just go out and shoot it as-is in order to break it in?

Clean, lube, then follow a break in process, depending on whether your bore is chromelined.  If it is, just shoot away!

Always... ALWAYS a good idea to clean AND lube BEFORE firing a new weapon.

Better safe than sorry.

Congrats on your new toy, have fun!

-Covert

P.S. I just picked up my brand new Bushmaster about 20 minutes ago :-D

Yes you should give it a good cleaning before using it for the first time.  Pay special attention to the barrel, bolt and bolt carrier, they should be clean with no excessive oil or grease.  Give the bolt a shot or two of CLP and go have fun.  What did you get?

Gotta chime in here (since I'm anal about the subject)

EVERYTIME I Buy a  firearm - NEW or USED - the First thing I do is
Field strip and INSPECT!

You didnt say what MFG your AR is - and you know what? IT DOESNT MATTER .
Every Factory lets out defective - non functional products sometimes , and
substandard examples which still function are not as rare as one would think.

Look at all the internal parts of your AR while stripped, (good idea to refer to the manual) check for-
burrs/rough edges
lack of finish
pits /cracks or voids
Make sure you HAVE all the parts
Reassemble and check the function of all controls (unloaded weapon of course)

Pay special attention to the chamber and bore (run a dry patch thru )

NOW you can clean and lube.

When you take it out for the test fire - use good quality ammo - load  1 round at a time
and make sure the rifle functions correctly.

If ALL is good - Load up and Blast away.

Quoted: Gotta chime in here (since I'm anal about the subject) EVERYTIME I Buy a  firearm - NEW or USED - the First thing I do is Field strip and INSPECT! You didnt say what MFG your AR is - and you know what? IT DOESNT MATTER . Every Factory lets out defective - non functional products sometimes , and substandard examples which still function are not as rare as one would think. Look at all the internal parts of your AR while stripped, (good idea to refer to the manual) check for- burrs/rough edges lack of finish pits /cracks or voids Make sure you HAVE all the parts Reassemble and check the function of all controls (unloaded weapon of course) Pay special attention to the chamber and bore (run a dry patch thru ) NOW you can clean and lube. When you take it out for the test fire - use good quality ammo - load  1 round at a time and make sure the rifle functions correctly. If ALL is good - Load up and Blast away.

Yes you are anal  and you are also 100% correct!  Good post.

There is no excuse for not doing at least a quick clean and lube before shooting.  I consider inspecting the weapon part of cleaning.

The first thing you should do is read the instruction/owners manual that came with it.

+ 1 on reading the book

Quoted: There is no excuse for not doing at least a quick clean and lube before shooting.  I consider inspecting the weapon part of cleaning.

plus 1

Take the time to clean