Break-in...?

[rikkor]

I just put on lay-away until next week a Henry .44 Magnum "Big Boy." Do any of you guys have a recommended break-in procedure, or is none necessary? I appreciate any help you have to offer.

[rugersol]

I 'spose it's typically a good idea to run a few patches of solvent ... as there's typically some light "preservative" kinda oil in the bore.

A .44 levergun? ... I say jest shoot the piss out of it!

If there's anything more, it should be in the owner's manual ... typically downloadable from the manufacturer's website.

[macphisto]

+1 to shooting it in jest.

[gyrfalcon]

It's up to you, but don't damage the crown when cleaning it....that'll reduce any accuracy it has pretty damn quick. I generally bronze brush with Hoppes 9 and run a damp patch coated with Miltec oil down the barrel when I'm checking out/inspecting a new rifle or handgun I just bought.

[mmcnx2]

I'd just do a good cleaning before shooting it. The potential of metal residue is the big risk. If it were a extreme accuracy piece there is a bunch of different views on barrel break in. Go with what the manufacturer suggests.

[1911fan]

even with a plinker, shoot one, clean one, just a patch to swab it out, shoot a few more, swab again, then shoot ten clean, etc. the big idea is to keep the barrel from ever being shot with any crud in the barrel.

[usnret]

I 'spose it's typically a good idea to run a few patches of solvent ... as there's typically some light "preservative" kinda oil in the bore.

A .44 levergun? ... I say jest shoot the piss out of it!

If there's anything more, it should be in the owner's manual ... typically downloadable from the manufacturer's website.

+1

[rikkor]

The response from Henry was that no break-in was required, just shoot it. I did run a couple of patches through it before I shot it. What a nice rifle!

[farmerj]

my understanding all guns are test fired prior to leaving a factory. Would this not clear any material from the barrel?

[UnaStamus]

There's a lot of controversy regarding barrel break-in for precision rifles. For a .44 Mag, I really don't see it being necessary, as it's not a precision rifle. You're talking about a brush rifle that doesn't need or produce sub-MOA accuracy. Seems like a barrel break-in is just wasted time and effort, especially when you consider that barrel break-ins on many precision rifles are not even necessary. Just my $0.02.

Breaking in the action is a different matter altogether, though. That's not a bad idea.

[gyrfalcon]

my understanding all guns are test fired prior to leaving a factory. Would this not clear any material from the barrel?

Not all guns are test fired anymore because of the cost in doing so. Even if they are fired removing some fowling that has built up on a burr or other imperfection from the reaming of the barrel could help the barrel wear more evenly as more rounds are fired. While probably not a great analogy, if you think of sanding with wet sandpaper the water helps remove the build up of materials in the paper in one place so you can get a finer finish. On the other hand if you're over cleaning that causes undue wear as well.

[craig61a]

I just put on lay-away until next week a Henry .44 Magnum "Big Boy." Do any of you guys have a recommended break-in procedure, or is none necessary? I appreciate any help you have to offer.

The whole point of breaking in a barrel is to smooth over any machine marks left in the barrel in order to improve/maintain accuracy. Once the barrel has been broken in, cleaning will be much easier to accomplish, as the metal surfaces will not have as many rough spots to hold the fouling (metal/carbon). The standard procedure is to fire one shot and then clean to bare metal, fire once more and repeat 10x. then do the same firing two shots and cleaning in between 10x, three shots 10x, then give it good through cleaning. It is time consuming, but accomplishing this procedure will allow the rifle to shoot more accurately and maintain accuracy longer in between cleanings. Some people like to use Tubb bullets to speed up the process. I have used them and they do what they are supposed to. Another way to go about it is to use bore paste and firelap, but generally if you just follow the procedure I outlined above it will be sufficient.

Good Luck!

[UnaStamus]

[gyrfalcon]

Heh... Noveske, because when I think of accuracy I think of 100 yard shots. Anyhow, if you fired a .300WM that fast you're sure to degrade and wreck the barrel as far as accuracy is concerned <<end of story>>...and your shoulder <<another story>>.

[farmerj]

guess I'll continue to drink a different cool-aid, take a blue pill or however you want to describe it.

Your lucky to get me to clean my rifles before I see a fall off in accuracy. And that ain't every trip to the range. Hell, my pistols have gone as long as 4500 rounds between cleanings.