poll: barrel break in

[threeperreaper]

[Calif Hunter]

I have never worried about it. I clean the new barrel and go shoot it. Maybe not the proper thing to do, but I have many sub-moa rifles - perhaps they'd be even better if I had followed some other procedure.

[Ramsh00ter]

Not sure anyone can prove it does any good, but I have always done it. Even on a quality BR Barrel.

It is like allot of stuff we do, it is VooDoo. We do it just to eliminate one more variable.

When someone asked me if they should break in, I always say yes, it can't hurt.

Also, if you are talking about a production barrel, i.e. Remington, Savage, Ruger, etc. I think it makes a big difference for future cleaning. And that effects accuracy.

JMHO

[sonofeugene]

I just clean, spray the inside with dry tungsten disulfide powder, run a swab through for the excess and run it.

[MongooseV8]

I clean it before first shots, then sight in. After sight in I will clean again, shoot a few groups and clean again. After that usually clean about every 100 rounds or so.

[ChuckDizzle]

Barrel break in is definitely real, but procedures for doing so seem to be baloney.

I've had several brand new barrels go from "meh" to wowzers after 50-150 rounds or so.

One barrel manufacturer I know of puts a barrel break in procedure into their instruction manual just to stop the calls and emails from customers wanting advice on break in methods. They said it didn't matter in any of their testing, but it was a full time position just answering cautious customers regarding lack of instructions.

[gpark09]

I clean it before first shots, then sight in. After sight in I will clean again, shoot a few groups and clean again. After that usually clean about every 100 rounds or so.

This is how it should be done.

Some over clean it like some sort of ritual.

Some are just careless about the breaking in a mechanical device.

[Divernhunter]

The best "break in" is to shoot your firearm. Then stop when you cannot hold the barrel in your hand because it is too hot. It is the heat that eats up the barrel.

Much of the so called break in procedures do no more than slow up your shooting and thus the barrel does not overheat and get excessive wear.

My AR50 came with instructions that say no break-in because it does nothing. Mc Millan came out with a statement as to how and why this break-in came about and it really boiled down to a small barrel maker wanting to sell more barrels to the bench rest guys who change barrels very often and at low round count. He has built many excellent rifles and barrels.

[ZirconJohn]

Proper procedure for rifle barrel break in ... take a time to watch exactly how it's done

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRRahHX9Zkg

[newbutold]

^^^Now I know how thieves treat stolen rifles

[TrappedinCalifornia]

Proper procedure for rifle barrel break in ... take a time to watch exactly how it's done

Well... Not exactly. He didn't say anything about making sure there was no obstruction in the barrel after that. Even the most 'obtuse' fool would, at least, check for that after throwing the rifle in the dirt several times - right? Other than that though...

I think the most accurate piece of advice was in Shooting Illustrated in 2017...

...My main focus was the process of breaking in new barrels, about which any two people will have three opinions. True to form, about the only thing they all agreed on was that some barrels break in easier than others... Talking to the gurus solidified a notion I've had for many years: There is no single right way to break-in a new barrel...

[1859sharps]

I would strongly suggest you think twice...then think on it some more before starting ANY "barrel break in" procedure. you invested some money into a rifle, and you do not want to mess up that rifle following poor advice.

while this is admittedly a personal conclusion, but if you put on your "question things hat" it is hard to not reach this conclusion....that being 99% or greater of suggested break in procedures are pure snake oil. there is zero zilch nada to support them. the more elaborate, the higher the round count, the more effort...the less likely the procedure has any merit or anything to support the specifically suggested procedure.

I do agree that there does appear to be something going on where a rifle appears to shoot more accurate with some use. HOWEVER... is what we are seeing and story we tell for why this happens accurate?

But...lets agree for the sake of argument that the improvement is due to rounds going down the barrel vs just the shooter getting better at shooting. what proof do we have that a break in procedure is what is causing that improvement vs just simply shooting the rifle and allowing the "break in" to happen as it happens? Answer is NO ONE has that answer. I have had people claim the answer exists, but can't provide even the smallest grain of evidence.

to date...I have yet to read anything that supports the wear/tear/effort actually pay off vs simply shooting your rifle and not abusing it.

The most common offered evidence... I did the procedure and look at the results on paper....the problem of course is there is nothing to compare to gauge against. we don't know what the result would have been had the procedure NOT been done. how can you. So the "proof is on paper"... is NOT proof when talking a sample of one.

Personally, I am not yet convinced. That is just me. do your own googling and question, question, question.

But if you think there is something to it...please, please at least follow something that isn't insane, such as the opinion and suggestion steps given by https://bartleinbarrels.com/cleaning...n-guide-lines/

they provide an opinion for what they think is going on, a reasonable approach to solving the believed problem, and a way to measure progress. you will also note they are suggesting very few shots are needed compared to some procedures you will find out on the internet.

to answer the questions regarding break in...someone is going to have to cough up some BIG bucks to do a study with controls. I don't think we will be able to establish causation and absolute certainty of one path or the other. I could be wrong, but I think the best we would ever come up with is high statistical correlation. But right now we have assumptions and samples of one without any way to compare to the path not taken.

[k1dude]

What poll? I don't see no stinkin' poll.

[LynnJr]

Proper procedure for rifle barrel break in ... take a time to watch exactly how it's done

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRRahHX9Zkg

That's the tactical rifle break in procedure. He didn't show us throwing it into the creek or smashing the FFP scope into a tree trunk due to lack of time.

[XVIga_Rob]

What poll? I don't see no stinkin' poll.