myth or fact

Goose25

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What is the general consensus regarding barrel break-in and cleaning procedures?


Many will swear to cleaning with only a patch and your choice of CLP, between every shot up to 10-20 rounds, then every 3-5 shots until you reach 20-30 rounds finally clean every 10 rounds. up to 100 rounds

Others will tell you if you want tighter groups, then a couple applications of J-B bore compound (between first couple shots) is the way to go (in combination with the above mentioned)... I have also herd that if not done properly it can/will do more harm than good (it is very easy to create loose spots if you spend more time in one area than you do another).

Some say brass brushes can scratch the bore, others will tell you that is myth and brass is too soft to scratch your barrel.

Brass? Patches? Rods? Boresnake? Cleaners? Compound? What do you use, how do you use it, what is necessary and what is BS? What will give you best results? what can do more harm than good?
 
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Well, by the light of a blood red moon, when the shadows of demons are among us, you must first make a sacrifice to Mars, the mighty and magnificent god of war, followed by plunging your scepter into........oh wait, that's another break in method.

Shoot one and clean x10, shoot 2 and clean x10, shoot 5 and clean x 10, using whatever snake oil floats your boat. Or, ......don't. I've tried it both ways, and can't honestly say that one method works better then another. What I do think helps, is cleaning your bore and chamber completely before shooting, never letting the heat build up in your barrel by firing too long of a string, and clean your bore completely when you're done shooting. Sorry if that isn't what you want to hear, but that's what works for me. - dan
 
You will not get a definitive answer on this question. You will get those who swear by it and those who swear at it. Even the manufacturers do not agree as to procedures or benefits.

I believe it will never harm a barrel to do it, and it may benefit some barrels. If it does not help a particular barrel, all you are out is a bit of time and 20 shells.

I believe that with a custom barrel that has been lapped by the maker the only part of the barrel that will require any breaking in, would be the throat immediately ahead of the chamber. It is the only area in the barrel that has been altered since the maker lapped the barrel. Firing a few shots over this will break it in. The decision has to be made should it be cleaned between shots while breaking it in....... the theory being each successive shot down a clean barrel will "iron" no impurities into the new "rough" barrel and the barrel "breaks in" and becomes smoother with less fouling. If you don't clean between shots, each shot is ironing impurities into the new "rough" barrel.....


This is what I recommend if you want to do a "break in" procedure:

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 indicates 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).

After cleaning with Sweets, swab the bore with several patches using rubbing alcohol, this will dissolve any remaining ammonia. Dry and then 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. (Total of 20). The barrel is now broken in. It should be cleaned after every 20 or 30 shots there after, if possible.

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.
 
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I have a new barrel being put on now. The old barrel was shooting like a house on fire, but with the new stock the rifle is overweight.
My break-in procedure will be to shoot moly coated bullets through it until they don't fit down the barrel anymore.:D
I will shoot it until the groups open up. I do keep the chamber clean but barrel cleaning is highly recommended buy the folks that sell cleaning products and of course any Quartermaster.
 
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I use the JB bore polish on really dirty bores, such as most milsurps. Once the bore comes out clean, I find a couple of alternating patches of Hoppes Benchrest and dry patches with 15 minutes in between until there is no more blue works great. I don't see the need to use the JB bore polish enery time, but I do find it does come in handy for the really big jobs.
 
From Mr. Gale McMillan, taken from TheFiringLine forums:

"The break in fad was started by a fellow I helped get started in the barrel business . He started putting a set of break in instructions in ever barrel he shipped. One came into the shop to be installed and I read it and the next time I saw him I asked him What was with this break in crap?. His answer was Mac, My share of the market is about 700 barrels a year. I cater to the target crowd and they shoot a barrel about 3000 rounds before they change it. If each one uses up 100 rounds of each barrel breaking it in you can figure out how many more barrels I will get to make each year. If you will stop and think that the barrel doesn't know whether you are cleaning it every shot or every 5 shots and if you are removing all foreign material that has been deposited in it since the last time you cleaned it what more can you do? When I ship a barrel I send a recommendation with it that you clean it ever chance you get with a brass brush pushed through it at least 12 times with a good solvent and followed by two and only 2 soft patches. This means if you are a bench rest shooter you clean ever 7 or 8 rounds . If you are a high power shooter you clean it when you come off the line after 20 rounds. If you follow the fad of cleaning every shot for X amount and every 2 shots for X amount and so on the only thing you are accomplishing is shortening the life of the barrel by the amount of rounds you shot during this process. I always say Monkey see Monkey do, now I will wait on the flames but before you write them, Please include what you think is happening inside your barrel during break in that is worth the expense and time you are spending during break in."
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http://snipercountry.com/Articles/Barrel_BreakIn.asp.

Recommended break-in procedure from the Krieger Barrel co.:

BREAK-IN & CLEANING

With any premium barrel that has been finish lapped -- such as your Krieger Barrel --, the lay or direction of the finish is in the direction of the bullet travel, so fouling is minimal. This is true of any properly finish-lapped barrel regardless of how it is rifled. If it is not finish-lapped, there will be reamer marks left in the bore that are directly across the direction of the bullet travel. This occurs even in a button-rifled barrel as the button cannot completely iron out these reamer marks.

Because the lay of the finish is in the direction of the bullet travel, very little is done to the bore during break-in, but the throat is another story. When your barrel is chambered, by necessity there are reamer marks left in the throat that are across the lands, i.e. across the direction of the bullet travel. In a new barrel they are very distinct; much like the teeth on a very fine file. When the bullet is forced into the throat, copper dust is released into the gas which at this temperature and pressure is actually a plasma. The copper dust is vaporized in this gas and is carried down the barrel. As the gas expands and cools, the copper comes out of suspension and is deposited in the bore. This makes it appear as if the source of the fouling is the bore when it is actually for the most part the new throat. If this copper is allowed to stay in the bore, and subsequent bullets and deposits are fired over it; copper which adheres well to itself, will build up quickly and may be difficult to remove later. So when we break in a barrel, our goal is to get the throat polished without allowing copper to build up in the bore. This is the reasoning for the "fire-one-shot-and-clean" procedure.

Barrels will vary slightly in how many rounds they take to break in because of things like slightly different machinability of the steel, or steel chemistry, or the condition of the chambering reamer, etc. . . For example a chrome moly barrel may take longer to break in than stainless steel because it is more abrasion resistant even though it is the same hardness. Also chrome moly has a little more of an affinity for copper than stainless steel so it will usually show a little more "color" if you are using a chemical cleaner. (Chrome moly and stainless steel are different materials with some things in common and others different.) Rim Fire barrels can take an extremely long time to break in -- sometimes requiring several hundred rounds or more. But cleaning can be lengthened to every 25-50 rounds. The break-in procedure and the clearing procedure are really the same except for the frequency. Remember the goal is to get or keep the barrel clean while polishing out the throat.

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.

CLEANING

This section on cleaning is not intended to be a detailed instruction, but rather to point out a few "do's and don'ts". Instructions furnished with bore cleaners, equipment, etc. should be followed unless they would conflict with these "do's and don'ts."


You should use a good quality straight cleaning rod with a freely rotating handle and a rod guide that fits both your receiver raceway and the rod snugly. How straight and how snug? The object is to make sure the rod cannot touch the bore. With service rifle barrels a good rod and guide set-up is especially important as all the cleaning must be done from the muzzle and even slight damage to the barrel crown is extremely detrimental to accuracy.

There are two basic types of bore cleaners -- chemical and abrasive. The chemical cleaners are usually a blend of various ingredients including oils and ammonia that attack the copper. The abrasive cleaners generally contain no chemicals and are an oil, wax, or grease base with an extremely fine abrasive such as chalk, clay, or gypsum. They clean by mechanically removing the fouling. Both are good, and we feel that neither will damage the bore when used properly.

So what is the proper way to use them? First, not all chemical cleaners are compatible with each other. Some, when used together at a certain temperature, can cause severe pitting of the barrel -- even stainless steel barrels. It is fine to use two different cleaners as long as you completely remove the first cleaner from the barrel before cleaning with the second. And, of course, never mix them in the same bottle.

Follow instructions on the bottle as far as soak time, etc. . . Always clean from the breech whenever possible, pushing the patch or swab up to the muzzle and then back without completely exiting the muzzle. If you exit the muzzle, the rod is going to touch the bore and be dragged back in across the crown followed by the patch or brush. Try to avoid dragging things in and out of the muzzle. It will eventually cause uneven wear of the crown. Accuracy will suffer and this can lead you to believe the barrel is shot out, when in fact, it still may have a lot of serviceable life left. A barrel with a worn or damaged crown can be re-crowned and accuracy will usually return.

The chemical cleaners may be the best way to clean service rifle barrels that must be cleaned from the muzzle -- i.e. M1 Garand, M14, etc. . .-- because this method avoids all the scrubbing necessary with the abrasive cleaners and the danger of damaging the crown. But again, as long as the rod doesn't touch the crown, abrasive cleaners should be fine.

Abrasive cleaners work very well. They do not damage the bore, they clean all types of fouling (copper powder, lead, plastic), and they have the added advantage of polishing the throat both in "break in" and later on when the throat begins to roughen again from the rounds fired. One national champion we know polishes the throats on his rifles every several hundred rounds or so with diamond paste to extend their accuracy life.

Again, as with the chemical cleaners, a good rod and rod guide is necessary. A jag with a patch wrapped around it works well. Apply the cleaner and begin scrubbing in short, rather fast strokes of about two to four inches in length. Concentrate most of the strokes in the throat area decreasing the number as you go toward the muzzle. Make a few full-length passes while avoiding exiting the muzzle completely, but do partially exit for about six strokes. You can avoid accidentally exiting by mounting the rifle in a vise or holder of some sort and blocking the rod at the muzzle with the wall or something to keep it from completely exiting.


This sheet is intended to touch on the critical areas of break-in and cleaning and is not intended as a complete, step-by-step guide or recommendation of any product.

The following is a guide to "break-in" based on our experience. This is not a hard and fast rule, only a guide. Some barrel, chamber, bullet, primer, powder, pressure, velocity etc. combinations may require more cycles some less!

It is a good idea to just observe what the barrel is telling you with its fouling pattern. But once it is broken in, there is no need to continue breaking it in.

Initially you should perform the shoot-one-shot-and-clean cycle for five cycles. If fouling hasn't reduced, fire five more cycles and so on until fouling begins to drop off. At that point shoot three shots before cleaning and observe. If fouling is reduced, fire five shots before cleaning. It is interesting to shoot groups during the three and five shot cycles.

Stainless Chrome moly
5 one-shot cycles 5 - 25 - one-shot cycles
1 three-shot cycle 2 - three-shot cycles
1 five-shot cycle 1 - five-shot cycle


Thank you for choosing a Krieger barrel.
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http://www.kriegerbarrels.com/RapidCat/catalog/pagetemplate.cfm?template=/RapidCat/common/viewPage.cfm&PageId=2558&CompanyId=1246.

-Rohann
 
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Well, I HAVE noticed that new barrels generally foul quicker than slightly worn ones.

But I don't believe that a 'break in' regimen is required. Just shooting your rifle is 'breaking it in.' I have tried both - cleaning after every shot for a while, or just shooting a box of ammo, then cleaning. Same difference.

Once my guns have had a bit of use (either method), I notice that they stay clean longer - they don't (carbon) foul as quickly. At this point I'll stop cleaning as thoroughly and as frequently. Once my barrels are shooting properly, I'll generally put a hundred or so rounds between cleanings (well, i run a boresnake through every 20 or so). I'll clean it 'enough' - patches do not need to come out perfectly clean, just to get rid of the worst of it (90% or so). I'll run a patch saturated in Shooters Choice through, leave it for 10 minutes, and then run another patch through. Usually there'll be almost no blue, so the bore gets snaked one last time, oiled and packed away. Only if the SC detects significant copper fouling will I do a thorough cleaning, followed with a few patches of Moly bore lube, and a snaking. (I don't shoot moly's bullets though). After that, it takes a good 10 or so rounds to begin performing well again. Fouling (and subsequent thorough cleaning) rarely occurs though. I can put several hundred rounds through before it becomes necessary
 
Rohann said:
From Mr. Gale McMillan, taken from TheFiringLine forums:

"The break in fad was started by a fellow I helped get started in the barrel business . He started putting a set of break in instructions in ever barrel he shipped. One came into the shop to be installed and I read it and the next time I saw him I asked him What was with this break in crap?. His answer was Mac, My share of the market is about 700 barrels a year. I cater to the target crowd and they shoot a barrel about 3000 rounds before they change it. If each one uses up 100 rounds of each barrel breaking it in you can figure out how many more barrels I will get to make each year.


I read this too and the problem I have with it is this - if you shoot 3000 rounds regardless of if you break in a barrel or not you are STILL shooting 3000 rounds. Makes no difference if you clean every 1 shot or every 100 shots - its still 3000 rounds???

Am I misreading this article?

AP
 
I understand what you mean, but:
They probably don't take into consideration that barrel breaking-in counts as rounds fire, and they most likely count after the barrel has been broken in, because that's when the barrel is useable to them.

-Rohann
 
AlwaysPlayin said:
I read this too and the problem I have with it is this - if you shoot 3000 rounds regardless of if you break in a barrel or not you are STILL shooting 3000 rounds. Makes no difference if you clean every 1 shot or every 100 shots - its still 3000 rounds???

Am I misreading this article?

AP

No you aren't, it's a crock! I don't think it was well thought out......possibly even an internet myth....
 
Never noticed any difference in guns that were broken in or not...

Clean 'em when they're dirty... Whether thats every two rounds or two hundred depends on to many variables to make a general statement. But typically lapped barrels are always cleaner and easier to clean.
 
Shoot 2 clean.Shoot 5 clean.Shoot 10 clean and done.
I'm not a big believer in the brarrel break in stories either having won plenty of competitions with rifles that were both broken in and not broken in.I just find a happy medium.
 
Let the barrel tell you what it wants by groups on paper NOT the colour of the patches.

Recent Savage 270 factory barrel. Rds 4 to 6 went into 1/4" at 100yds. Good enough? Likes to run dirty but doesn't copper foul much at all. Over 100rds with no cleaning and dead on.

Aftermarket barrel in a 300RUM. Unfortunately, copper fouls like nuts (could be that 97gr of powder too????). Need to clean 20rds or so or else groups spray. Will look at polishing soon to help.

So some barrels require some help others don't. I personally do not follow any break in procedure. I shoot some, clean and see what I get. I also don't worry about fouling IF it doesn't affect accuracy.

If I do any polishing/lapping, I prefer to use JB reg or the new bore brite to accomplish the job. I just don't see the need to waste expensive bullets when patches with some lapping/polishing compound does a better, quicker job.

Any barrel that needs many fouling shots before settling down after cleaning does not get cleaned. The barrel needs to be dirty to shoot its best. Many factory barrels fall into this category.

Match barrels don't foul much at the worse of times so whether you clean or not is personal. I have done both, and with new powders seen no benefit. Besides, lapped barrel should be polished to better then anything I can do. With that in mind, I want to limit what 'damage' I do by fiddling with it.

I now only clean when accuracy goes south and only as much as needed. Sometimes all the barrel needs is a few strokes of a brush to get shooting again. Others, need conc ammonia...

Jerry
 
I like what Gale McMillan said about it; it's mostly a myth. Shoot and clean until copper fouling lessens up a bit and you get all the manufacturing notchest and whatnot out of the barrel.

-Rohann
 
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