Tried this on the other forum and didn't get much for reply.

Whats your take/opinion/advice on breaking in a barrel?

I've heard ever thing from "Do Nothing" to "Three Shots and clean/repeat" etc..

Lets hear it....

Shoot the gun like you normally would.

Breaking in a barrel is a waste of both barrel and ammo.

What kind of barrel?


Chromelined?   Shoot 300 rounds, clean.


non lined?   Various methods - most involve shoot 10, clean, shoot 10, etc...

stainless steel?


prelapped?

I asked JD Jones about this when I orderd a custom 300 Whisper barrel from him for my TC Contender.

I will try a and remember his exact response:

"alot of people recommned long and drawn out procedures for breaking in a barrel, I don't, I just shoot the hell out of 'em"

More info here...

yarchive.net/gun/barrel/break_in.html

"alot of people recommned long and drawn out procedures for breaking in a barrel, I don't, I just shoot the hell out of 'em"

This is pretty much my method. I clean/inspect firearm/BBL when I first get it, then go shoot it. After shooting I clean gun again...

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

from savagearms web site:

FAQs: Barrel Break-In Procedure

Q. What is the barrel break-in procedure?

A. Although there may be different schools of thought on barrel break-in, this is what Precision Shooting Magazine recommends:

STEP 1 (repeated 10 times)

   * Fire one round
   * Push wet patches soaked with a powder solvent through the bore
   * Push a brush through the bore (5 times in each direction)
   * Push dry patches through the bore (2 times)
   * Push wet patches soaked with a copper solvent through the bore
   * Push a brush through the bore (5 times in each direction)
   * Push dry patches through the bore (2 times)
   * Push a patch with 2 drops of oil through the bore

STEP 2 (repeated 5 times)

   * Fire a 3 shot group
   * Repeat the cleaning procedure from STEP 1 after each group

STEP 3 (repeat 5 times)

   * Fire a 5 shot group
   * Repeat the cleaning procedure from STEP 1

They recommend the use of a patch with 2 drops of oil after the cleaning so that you are not shooting with a dry bore. It is also advisable to use a powder solvent and copper solvent from the same manufacturer to be sure they are chemically compatible.



ive done this with my Savage, 2 ar's, my m1a.  or anything new.  ak, sks stuff like that doesn't need it

I used the Tubb coated bullets for breaking in my stainless match AR-15 barrel.

Barrels don't wear out due to bullets, they wear out due to erosion. By using a system like Tubb's, you wear the barrel in quickly, and you also use reduced loads that minimize erosion.

Any time you machine steel, there will be some surface roughness. The goal its to "sand down" that roughness. That might improve accuracy, but even more so it will reduce fouling. Reduced fouling means reduced cleaning, and it is easy to harm a barrel during cleaning.

www.winchesterguns.com/services/faq/detail.asp?ID=28

For the first ten shots we recommend, if possible, using jacketed bullets with a nitro powder load. After firing each bullet, use a good copper cleaner (one that has ammonia) to remove copper fouling in the barrel. We do NOT recommend anything with an abrasive in it since you are trying to seal the barrel, not keep it agitated. If you look into the end of the barrel after firing a shot, you will see a light copper-colored wash in the barrel. This must be removed before firing the next shot. Somewhere in the procedure at around shot 6 or 7, it will be obvious that the copper color is no longer appearing in the barrel. Continue applications through shot 10. If you have any ammunition left, you then may shoot two rounds and clean it for the next ten shots. This is simply insurance that the burnishing process has been completed. In theory what you have just accomplished is the closing of the pores of the barrel metal which have been opened and exposed through the cutting and lapping procedures. The same process may be used with firing lead bullets and black powder to do the break-in procedure with the exception that in this case you should shoot 2 bullets before cleaning for the first 30 rounds. You could use harder lead if available. This will accelerate the break-in. This will accomplish the same thing as the jacketed bullets. After following the procedure, your barrel's interior surface will be sealed and should shoot cleaner and develop less fouling for the rest of its shooting life.

Quoted: Good Lord Almighty, where'd all this stupid barrel "voodoo" come from? Shoot it. Clean it if it gets nasty, or if your accuracty decreases. Why people do the "scrub/scrub/scrub, copper solvent, brush, patch, bore paste, dance in a circle, pray for rain" bit, I'll never know.

From people that sell replacement barrels.

All these guys actually represent barrel manufacturers, and are trying to get you to break your gun...DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM!
You should really send them all to me along with at least 10,000 rnds so I can do it for you the right way. You have been warned!

Good Lord Almighty, where'd all this stupid barrel "voodoo" come from?

Not every barrel is handlapped, so it is common sense that tool marks can cause irregularities.

Shoot it. Clean it if it gets nasty, or if your accuracty decreases.

If there are irregularities, additional fouling can build up, and be very hard to remove. This can lead to lots of additional cleaning, leading to barrel damage. Or simply less accuracy.

Why people do the "scrub/scrub/scrub, copper solvent, brush, patch, bore paste, dance in a circle, pray for rain" bit, I'll never know.

From people that sell replacement barrels.

Why would a barrel manufacturer recommend something that reduces the life of his barrel? Krieger barrels are often chosen since they retain their accuracy longer--it's a selling point. Barrel manufactuers are not going to recommend something that reduces the usefull life of their barrel.

I've never "broken in" a barrel - match barrel or not - and I doubt I ever will.

Quoted: 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

Excellent advice, Mr. McMillan.

Too bad that many will not listen to you.