I ordered by DPMS AP4 carbine last week from a dealer that had one in stock for $970, so I should be able to shoot it this week.  Is there a specific break in procedure I should follow when shooting it for the first time?  I plan to detail strip it and clean everything and reassemble before shooting.  Thanks for any help.

1.) Put bullets in it.

2.) Pull trigger till all the bullets are gone.

3.) Repeat steps 1 and 2.

If the Rifle is new, it will have paperwork with it that will tell you the recommended break-in procedure.
Good luck with your new weapon.

I recently tested the "break-in" theory on a couple of Pac-Nor super match 20 Tactical barrels.  One just had the dog shit hammed out of it from day one, and the other I broke in firing/cleaning/firing/cleaning and so on.  After several hundered rounds through each, I sat down and fired a bunch of groups.  Both guns averaged around 3/8" for five at 100 yards.  I could not tell the difference between them.

The AP4 is not a match barrel, just shoot the damned thing.  The only reason I see to "break in" a barrel is if you are using a match barrel, and I even question it then.

thanks, that's what I thought, but someone on here was talking about how the DPMS AP4 has a match barrel and not to feed it anything but quality factory .308, no NATO surplus.  I don't plan to baby it.

I thought you were talking about a 5.56 AP4.  I know my 6.8 AP4 barrel is sure not anything I would call a match barrel.  While the .308 AP4 is a heavy barrel cut to the M4 contour I would still be reluctant to call it a match barrel.  I “think” DPMS uses Wilson barrels on all their .308 rifles but I won't swear to it.  When I think of true match barrels I think of full bull barrels, no flash suppressor, and barrels that are air gauged and lapped for consistency.  I'm not sure if any DPMS barrels are air gauged true match quality barrels but one with a flash suppressor and cut to the M4 contour sure does not seem to me to be built with the utmost accuracy in mind.

yes, I'm getting some milage out of this scan, but it illustrates what my experience with DPMS barrels has been like.  4 shots of 168 gr Win Ballistic Silvertip at 100 yds.  My rifle is a 16", Vortex f/s, no M4 cuts....this barrel has over 2K rounds through it btw, mostly SA and Port surplus.

I scrub the copper out with Sweets 7.62 after 500 or so rounds, but it gets no special treatment.  I shoot until accuracy decreases, (usually about 100-200 rds) then I run a boresnake through it a few times.  All that 'shoot once, scrub, shoot twice, scrub' stuff is bunk.  All you end up doing is rounding off the sharp edges of the rifling, effectively shortening the life and accuracy of the barrel.    

Quoted: All that 'shoot once, scrub, shoot twice, scrub' stuff is bunk.  All you end up doing is rounding off the sharp edges of the rifling, effectively shortening the life and accuracy of the barrel.

And IMO THAT is exactly why some barrel makers push "breaking in" so much.  Funny how for the first 30 years of my firearm exposure I never heard a thing about breaking in barrels outside of the benchrest circuit.  When I think back about all those barrels I have ruined by not breaking them in properly and they "only" shot 1/2 MOA to MOA, why it makes me sick.  

Quoted: img.photobucket.com/albums/v478/GreenAmmo223/target.jpg yes, I'm getting some milage out of this scan, but it illustrates what my experience with DPMS barrels has been like.  4 shots of 168 gr Win Ballistic Silvertip at 100 yds.  My rifle is a 16", Vortex f/s, no M4 cuts....this barrel has over 2K rounds through it btw, mostly SA and Port surplus. I scrub the copper out with Sweets 7.62 after 500 or so rounds, but it gets no special treatment.  I shoot until accuracy decreases, (usually about 100-200 rds) then I run a boresnake through it a few times.  All that 'shoot once, scrub, shoot twice, scrub' stuff is bunk.  All you end up doing is rounding off the sharp edges of the rifling, effectively shortening the life and accuracy of the barrel.

So will your DPMS shoot South African 7.62 surplus reliably?  What other types of .308 have you tried in it?  Thanks for any info.

SA, Port, Aussie, Lake, Hirt, and a plethora of factory.  The chamber seemed a bit tight at first, but after a quick polishing (used Flitz) it eats anything I feed it.  It hasn't had a malfunction in over 1000 rds now.