New gun breakin

19 February 2012, 18:39

Snellstrom

Tailgunner that video is always funny no matter how many times I watch it.

Seriously though to answer your question you will get a hundred different answers to the question of how to break in your rifle.
One common method is to shoot it 3 times and clean it and do that for 30 rounds then go up to 10 rounds between cleanings for 50 rounds then on to your normal regimen.
Some will say it doesn't matter so do what sounds best to you.
Most important is to keep it cool as Westpac says.
The last couple Pac Nor barrels I've had installed I broke in using the above method but I must admit that there was nothing to clean and both barrels shot tiny groups from the very beginning.(243 Win and 257 Roberts). I think the shoot 3 and clean method is great because it keeps you from overheating your barrel.

19 February 2012, 21:18

jeffeosso

other than keeping it cool, snake oil ..

treat the gun EXACTLY how you expect to treat it .. if you shoot 5 and clean it, then do that...

if you plan on shooting 50 and then clean it... well, stop after the first 20 and clean it, then go ahead on.

fastest way to ruin a barrel is to shoot 50 in 10 minutes and then keep shooting.. the steel would be smoking hot .. and the hotter it is, the softer it becomes.

19 February 2012, 21:19

kcstott

I've read many a barrel makers advice on barrel break in. I think Gale McMillian's version is a little over board. But for the most part a true assessment.
Krieger's opinion is just about the best advice you can get. As the truth is you are not breaking in the bore but the throat.

Shoot the rifle, Cleaning after every shot until the copper fouling drops off. Call it good.
And a good barrel will only require a few shots to do so.
That said, Some believe in a ritual practice of a given number of shoot and clean cycles that must be strictly adhered to. I say let the barrel tell you when the throat is smoothed out.

And really all you are doing by cleaning after each shot is keeping the fouling to a reasonable level. You could just blow through a box of ammo so long as you keep the barrel cool. Cleaning will be a bit more difficult but on all but the highest of bench rest grade barrels with top shooters behind the rifle You will in most cases not know the difference. There are far to many other variables both controllable and uncontrollable that will influence your rifles top accuracy

19 February 2012, 23:23

tin can

This is why I buy "pre-owned"...

20 February 2012, 01:41

Alberta Canuck

My break-in practices vary a bit as to the number of rounds fired, but all follow the same "rules" I set for myself some years ago.

I take any new gun (most years that is from 4-12, some rare years double that) to the range with maybe 10 to 20 rounds of ammo and sight it in. Then I take it home and clean it.

The next few weekends I will take one or two other loads with me for it, and try a few 5 shot groups of each to see how those loads do. I almost always take at least 4 rifles to the range for a day of shooting, so I trade them off during the day, and don't shoot more than one round every couple of minutes from any of them. Anyway, I see to it they don't get hot, or even very warm.

I clean at the end of each shooting day, just like I would on a hunting trip or at a rifle match.

After two or three weekends I will pick which load(s) I want to be my regular one(s) for that particular rifle.

Then I will start using it for whatever purpose I bought it for. It will break itself in during that use. And I will continue to clean it throughly at the end of each day's use, but no more often than that. I want to wear it out just by shooting it, not by chemically or frictionally abrading the bore to help the wear along.

20 February 2012, 20:06

larrys

I think it really depends on the barrel. If it is a good quality barrel from a reputable maker, chances are it has already been hand lapped. My Liljas come this way already, so they are good to go. If it is a factory barrel, I shoot 1 and clean for the first 5, then go to shoot 2 for 10, then call it good. The purpose for me is to make cleaning easier. I only found one rifle where it made a difference in accuracy and that one was huge. It was a Model 70 CRF in 6.5x55. Breakin cut groups in half, but that is the only rifle where it made a difference. I suspect the same thing would have happened over time anyway.

21 February 2012, 01:44

Alberta Canuck

quote:
Originally posted by larrys:
I think it really depends on the barrel. If it is a good quality barrel from a reputable maker, chances are it has already been hand lapped. My Liljas come this way already, so they are good to go. If it is a factory barrel, I shoot 1 and clean for the first 5, then go to shoot 2 for 10, then call it good. The purpose for me is to make cleaning easier. I only found one rifle where it made a difference in accuracy and that one was huge. It was a Model 70 CRF in 6.5x55. Breakin cut groups in half, but that is the only rifle where it made a difference. I suspect the same thing would have happened over time anyway.

And I think you ARE CORRECT.

Some barrels definitely take longer than others to break in, so for them a concntrated break-in effort CAN be worth the trouble. I just have enough very excellent shooting rifles I don't hardly ever bother.

I HAVE had a couple which acted as if they would never "break-in", so after several months with them I fire-lapped them. That worked just fine and they went from consistently awful to at least consistently satisfactory.

24 February 2012, 14:50

john c.

quote:
Originally posted by Alberta Canuck:
My break-in practices vary a bit as to the number of rounds fired, but all follow the same "rules" I set for myself some years ago.

I take any new gun (most years that is from 4-12, some rare years double that) to the range with maybe 10 to 20 rounds of ammo and sight it in. Then I take it home and clean it.

The next few weekends I will take one or two other loads with me for it, and try a few 5 shot groups of each to see how those loads do. I almost always take at least 4 rifles to the range for a day of shooting, so I trade them off during the day, and don't shoot more than one round every couple of minutes from any of them. Anyway, I see to it they don't get hot, or even very warm.

I clean at the end of each shooting day, just like I would on a hunting trip or at a rifle match.

After two or three weekends I will pick which load(s) I want to be my regular one(s) for that particular rifle.

Then I will start using it for whatever purpose I bought it for. It will break itself in during that use. And I will continue to clean it throughly at the end of each day's use, but no more often than that. I want to wear it out just by shooting it, not by chemically or frictionally abrading the bore to help the wear along.

you seriously acquire up to 12 rifles a year? I'M AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
i'm jealous, but good for you. however you can do it i'm sure you earned it.

24 February 2012, 16:15

Rusty

And get a good bore guide and nylon bristle brushes. Bore Tech brand is good.

Rusty
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24 February 2012, 20:25

p dog shooter

I have never quote broken a barrel in I shoot them then clean them then shoot them some more.

Some times a few rounds some times hundred of rounds between cleaning

25 February 2012, 00:42

Alberta Canuck

quote:
Originally posted by john c.:
[QUOTE]

you seriously acquire up to 12 rifles a year? I'M AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
i'm jealous, but good for you. however you can do it i'm sure you earned it.

I don't know that I've earned that right, but I AM frugal (cheap!) with pretty much everything else in my life.

My wife and I go out to dinner at least 3 or 4 times a year most years, some years not that often. Her car is 14 years old (her choice), mine is 8 years old. We bought pretty much all new furniture last year after we moved here, but our furniture before then ranged from 21 years old to 140 years old (inherited). Our current TVs are 7 years old, but our previous ones were from the 1960s. My computer, up until today when the new one arrived 8 minutes ago, was 14 years old. We went to a movie most recently in 1994. And so on.

We tend not to be "throw away" consumers.

My rifles almost always end up being worth more than I paid for them if and when I sell any.

27 February 2012, 06:06

p dog shooter

quote:
Originally posted by Alberta Canuck:
quote:
Originally posted by john c.:
[QUOTE]

you seriously acquire up to 12 rifles a year? I'M AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
i'm jealous, but good for you. however you can do it i'm sure you earned it.

I don't know that I've earned that right, but I AM frugal (cheap!) with pretty much everything else in my life.

My wife and I go out to dinner at least 3 or 4 times a year most years, some years not that often. Her car is 14 years old (her choice), mine is 8 years old. We bought pretty much all new furniture last year after we moved here, but our furniture before then ranged from 21 years old to 140 years old (inherited). Our current TVs are 7 years old, but our previous ones were from the 1960s. My computer, up until today when the new one arrived 8 minutes ago, was 14 years old. We went to a movie most recently in 1994. And so on.

We tend not to be "throw away" consumers.

My rifles almost always end up being worth more than I paid for them if and when I sell any.

You sound a lot like me.

27 February 2012, 09:09

john c.

my truck is a 2003 and it will be the last one i buy. i don't think you are cheap, i think you just appreciate what you have. i grew up w/the "eat it or wear it" philosophy in our house. all of my very limited disposable income is spent on woodworking tools or gun stuff. but i'm still jealous of ur gun acquisitions. guess i'll have to settle for being good looking instead of rich. or smart.

29 February 2012, 05:28

farbedo

Hmmmm. All of my extra cash ends up in a hunting trip fund that my wife skims off of for girl trips to sunny, sandy locations. Otherwise, we wear it till it has holes, and drive it until it can no longer be rebuilt.

As to the barrel cleaning part of this thread, there is a good info here: http://www.6mmbr.com/barrels.html. The debate on brushing or no brushing is interesting.

As others have noted, keep it cool, and it will last a lot longer. If you can't touch the barrel, you have gone toooooooo far.

Jeremy