Barrel Break-in, What Difference Does it Make?

[CNC_Apps_Guy]

Anyone ever heard of Tony Boyer? He said he breaks in all of his barrels. If you don't know who he is look at the Benchrest Hall Of Fame.

Wayne

The REAL experiment would be if he had 2 identical rifles. Break one in, don't break the other one in and see what if any differences there are. He seems like the perfect candidate for such an experiment.

[wayne74]

I have been shooting for many years with many different rifles but I have never gained the ability that Tony Boyer has. I have used many rifles that were not broken in and I have broken in several. I have had rifles in both groups that were very accurate, but the ones that were broken in properly did seem to have a slight edge.

Precision barrels are easier to break in, but all barrels will benefit from the process. If you break the barrel in properly you will see results as you are doing it. You are polishing the bore using the bullet. You must remove all the copper after every shot so the next shot is touching the bore again not riding on the copper left from the previous shot. If done properly the bore will stay cleaner longer and be easier to clean when you do clean it. When broken in properly your barrel will not copper foul.

Wayne

[PA_Hunter]

Proper barrel break-in procedures, an "oldie but goodie".

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

[1859sharps]

Anyone ever heard of Tony Boyer? He said he breaks in all of his barrels. If you don't know who he is look at the Benchrest Hall Of Fame.

Wayne

I bet he also drank some water the day he won. If I also drink water before shooting will that get me into the hall of fame too?

sorry, but this isn't the solid evidence you seem to think it is that barrel break in works. there are probably 1000 things that could be claimed as "the" factor that got Tony into the hall of fame...but did they really?

[dskit]

break in procedures are all snake-oil mumbo jumbo

I disagree - it's black magic and voodoo, everybody knows that.

[LynnJr]

I bet he also drank some water the day he won. If I also drink water before shooting will that get me into the hall of fame too?

sorry, but this isn't the solid evidence you seem to think it is that barrel break in works. there are probably 1000 things that could be claimed as "the" factor that got Tony into the hall of fame...but did they really?

Tony Boyer didn't just get into the Benchrest Hall Of Fame he owns it. The next best shooter has 150 fewer points and you get 1 point when you win a national level match.

[toby]

Whoop de doo!

[CNC_Apps_Guy]

Tony Boyer didn't just get into the Benchrest Hall Of Fame he owns it. The next best shooter has 150 fewer points and you get 1 point when you win a national level match.

That being said, there's no empirical evidence that THE factor in him owning the HOF is "broken in barrels".

What's to say he could not accomplish the same feat with non-broken in barrels? Just because he says so? The amazing thing about shooting is that it is a very scientific sport. Things can easily be proven or disproven.

[smalltime]

As said with a factory non chrome lined barrel, it makes sense to me. The throat and bore have rough spots from machining, fire a round and it smooths things out ever so slightly while depositing heavy copper on the first few shots. Clean out the copper so the next bullet has fresh barrel to rub against and repeat a few times. Even barrel makers can't agree though so who knows

[LynnJr]

[Carcassonne]

I do not believe a break-in does anything BUT possibly wear out your barrel sooner.

+1

That is what a top bench rest barrel maker says. I can't remember the companies name.

My recommendation: Fire 5 rounds through the gun. Run a cleaning patch through the bore to see if there are heavy copper deposits from a defective barrel. If nothing unusual is found, just shoot.



.

[tomah]

i broke my barrel in... with 200 rounds in 1 sitting. then i CLP'd it and boresnaked it.

[Donnovin]

There is no one answer to the question as it depends upon the barrel.

Cut or button rifled, nitrided AR15 barrel? Shoot it to break it in.

Hand lapped Bartlein or Krieger? Follow Krieger's or Bartlein's advice to clean up the milling at the throat, and you're done. Then don't clean it again until accuracy suffers. Less is more! Bartlein has a good write up at the following link:
Bartlein Break-In

Clean with either BoreTech Eliminator or Wipe-Out Bore Cleaner. Don't mix solvents! Don't overclean. Many barrels have been ruined by overcleaning. Easy on the crown, meaning NEVER drag a brush back over the crown. Mess up the crown and it will never shoot well.

[CarlB]

Might make it easier to keep copper fouling to a minimum of factory barrels. Custom hand lapped barrels not so much. I usually clean when new before first firing and run a couple of patches the first ten rounds through barrel to see what's up, and then clean about every 500 rounds or so after that using a foam bore cleaner.

[CRTguns]

Ive seen it result like "Dumbo's Magic Feather"... If a guy has some mystical belief in his gun mojo... he will do better with it. It's a confidence thing that contributes to sharper concentration and better decision making.

Also, if a guy has taken a vested approach... put work into the gun, he will never admit it was in vain. "barrel break-inners" tend to convince themselves that their effort has made the gun good.


I'm bore snake guy.
I have won enough trophies and prizes to suggest that a boresnake is good.