Savage 10TR Barrel break in

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Major Sights

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I have my rifle mostly together now, just accessories and goodies left to get, which can be had at any time. This leaves me with the break-in and load development. I have looked online @ Savage's site, and they recommend a 41 round break in sequence (1 shot, then clean. 5 3-shot groups with cleaning in between each group, then 5 5-shot groups with cleaning in between groups.), which seems like a lot of rounds. However they also recommend using a brush to scrub back and forth in the barrel which goes against a lot of precision experts opinion.


Does anyone else have a good suggestion for a break in process? I have had 4 or 5 brand new firearms, and I never did any proper "break-in" with them and they shot fine. Also, will doing load development be affected drastically during barrel break in?
 
I just shot the crap out of mine ! Think I cleaned it after the first 50 rounds or so. Have almost 1000 through it now. I can maintain a 1/2" group at 100 meters when/if I do my part.
 
Barrel break-in is a form of religion with many dogmas that are based on belief, not fact, and in the defense of which believers will fight the good fight.

I shoot and clean as required and find that after about 50 rounds the barrel settles down.
 
Just came across this yesterday funny enough. I especially like the part about the "don't call me" sheets (like what you've found on savage's and on many other barrel maker's sites), where they provide a way to "break-in" the barrel so that they don't get inundated with calls about "how do I work my gun".

h ttp://www.scout.com/military/snipers-hide/story/1696627-barrel-break-in-what-i-have-learned

I wouldn't waste my time or money with breaking in a factory gun unless you notice a serious problem with how it shoots (at which point it may be more than just breaking in the barrel). That said, if you feel you'll sleep better at night knowing that something was done...then by all means go for it! trigger time is trigger time (although all that cleaning sucks!).
 
chrisward3 said:
Just came across this yesterday funny enough. I especially like the part about the "don't call me" sheets (like what you've found on savage's and on many other barrel maker's sites), where they provide a way to "break-in" the barrel so that they don't get inundated with calls about "how do I work my gun".

h ttp://www.scout.com/military/snipers-hide/story/1696627-barrel-break-in-what-i-have-learned

I wouldn't waste my time or money with breaking in a factory gun unless you notice a serious problem with how it shoots (at which point it may be more than just breaking in the barrel). That said, if you feel you'll sleep better at night knowing that something was done...then by all means go for it! trigger time is trigger time (although all that cleaning sucks!).
Click to expand...

Thanks for the article, I found that very helpful and I think I'm going to go with a hybrid method.

1 shot clean the rifle.

Shoot 20 or so rounds clean, and call it good.
 
Some may disagree but I have had good luck by getting the barrel squeaky clean and running bimetal jacketed surplus. Seems to settle down a new barrel quickly.
 
Ultimately this rests with your own testing.

I have had savage barrels shoot without noticeable copper build up and those that copper up immediately. Your biggest enemy will be carbon build up. With such rough barrels (meaning those that are not professionally lapped) you will get varying degrees of copper. Some will say a good layer of copper on a rough barrel appears to settle it down. A bad coppering barrel will have noticeable copper at the muzzle in as little as 20 shots. Leaving copper in comes at a cost through pressure build up and ultimately inconsistency. With carbon consider that a different matter. So I would try modifying the sequence some what. Say try 5 shots, clean the carbon out and proceed with another 5. Then clean the carbon and try testing for copper issues. Use wipe out and in 15min you will see if there is copper issues building. I would bet the first 6" of that barrel will start looking blue on a patch rather quickly. Alternately, a barrel may settle in as little as 5 shots in a custom tube. So it comes down to what your barrel likes. I recommend listening to it.

I have found that a barrel will clean up and copper foul less when it is smoothened out. Run a dry patch down the tube and you may feel those train tracks from the button rifling process. It may take 6-700 rounds in a rough barrel to feel it settle down. Or you can do some quicker methods like fire lapping, bore polishing, and such. As I have done that I did find that cleaning times are improved showing less copper fouling so it may have merit. Again, you are using a factory tube pay the time you wish to put into it. In the end if you find that your rifle shoots up to 200 rounds before cleaning and accuracy appears to drop off call it good. Pay attention to rough spots from carbon build up.

Remember, keep that barrel dry or protected from humidity...even with Stainless Steel. I believe your folks there in the humid east will attest to humidity being of concern. Water interacts with copper and can result in some unpleasant pitting over time. Keep a good layer of oil when storing between shoots. Then use some methyl hydrate to clean all that oil out before the next shoot.

And with that, I have found some JB bore paste will be your friend. IMO, with a coppery barrel, or carbon rough spots it may take 15 -20 strokes on a tight patch with JB. This is better than the overnighter process using wipe out. Then, after you have pooched that factory barrel I recommend getting a fine hand lapped custom and realize....why did I spend so much time frustrating with those factory tubes.

Enjoy....
Elkys 2c.
 
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Hi Buddy. Just had my 10TR almost 1 year ago, and I get through the same question than you at this time. Well, after a lot of reading and asking, I made my own opinion:
Read what your barrel tells you. Read your groups, they will tell you all you need to know for the barrel maintenance. Shoot and record your groups (anyway I suggest you to log all your shots for improving your Learning curve, especially for long range shooting!).

Mine needs around 30-40 shots to be stable when it was new, and also after a good cleaning (copper fouling removal). Yours should be similar, but pay attention of your groups. I've first cleaned mine after approx 400 rounds because I had a competition, and I felt anxious about going on a competition with a barrel that I don't know if the groups will begin to open up during the competition ( almost 100 shots had to be fired in this competition!). I've cleaned it a second time after 800 shots (400 shots after the previous cleaning) because I was suspecting the barrel copper fouling a problem with the new heavy bullets (208gr ELD) that I was trying to develop a load for. And It was a mistake, the fresh clean barrel didn't had any to do with that bullet, but the wrong powder used was more likely to be the problem(too fast burning).

So If I would have waited to see my groups to open before cleaning, I would probably had waited a lot more.
That being said, keep you chamber very clean! And a little cleaning / lubing can be good for all the other parts of the rifle. If you suspect that you may have some dirt in the barrel, dont hesitate to push a patch with a gentle cleaning solution to wipe it, after pas two or three new dry patches to remove the exess of the cleaning solution. You may notice a little difference with your next first group, maybe not.

That's my opinion!

Have fun, happy shooting!
Dark

PS: You really need to put a pict of your new baby in this thread!!!!
 
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