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Barel break in

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8 comments

  • GreenLantern
    Search back a few days. You'll find a very recent post on this very topic.
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  • bullhauler
    shoot 1, clean. do this for the first 5 rounds. shoot 3, clean. do this 5 times. shoot 5, clean. do this 4 times. after you get into multiple shots ( 3 before cleaning and up) give the barrel a little break to cool between shots. the worst thing to do to a new barrel is get it hot. Others will have their own way of doing a break-in but this is the way i break my barrels in. Good luck. Just out of curiosity what kind of gun did you buy and what scope did you put on it?

    welcome to America...now speak english or get the ****out
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  • bullhauler
    shoot 1, clean. do this for the first 5 rounds. shoot 3, clean. do this 5 times. shoot 5, clean. do this 4 times. after you get into multiple shots ( 3 before cleaning and up) give the barrel a little break to cool between shots. the worst thing to do to a new barrel is get it hot. Others will have their own way of doing a break-in but this is the way i break my barrels in. Good luck. Just out of curiosity what kind of gun did you buy and what scope did you put on it? I use a cleaning solution made from 2 parts gumout carb. cleaner and 1 part marvels mystery oil. Also tetra-gun and barnes make a good solution.

    welcome to America...now speak english or get the ****out
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  • JustC
    Nothin like gettin the hornets nest stirred up first thing

    I shoot 1 and clean the barrel for the first 20.
    Then shoot 3 and clean for the next 20.
    Then shoot 5 and clean for the next 40.

    Or at least something close to that. Most any shoot and clean proceedure for 60-100rnds will break a barrel in nicely. Be sure to patch the barrel dry each time.

    A great rifle with a junk scope,....is junk.
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  • lead lobber
    WOW do i hate cleaning guns- 1 min to shoot and 45 mins to clean. did 1 clean x10 then 3 clean for 15, then 6 clean. It was a long day lol. I used sweets solvent. I hope i can clean it it less time in the future. Any tips? Should one use a bore guide and if so which one?

    It was a browning SS stalker 308 with a Leupold vx2 3X9 40mm
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  • JustC
    You can wait up to 10rnds before cleaning in the future, but until you have 100rnds through it, I wouldn't go any more than every 5 rnds. Bore guides are good investments, but you can buy a Dewey cleaning rod which is plastic coated so as not to contact the rifling. Use oversized patches, which will completely cover the brass jag on the end of the rod. Push it through from the chamber end, pull the patch off at the muzzle end and unscrew the jag, then pull the rod back through. Screw the jag back on and repeat until the barrel is clean. Or buy bore guides and use any rod you have, as they will keep the metal rods from contacting the rifling anyway. That part is a matter of choice, I use the dewey rod. Have fun, clean barrels last longer and shoot better.

    A great rifle with a junk scope,....is junk.
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  • aglore
    This is what Gale McMillan says on the subject.

    As a barrel maker I have looked in thousands of new and used barrels
    with a bore scope and I will tell you that if every one followed the
    prescribed break in method A very large number would do more harm than
    help. The reason you hear of the help in accuracy is because if you
    chamber barrel with a reamer that has a dull throater instead of cutting
    clean sharp rifling it smears a burr up on the down wind side of the
    rifling. It takes from 1 to 2 hundred rounds to burn this bur out and
    the rifle to settle down and shoot its best. Any one who chambers rifle
    barrels has tolerances on how dull to let the reamer get and factories
    let them go longer than any competent smithe would. Another tidbit to
    consider, Take a 300Win Mag. that has a life expectancy of 1000 rounds.
    Use 10% of it up with your break in procedure for ever 10 barrels the
    barrel maker makes he has to make one more just to take care of the
    break in. no wonder barrel makers like to see this. Now when you flame
    me on this please include what you think is happening to the inside of
    your barrel during the break in that is helping you.

    Gale McMillan
    NBSRA IBS,FCSA and NRA Life Member


    Part 2

    Consider this, every round shot in breaking in a barrel is one round off
    the life of said rifle barrel. No one has ever told me the physical
    reason of what happens during break in firing. In other words to the
    number of pounds of powder shot at any given pressure, is the life of the
    barrel. No one has ever explained what is being accomplished by
    shooting and cleaning in any prescribed method. Start your barrel off
    with 5 rounds and clean it thoroughly and do it again. Nev Maden a
    friend down under that my brother taught to make barrels was the one who
    come up with the break in method. He may think he has come upon
    something, or he has come up with another way to sell barrels. I feel
    that the first shot out of a barrel is its best and every one after that
    deteriorates until the barrel is gone. If some one can explain what
    physically takes place during break in to modify the barrel then I may
    change my mind. As the physical properties of a barrel doesn't change
    because of the break in procedures it means it's all hog wash. I am open
    to any suggestions that can be documented otherwise if it is just
    someone's opinion forget it.

    Gale McMillan


    Part 3

    # On 29 Jul 1997 22:50:26 -0400, whit@cs.utexas.edu (John W. Engel)
    # wrote:
    #
    # #This is how (some) benchrester break in barrels, and it does work.
    # #The mechanism is that the bore has pores in it (microns in size).
    # #If you simply shoot a box or two through it without cleaning, the
    # #pores fill up with gilding metal, and stay that way. If you
    # #follow the above procedure (and they mean *clean* between shots!),
    # #the pores are "smoothed over" with each successive shot. A barrel
    # #correctly broken in is MUCH easier to clean than one that is
    # #not. If it is a good quality tube, it will also be more accurate.
    # #Regards,
    # #whit
    #
    # Well, the range hours here are quite limited. On my first trip I
    # managed to fire a whole fourteen rounds, with a thorough cleaning
    # after each round. It couldn't hurt! Fun gun! Difficult to think of
    # .223 as a battle round after experience with .30-06 and .45ACP, but it
    # surely going to be a pleasure to shoot.
    # Thanks to all for their advice.

    This is total hogwash! It all got started when a barrel maker that I
    know started putting break in instructions in the box with each barrel
    he shipped a few years ago. I asked him how he figured it would help
    and his reply was If they shoot 100 rounds breaking in this barrel
    that's total life is 3000 rounds and I make 1000 barrels a year just
    figure how many more barrels I will get to make. He had a point it
    defiantly will shorten the barrel life. I have been a barrel maker a
    fair amount of time and my barrels have set and reset bench rest world
    records so many times I quit keeping track (at one time they held 7 at
    one time) along with HighPower,Silloett,smallbore national and world
    records and my instructions were to clean as often as posable preferably
    every 10 rounds. I inspect every barrel taken off and every new barrel
    before it is shipped with a bore scope and I will tell you all that I
    see far more barrels ruined by cleaning rods than I see worn out from
    normal wear and tear.I am even reading about people recommending
    breaking in pistols. As if it will help their shooting ability or the
    guns.
    Gale McMillan.



    AlleninAlaska

    http://www.outdoor-o-rama.com

    He who dares not offend cannot be honest.
    -- Thomas Paine
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  • hdwrench
    does any of this barrel break-in relate to chrome lined barrels ? are they also porous ? wrench .
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