R rifled and hand lapped so they should not require a thorough break in becuase they are already pretty smooth inside. The barrels are not test fired before shipping.

I always recommend cleaning and inspecting all new firearms and components prior to use.

Barrel break in procedure as follows:

Clean and inspect barrel before shooting.

Fire 10 rounds cleaning between each round

Fire 10 rounds cleaning between every 2 rounds

Fire 10 rounds cleaning between every 5 rounds

Done.
 
quikcolin said:
From the horses mouth. I emailed Mapleridge Armoury today and asked what they recommend for break in. I have a MRA barrel going into my MS. Here is what he said:

Hey Colin,

Great choice of receiver set. These barrels are honed, 5R rifled and hand lapped so they should not require a thorough break in becuase they are already pretty smooth inside. The barrels are not test fired before shipping.

I always recommend cleaning and inspecting all new firearms and components prior to use.

Barrel break in procedure as follows:

Clean and inspect barrel before shooting.

Fire 10 rounds cleaning between each round

Fire 10 rounds cleaning between every 2 rounds

Fire 10 rounds cleaning between every 5 rounds

Done.
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That’s to funny..



 
greg olmstead said:
I'd like to know what Rick thinks too. I know what other gunsmiths say and I tend to listen to people smarter than me most of the time.
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We deal with numerous barrel makers and they all seem to be all over the map on "barrel break in". Some say there is no such thing as breaking in a barrel others are adamant that it is required, so who really knows.
Break in does not make any sense to me so I simply shoot my guns, but ultimately the decision is the individuals.

We DO test fire every rifle we do any work on, mostly for liability reasons. We DO NOT clean the bore after test firing and strongly suggest when receiving a barrel or rifle to minimally run a patch down the bore so YOU know there are no obstructions or foreign matter in the bore.
 
alberta tactical rifle said:
We deal with numerous barrel makers and they all seem to be all over the map on "barrel break in". Some say there is no such thing as breaking in a barrel others are adamant that it is required, so who really knows.
Break in does not make any sense to me so I simply shoot my guns, but ultimately the decision is the individuals.

We DO test fire every rifle we do any work on, mostly for liability reasons. We DO NOT clean the bore after test firing and strongly suggest when receiving a barrel or rifle to minimally run a patch down the bore so YOU know there are no obstructions or foreign matter in the bore.
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So pretty much inline with every other gunsmith and barrel maker i've talked to. I dont like cleaning barrels and after seeing first hand how NOT cleaning after each range trip may actually be a good thing for the rifles accurcy. I've went 1200 rounds before a gun needed to be cleaned and average 500 rounds on a 308 before the groups open up. With no barrel break in done.

I've tried changing the minds of people who are adamant that the gun needs to be cleaned every 10 round. These are the people that drag bore snakes down the barrel hundreds of times over the life of the barrel. These same guys dont clean the bore snake and for the first 50 shots drag it down the barrel 25 times collecting crud. I've just given up.
 
SilentRadar said:
I'm guessing a lot of the people that are adamant about it want to avoid warranty claims. "How did you break in the barrel? Oh you didn't follow our guide. Too bad for you"
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I'd say 95% of people that want warranty on a barrel that doesnt shoot how the guarantee says they should are the same people that dont know how to shoot or reload properly. When a $400 savage axis will shoot sub moa but the best gear money can buy wont it's the shooter. And those are the people that go after warranty.
 
Anyone else find that mags wont drop free? I,ve tried PMAGS, CPD LAR, CPD 5/30, and MFT pistol mags. Mags drop free when I insert them into just the lower but when i try try with the rifle together i cant get them to drop free. Anyone know how i can get them to drop free?
 
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I finally got my MS to the indoor range today. Ran 3 boxes of 6.5 Grendel through it. To anyone wondering a Geissele National Match trigger works fine, if you have a 'normal' rear takedown pin.
 
SuperDeadlyAccountant said:
I've seen it recommended on any upper receiver regardless of how it's made. I'm more curious if ATRS does it (or would do it) so I don't have to buy my own lapping kit.
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What gains are to be had from doing it? I can't imagine things are out of square enough on one of these to notice any difference before or after.

What barrel are you planning to install?
 
cr5 said:
What gains are to be had from doing it? I can't imagine things are out of square enough on one of these to notice any difference before or after.

What barrel are you planning to install?
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There are videos on YouTube and there's a fairly significant improvement in groupings by lapping the upper. It's not necessarily just the square that's the issue, it's uneven surfaces that mate with the barrel, which can cause each round to behave differently than the last.

I have a MRA 18.6" 223 wylde barrel.
 
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