What is the best / correct way to break in a new barrel before working up a load for the gun? I've been told anywhere from 10 to 50 shots. Maybe there is no absolute correct way. I don't know and that's why I asked.

There are two schools of thought on this.

1. Shoot one then clean, repeat 5 times. Then shoot 3 or 5 then clean, repeat until twenty rounds have been shot. These amounts vary by who tells you how to do it.

2. Go to the range shoot a bunch then go home and clean. Repeat as often as you like.

I have found no difference in 40 years of shooting. So I have gone with #2.

Until you understand what you are breaking in, you will never know the answer.

It depends on the barrel as Butch alluded to. If it is a good quality higher end barrel, it is most probably lapped at the maker's shop. In that case no break in is necessary. In a factory barrel, I have done it one shot and clean for the first 10 then 2 and clean for 20 and then moved to just shooting it. It did seem to help with the cleaning, but I only had one barrel where the accuracy was effected. Luckily it was for the better.

The second school TJAY mentioned is all that is necessary for most factory barrels I have found. As one old timer here said once, 100 rounds is 100 rounds whether it is one at a time or 5 at a time.

I've been doing the shoot 1 then clean for the first 10 shots, then move up to shoot 3 then clean until 50 rounds total are finished.

This is what was suggested to me by Kevin Weaver.

I'm lazy

I probably do it wrong

I go sight the rifle in.
then I take it to the range again and check at different distances.
then I might remember to clean it.
if it loses accuracy I remember and clean the barrel.
I dunno how much lube I gotta build up before the barrel is broken.
but airc 100-k rounds usually makes a dent in the rifling.

I confess . . . I'm a barrel abuser . . .

1) I seldom clean.

2) I once left a Gary Schneider SS 6mm Rem barrel full of Sweets 7.62 for several hours. Result: I now have to settle for 0.5 inch groups. Which is better than I can normally shoot, and which is no worse than what I normally did before I transgressed.

3) I would recommend following the directions for using Sweets 7.62 provide by the manufacturer.

4) I beg forgiveness for my transgressions (I'm so sorry, Gary).

breaking in barrels is just a matter of barrel wear, shoot one 200 times and its broke in..

I used all the standard methods, and none of them, I never could see a bit of difference..

I suppose if one was a world class bench rest shooter its better to be safe than sorry..

But for a hunter its just a bunch of garbage IMO...Shoot it and clean it now and then, all mine shoot and inch and under..I am sort of an accuracy freak for whatever reason, not sure that makes much difference from a hunters stand point..

Besides there never has been an animal killed with a clean barrel..

I have done it on factory hammer forged barrels, no difference noted.
I have lapped factory hammer forged barrels, accuracy DID NOT change, but the amount of rounds fired before groups opened increased by 1.5 times.
All of my replacement barrels get hand lapped, whether it's done first by the maker or not. A few passes tells you if it was done correctly or not by the maker.
I don't bother, to be perfectly honest.

Cheers.

as far as I'm concerned, "barrel break in" is a myth. Go shoot it

I have however found that in some barrels the best accuracy don't show up until a hundred or so rounds are fired from the barrel.....

It usually takes that long to find the best load for many barrels so just start the load developement at the outset.

If you have a lapped custom barrel, the only thing that needs done is removing the "fluff". from chambering. If you will get a quality bronze cleaning brush and wrap 0000 steel wool around it. Put it in your trusty electric hand drill and lap the leade-throat for about 10 seconds. This is where your reamer burrs happen to be.
Try it next time.

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
as far as I'm concerned, "barrel break in" is a myth. Go shoot it

I have however found that in some barrels the best accuracy don't show up until a hundred or so rounds are fired from the barrel.....

It usually takes that long to find the best load for many barrels so just start the load developement at the outset.

Completely wrong. You must 1st make a blood sacrifice before the break-in begins. Chickens work really well for this. Fried if it's Chromoly and grilled for stainless. You can use a different animal though depending on your personal tastes. This is followed by a ritual 50yd walk which must take place at least twice and then the 100yd walk begins. This can be brutal or uplifting, You usually know after your 1st trip to the alter.

I usually throw in a voodoo cleaning brush and some sacrificial cleaning patches between shots. I don't know if it actually helps but it couldn't hurt anything either.

Two points:
1. barrels can't count. And they're not too good at keeping track of things.
2. Douglas barrels sez if you know how to make a barrel, you don't need to lap it. My experiences with Douglas barrels tend to prove this.
When I get a new barrel, factory or custom, I give it 500 strokes with a bore brush wrapped in a cleaning patch and soaked with JB paste. Then I go shot it. Avoiding over heating the barrel.

So, you're doing the lapping that Douglas didn't?

quote:

You must 1st make a blood sacrifice before the break-in begins. Chickens work really well for this.

would it be beneficial if the chicken was known to be a liberal?

I've tried shooting one shot and clean for 10 or 20 rounds then 3 shots and clean for a total of 50, I've also shot and cleaned sporadically.
I can't tell which method works the best.
I attached a video link that really covers the finer points of barrel break in, a must see....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...ture=player_embedded

quote:

Originally posted by butchlambert:
So, you're doing the lapping that Douglas didn't?

I guess. Or maybe the lapping that Remington didn't. One point however is I can do it at my leisure so when I do go to the range, I'm ready to shoot not dick around cleaning rifles. Another point, my first Douglas barrel was back when the 7-08 was still a wildcat. Using opened up .243 brass, a powder load I got over the phone from Hodgdon, and Hornady hunting bullets (without the JB treatment) the first 10 rounds through the tube went into 7/8". Thus started my love affair with the 7-08 and Douglas barrels.

Thankyou Snellstrom
Very enlightening video, and it clears up something that's puzzled me for years. One time when hunting high for Tahr in our Southern Alps I lost my balance on a steep face of loose rock. My Sako .270 tumbled down the hill a lot further than me, taking one hell of a beating. Horrible scratches on stock and barrel, dents in the scope. I thought the scope alignment would be a mile out and the barrel bent but to my surprise and delight about 2 hours later I nailed a bull Tahr exactly where I aimed from about 200 metres. Of course I didn't realise it then but now I understand that little accident on the hill was merely completing the barrel break in process and tuning the barrel harmonics to perfection, thus making possible my fine shot. Amazing what you learn here on AR.

In my callow youth I knew nothing of barrel break in procedure. I bought rifles and just started shooting them.

Now days I'm more enlightened, and since most of my rifles wear Shilen barrels, I follow their break in procedure as outlined on their website. But I can't honestly say that it's any better than to just start shooting in a normal manner.

Many moons ago, a friend and I purchased Rem 788's in 223 from JC Penny's (told you it was many moons ago). He was a break-in type, I was a 'clean the bore from the factory and shoot it' type.

Results, after he spent 50-75 rounds 'breaking' in his rifle, his rifle shot about a .75" 5 shot group with the last of his factory rounds.

My rifle shot .75" 5-shot group with the first 5 shots after sighting in.

The only rifle I have ever 'broken' in was my current 264 win mag. I broke it in with a box of hand loads a friend gave me. First 5 shot a 1" group. Second 5 I shot 3 shots, let it cool, then shot two more for a .6" group.

Conclusion, the barrel heats up after 2-3 rounds and is touching somewhere on the stock. Time to get the dowel and sandpaper out and clear the channel a bit.

Oh, wait, I forgot to add, no chickens were harmed in this endeavor.