Rifle Barrel Break-In??

[jshuberg]

How exactly? By cleaning more frequently for the first two to three dozen rounds fired? I understand that many people think a break in procedure is unnecessary, but how exactly would it significantly reduce barrel life?

[JJ]

How exactly? By cleaning more frequently for the first two to three dozen rounds fired? I understand that many people think a break in procedure is unnecessary, but how exactly would it significantly reduce barrel life?

Because most of the people asking this question, are using sh!tty sectioned cleaning rods, scrubbing the sh!t out of the bore, dragging a brush full of crud across the crown. In addition, some of these break in procedures reccomend shoot/clean hundreds of rounds before break in is complete.

In general most folks over clean their bores anyway. A little copper fouling is not in and of itself bad on most barrels. Often times a barrel will shoot better with some fouling. I don't feel like digging it up, but have read some compelling articles about comp shooters actually finding their barrels shoot better after a couple hundred rounds of fouling. And it was contrary to their personal beliefs.

[jshuberg]

Gotcha. That makes sense.

[goalie]

Last summer at the National Matches I got to shoot and talk with Steve Satern of Satren Machining. I asked him his recommendation on barrel break in.

He said, "Just shoot the #$&@ thing and it'll be broke in".

I have heard many a Distinguished rifleman state that a GOOD barrel doesn't need a "break-in" also.

I feel like I'm a pretty Distinguished Rifleman and I don't break in barrels.

I mean the kind of distinguished that comes from accumulating leg points......

[Rip Van Winkle]

I mean the kind of distinguished that comes from accumulating leg points......

Eric knows, he has his badge. With luck I'll earn mine this summer.

[Holland&Holland]

So what is the proper way to clean a barrel? I get that you need a single peice rod, I get that you want to go from the rear to not nick the crown, but beyond that if srubbing with a cloth patch what does that do? I have always heard single pass through but when using a slotted tip it is so tempting to scrub, how can cloth really do anything? And if it is the grim accumulating on the cloth how is that differnt than say a bore compond on the barrel? Or different than it being pushed down the barrel? You hear all the time not to over clean but then you also hear that people do not clean enough so what is clean and what is too clean and what is not clean enough? I am talking about barrels one is looking for accuracy out of here not your blaster AR or something. Also, I always wondered about cleaing semi-autos, say an M1 you want to use for matches, is the pull though what you need to invest in?

[xd ED]

So what is the proper way to clean a barrel? I get that you need a single peice rod, I get that you want to go from the rear to not nick the crown, but beyond that if srubbing with a cloth patch what does that do? I have always heard single pass through but when using a slotted tip it is so tempting to scrub, how can cloth really do anything? And if it is the grim accumulating on the cloth how is that differnt than say a bore compond on the barrel? Or different than it being pushed down the barrel? You hear all the time not to over clean but then you also hear that people do not clean enough so what is clean and what is too clean and what is not clean enough? I am talking about barrels one is looking for accuracy out of here not your blaster AR or something. Also, I always wondered about cleaing semi-autos, say an M1 you want to use for matches, is the pull though what you need to invest in?

I'll rely on( and look forward to) others for a more thorough answer to your question, but a big concern is the loosened soot- carbon. It is relatively large, irregularly shaped chunks, and abrasive to gun barrel metals. Pulling it back through the crown will eventually wear the crown.

[PowderBurn14]

I am seeing quite a bit of copper in this new barrel of mine. I have been trying to get most of it out but like others have said how much fouling is too much and how much cleaning is too much. I know the barrel is new and rough but cleaning for hours a day is getting old fast. Thanks everyone for all the info.

[JJ]

I don't know that there is any right answer myself. I personally treat each rifle i have differently, based on my experience.

In general: I clean with jag and patch only, Sweets 762 for copper, Hoppes#9 for powder. For cleaning on the range or in the field i use GunSlick foaming bore cleaner. I don't use JB paste or any other abrasive, or a brush unless I can really feel a build up that will not come free using solvent alone (even then I hesitate)

I had a Rem700 that had never would put out a clean patch. I could soak it for days on end and it still leached fouling every time I ran a patch thru it. And when I finally did get it (pretty) clean, it took a dozen or more rounds to settle in and give me any accuracy. It liked to be kept pretty dirty.

I have a couple rigs with barrels from various aftermarket makers (Douglas, Shilen), and they clean differently than my factory barreled rigs. Usually they take about a dozen patches a piece, and it only takes 2-3 shots and they settle in.

The biggest thing IMO is using a good rod, and when you push thru the bore, make sure and either pull the jag/brush off rather than drag it over the crown, or very carefully hand feed it so it does not ding/hit the crown. The areas of the barrel that wear the quickest are the throat (obviously), and the last 1" of barrel. And in the case of the last 1" i firmly believe over cleaning is an issue. The ONLY way to measure this is to use a air gauge to look for variance.

[Erud]

[quote="goalie wrote:I have heard many a Distinguished rifleman state that a GOOD barrel doesn't need a "break-in" also.

I feel like I'm a pretty Distinguished Rifleman and I don't break in barrels.

I mean the kind of distinguished that comes from accumulating leg points......

Yeah, I knew what you meant. I am also that kind of distinguished.

[Rip Van Winkle]

I am seeing quite a bit of copper in this new barrel of mine. I have been trying to get most of it out but like others have said how much fouling is too much and how much cleaning is too much. I know the barrel is new and rough but cleaning for hours a day is getting old fast. Thanks everyone for all the info.

How does the rifle shoot? If the accuracy is good than I wouldn't worry about it. I've known more than one competitive rifleman who claimed their barrel was a "copper mine" but keep shooting it because it shot so well.

If accuracy is sub par or noticeably falls off as your shooting I'd probably get rid of the rifle or rebarrel it.

I'm of the opinion that more damage is done to an accurate barrel cleaning it than shooting it.

[goalie]

I mean the kind of distinguished that comes from accumulating leg points......

Eric knows, he has his badge. With luck I'll earn mine this summer.

The way he wrote it, I was thinking he was a smartass, not a hard-holding SOB.

[Erud]

I mean the kind of distinguished that comes from accumulating leg points......

Eric knows, he has his badge. With luck I'll earn mine this summer.

The way he wrote it, I was thinking he was a smartass, not a hard-holding SOB.

I'm both!

[UnaStamus]

Gale McMillan was very vocal about how barrel break-in was created and continues to be promoted as a way for companies and gunsmiths to increase sales by burning out barrels faster. Pretty profound statement, given the weight that McMillan has always had in the rifle world.

To add my own experience to the list, I am an LE agency armorer and last year I helped oversee selection and procurement of new weapons for a major metro SWAT team. Entry guns were simple as we went with 10.4" HK416s. The problem was selecting new sniper rifles because we were currently running a hodge-podge of various Remingtons. Most were shot-out because of overcleaning, since our snipers are anal about always shooting from a clean cold bore. So, I contacted several companies with the LE or MIL divisions and when I asked about whether we would need to break in the rifles, this is what they all said:

Remington (700P USR & XM3) : You don't need to break them in, but do whatever your SOP is. The only thing we recommend is to follow your SOP.

Accuracy International (AE MkIII): No need to break them in, because nothing you do will make them any more accurate. Obviously, do whatever your SOP says. If you tell us you need to break in your barrel, then I'll tell you to break in your barrel, but it's pointless.

FNH (SPR A5M DBM): No, we guarantee 1MOA or better out of the box. Besides, barrels are chrome-lined, and putting a couple dozen copper-coated bullets down the bore isn't going to do anything to chrome. But, do whatever your SOP is.

Drake Associates/PGM (Stalker Gen2): No, it won't do anything. But do whatever your SOP requires. -Chris Drake
(Anyone who knows who this is knows this carries a lot of weight)

LaRue Tactical (OBR 18"): There's no need, we guarantee accuracy right out of the box. Do whatever your SOP is, but it's not needed.

Knights Armament (SR-25 ECR & ER): No, need. We guarantee 1MOA or better out of the box, but most rifles will pull 1/2 MOA if you do your part. Barrels are chrome-lined, so it's not going to do anything anyways other than waste ammunition.

What I took away was that they only recommended a break-in procedure if you are mandated to do it by policy or procedure. I have yet to talk to a major sniper rifle supplier who says that a break-in is necessary. Maybe for benchrest shooting with those barrels, but for sub-MOA sniper applications, it was not necessary.
Food for thought...

[Holland&Holland]

So once again, how does cleaning wear out a barrel? I get crown damage from nicks of metal on metal but these barrels are having copper sent down them with fouling in the barrel (unless you clean after every shot) so how can a cloth patch that collects that same fouling do anything to it?