Breaking in a new rifle?

deadI · May 5, 2011

Just wondering what you experts out there suggest for breaking in a new barrel. I have been told that it takes about 100 rounds and to get to 100 I should take and for the first 5 shots clean the barrel after every shot. Then shoot 5 consecutive shots and clean it good. Then 10 consecutive shots and clean it. Then 20 till I get to 100 rounds.

I have also been told to take and use Moly coated bullets for at least those first 100 rounds.

What do you guys do?

DeadI/Jared

BuckSnort · May 5, 2011

Don't waste you're time and money.. Give it a good cleaning and just shoot it..

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beavis14 · May 6, 2011

sageadvice · May 6, 2011

Not sure of the exact process but my neighbor, the shootist, uses a JB polishing compound product to lap and polish his barrel and smooth out the action on a New firearm. He swears by the work he does on them and i can testify to the accuracy that he achieves and how buttery smooth his actions are.

Fairly time consuming, labor intensive process, definitely not JB weld!!

I've followed the included break-in directions on a couple barrels because just had too much invested to have one not want to shoot. It can be a PITA!

Joey

Boskee · May 6, 2011

LAST EDITED ON May-06-11 AT 10:48AM (MST)[p]Match grade barrels are hand lapped and have a smoother finish as a matter of course. Hammer forged barrels still have tooling marks in them and as such will tend to foul more until broken in. Many don't break in a barrel but many do and to be honest many of the top barrel makers recommend it. Lilja has a few pointers on his site and he advocates doing so. Many swear it can enhance your accuracy from a clean barrel for his reason.

I wouldn't use moly or firelapping on any new match grade barrel because one of the reasons you buy that tube is for the fit and finish inside that bore and altering or sanding it with a lapping compound it may be detrimental to your accuracy. Moly isn't the holy grail that some thought it could be and can actually be bad for new barrel in that the bullets don't come into contact with the lands and don't finish out the bore as completely. It's a matter of choice but knowing how critical top barrel makers are about their accuracy it must have some value since they think it has merit.

Barrel breakin certainly can't hurt anything and you do want your gun to shoot to it's potential.....so what's the harm. A smoother bore fouls less and is much less prone to copper fouling which definately can be detrimental to accuracy.

trophyhunter · May 6, 2011

If you have the time and money shoot it...but it's more in the mind than a necessity as well as practice.. good for the shooter more than a break-in for a rifle barrel. Sure it's not stated that there is a needed break-in by the mfg. As stated it doesn't hurt but does it really help? Never heard of needing to break in a rifle barrel..

I have heard of "needing to break in the wife"... to let one go shoot that rifle...

)))).......>

REDDOG · May 6, 2011

LAST EDITED ON May-06-11 AT 01:06PM (MST)[p]The hardest thing on a new bbl is the owner and his cleaning rod. When buying used rifles, I'll pick the "abused" never cleaned one over the "always cleaned" one, 9 outta 10 times.

Just sayin.

Timberbuck · May 6, 2011

Just shoot it no more than 15-20 rounds per session then clean to bare metal. After 3 or 4 shooting sessions it will be broke in.

Boskee · May 6, 2011

I think there have been far fewer barrels ruined from a cleaning rod than heat and throat erosion, especially given todays coated rods, bore guides and boresnake type products. I fully agree that the hardest thing on any gun is the owner but one that cares for his weapon usually doesn't abuse it.

deadI · May 6, 2011

Is there a bore guide that you guys like the best for cleaning.

Thanks for the replys.

DeadI/Jared

Boskee · May 6, 2011

I think any bore guide that stays in place and won't allow solvents into your trigger group should work fine. Mine are 25++ years old and are action length specific. Midway or any good gunshop probably has some nice ones and some have a solvent port in them that's kind of nice. If you're going to buy a rod a plastic coated one piece is good insurance to prevent what Reddog noted. The bore guide eliminates most issues with that problem.

TheGreatWhiteHunter · May 7, 2011

This is the newest one I have been using it is kinda bulky but works well.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=685691

THE LORD IS MY ROCK
Colorado, U.S.A
NRA LIFE MEMBER
www.ElkHunterSports.com

rcutchen · May 9, 2011

What do you guys think of the Tubbs Final Finish product?
I have used it on my 280 Rem and on my AR. I thought it helped.
I actually got a new Tikka 243 this weekend so the contents of this post have been on my mind.
I was considering the Tubbs Final Finish, but was also wondering about just going and shooting it.

Boskee · May 11, 2011

Tikka's have pretty good barrels on them to start so I'd just shoot it. If you have an older gun that's not too accurate and won't shoot when fouled and you've shot quite a few different loads thru it then maybe I'd try the Tubbs final finish but using it may/ may not make your accuracy worse and could void your warranty. I certainly don't think Tubbs uses it on his match grade Schneider hand lapped barrels out of the chute. Gary probably wouldn't sell him a barrel if he did since his reputation is built on the quality of the barrels he makes.

When a gun loses accuracy or is a mass produced weapon it has worked on some problematic guns. See what you have first, but if the manufacturer can see that it's been used with a bore scope you most likely just voided your warranty. They know exactly what that bore should look like and it's very easy to tell if somebody's been running any type of abrasive lapping compound thru that bore altering their dimensions and removing their tooling marks and altering their barrel lands. There's no harm on an older gun because you're out of warranty and probably would just rebarrel it anyway. It's your gun and your choice but come warranty time most manufacturers are going to refuse to rebarrel it for you on their dime and how can you blame them.

littlejoe · May 26, 2011

Long distance shooting expert friend of mine never cleans the barrel unless he gets mud or debris in it. He has shot hundreds of round through his Weatherby and says it shoots perfect and not do mess with it. So I have not cleaned my RUM for a while and following his advice. Shoots the same everytime. He said if I did clean it to take it out and shoot it at least 10 times before taking it on a hunting trip. Get the oil, etc. burned out of it. Just his opinion.