what is the best way to break in a new barrel?The shop where I bought the gun said to shoot three times,clean,shoot three,clean,shoot three,clean,then shoot five and clean until you have shot twenty shell total.They said to do this then mount scope and zero in.gun is a weatherby accumark.Thanks

The info you were given is probably pretty good advice. However, several well known barrel makers recommend that at the very first you shoot ONE shot, then clean, then ONE shot, then clean, etc. for the first 10 or 12 rounds.

I have done this on several occasions and it is boring as hell. Does it really help? I for one do not know. I did it because the paper work that came with some very expensive custom barrels said to do so. I DO think it helps smooth the bore some and probably makes a rifle easier to clean in the long run.

On the other hand, I just got hold of a new Winchester Model 70 chambered for the 300WSM. I did no barrel break in, just went out and started working up loads. I cleaned after every 15 shots or so. That new rifle shoots just fine. It almost always shoots under an inch with Sierra 180 grain ProHunters, and the last two groups I shot with 180 grain Nosler Partitions averaged an inch exactly.

It surely will not hurt your new barrel to do a break in, if you clean properly using a bore guide, a good cleaning rod, etc.

R F

I subscribe to Sinclair International method of breaking in a rifle barr=el. Shoot a little, clean a lot. As described above boring!

You can't make a bad barrel shoot well, but you can make a good barrel easier to clean, less likely to foul up quickly. Even more important than breaking in, get a bore guide! If you do nothing else get a bore guide. It will protect your investment.

My first centerfire rifle which i just got about a month ago. is a .270WSM im still on my first box of 20 rounds. my barrel break in method is shoot 1 time then clean shoot 1 time then clean shoot 3 times then clean sight in ur rifle and clean. your ready to go shooting/hunting.

Oh boy, this always starts some arguments, but here goes...

Maybe I'm a little simplistic, but I just shoot a few shots until I get the scope zeroed. I then clean it and it's broken in. From that point forward I just shoot it until it needs cleaning and then I clean it.

And yes, I've tried just about every "break-in" method known to man, and IMO they're a waste of time.

Amen to the bore guide.
I too have tried most ways of doing it and can't find any real difference. How does the barrel know if its being shot once or three times? As long as you don't let heat factor in. I do agree with the shoot a little clean a lot with a new barrel. And a little JB paste ain't gonna hurt.

the point of break in is to reduce the fowling in the rifling. when it comes from factory it might have some imperfications you use the break in methode to fill these imperfications and take them out of the barrel.

I mount the scope, and then start load testing and zeroing.

BUT, I shoot one and clean, then shoot 2 and clean, then shoot 3 and clean all the way up to shooting 10 and clean.

By then I have the gun zeroed, and have an idea of what loads it likes or dilikes.

Before I write any of this, I'll be careful to put on my Nomex suit!! <GG>



I think that the nicest thing that can be said about barrel break-in is that it is a CROCK...a scam...a time/barrel/bullet wasting fad foisted off on the shooting community.



My normal barrel break-in procedure is to go to the range and sight in my gun. Then I try whatever different loads in it that I've had time to assemble. At the end of the day I go home, do a quick clean out of powder fouling with solvent, patch the barrel dry, shoot it up with Wipe Out, and leave it overnight. Run a clean patch through in the morning, and stick it in the vault.



Repeat as desired. (I usually spend at least 70 days a year at the range).



I have tried the recommended bore break-in procedures, and have found NO advantages to them in ANY of my rifles.



I'm sure everyone else has had different experiences and may hold totally opposed conclusions, but those are mine.



And yes, I have shot LOTS of competition, both High-Power and Benchrest, successfully, as well as both varmint and big-game hunting.



I DO agree barrel break-in won't HURT a barrel if you don't overdo it, but I've got too much shooting left to do in this lifetime to waste my time eternally cleaning barrels.



Best wishes, y'all. Hope this didn't raise anyone's pulse rate too severely. <GG again>



Alberta Canuck

I'm in Canuck's camp here. I've owned a lot of new rifles and have never followed any special "break in" procedures. I've only owned one rifle that wouldn't shoot groups small enough for me so I got rid of it. To each his own, but I won't waste my time "breaking in" a barrel.