Objective research on the barrel break in fad

[LittleLebowski]

Link to full thread at Sniper's Hide

Before we begin take a step back and be objective. Ask yourself what you are trying to really accomplish by breaking in your barrel. What issues and/or problems inside the barrel need to be corrected or fixed? Now I do recommend cleaning your rifle after you purchase it to clean out all of the junk, oils and grease from the factory before shooting it, but also realize...

• The vast majority (99%) of shooters don’t own or have access to a quality bore scope to view the interior surface of their barrels.
• Without a bore scope to view the interior surface of your barrel what exactly are you trying to fix by a shoot and clean process?
• If there are burrs or machine marks from the machining process are they in the chamber, throat or barrel where are they located?
• Do the machine marks run parallel or perpendicular to the barrel finish?
• If there are high points and low points inside the barrel again where are they located?
• Does shooting and cleaning between rounds correct/fix all barrel imperfections if they exist? If yes how?
• Do you think cleaning between rounds is going to change the molecular structure of the steel or condition it in some fashion? If so, I’m/we’re all ears
• Without a bore scope again you have no idea what the actual condition of the interior barrel surface
• So far if you don’t have honest solid answers to these first few questions and you’ve been performing a barrel break-in process you’re working off a SWAG (scientific wild *** guess)
• Even if you have a bore scope can you truly identify a change in burrs or machine marks from a before or after cleaning. If so please provide detailed photograph’s

Couple more questions while I still have your attention.

• Pushing a cotton patch with solvent or a bronze brush down the barrel will do what to remove a 416 stainless steel or chromemoly metal burr or machine marks?
• Last time I checked, 416 SS or CM is much harder than a cotton patch or bronze brush and is most likely impenetrable by most bore solvents.
• Yes it will remove copper fouling caught by the metal burr, but how will it remove the metal burr?
• How many shots will it take to remove the burr or imperfection and how will you know when the barrel issues have been corrected? Is it always x-amount of shots?

[Kyle Reese]

I just shot my carbines upon taking delivery, w/o any break in procedure or ritual.


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[SLG]

Being a modern sort of a guy, I have never broken in a precision rifle barrel. My worst shooting barrel will do better than .5" groups. My best will do in the .10's. I mostly don't clean them at all. After several hundred rds (varies from barrel to barrel, but is between 350 and 800) my accuracy will drop off. I then clean the copper out of it and start over. After 3-14 rds, the accuracy is right back where it should be. The custom tubes come back with fewer shots, the factory ones with more. None have ever gone over 14.

No fuss, no muss.

[GJM]

Some guys spending more time cleaning one new barrel in the break in process, than I do cleaning ALL my guns in a year. Ain't happening here.

My cleaning program is more or less:

1) carbines basically get just lube

2) my handguns get lube, a bore snake and some toothbrush work

3) my hunting rifles get cleaned when they fall into the lake.

[Chuck Haggard]

Vvut is dis "cleaning" you speak of?.................

[SLG]

Vvut is dis "cleaning" you speak of?.................

I never heard of cleaning till the 'net, and I think it is made up.

[EVP]

I remember reading somewhere that the guys at Rifles Only don't believe in barrel break in. I have heard people say that they only clean when accuracy starts to be effected. Then they clean and then after several rounds when the barrel gets fouled they are back to the normal accuracy. Pretty much the exact same things SLG said.


I have heard of people even breaking in mil-spec barrels with the long drawn out processes. But some people are set in there ways.

[LittleLebowski]

I remember reading somewhere that the guys at Rifles Only don't believe in barrel break in. I have heard people say that they only clean when accuracy starts to be effected. Then they clean and then after several rounds when the barrel gets fouled they are back to the normal accuracy. Pretty much the exact same things SLG said.


I have heard of people even breaking in mil-spec barrels with the long drawn out processes. But some people are set in there ways.

Frank Galli posted that he did all of the break-in BS and cleaning on one Sako TRG and ignored an identical rifle. The rifles shot exactly the same at 15k rounds.

[Ptrlcop]

I would guess that more precision guns have been ruined by cleaning than have been shot out by a factor of 100 to 1

My work gun is a JP that wants to be cleaned between 400-450 like clockwork, but I think it has more to do with the carbon build up on the crown caused by the break.

[Unobtanium]

I have read in some old literature (circa 1960's) about break-in, and observed the author's groups shrink by a notable margin (10-shot 100 yard groups) during the process he documented it.

Most of the issue correctable by break-in is where the throat joins the rifling, and the associated machine-marks from chambers cut after the barrel is rifled.

This can leave markings which can cause an increase in group size.

Also, I have read that imperfections in the bore which grab copper, once worn down, will grab less copper, and a properly broken in barrel will foul less. To this end, you shot, clean the copper which is now "buffering" the imperfection from other passing bullets, and shoot again, clean, etc. and the imperfection, if small enough, is smoothed out to some extent or another.

Again, that said, if you simply buy a quality barrel, there is nothing to notably break in, and if you buy a barrel crappy enough to need this, you likely ought to stop expecting so much out of it.This is also why I strongly prefer CHF barrels. I do indeed note that they shoot MUCH cleaner. Using foaming bore cleaner on non-CHF AR barrels, I get a ton of "blue" out of them. WIth a CHF barrel, the bore cleaner leaks out clear with a bit of gray from carbon. Notable difference.

Just my .02, worth what you paid.