Barrel break in?

[Bill I Am]

Why I am SURE this has come up here before? I did a search and could not find anything so here is my question.

There is a YouTube vid of a guy that talks about breaking in his new 10/22, stock, barrel. He suggested that you fire a round..just one. Then clean the thing. Then you fire another and you clean it. After a mag, you start to fire...oh boy...2 rounds!! After a mag of that, you can then go up to 5 etc etc until you have blasted around 200 rounds.

Here are the 2 vids about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=654SItF4e7k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LitGDerYR6Y&feature=plcp

I have not heard of this. Can anybody say if this is correct or just overkill??

[BonnieB]

That's what the Weatherby manual said about it's 12 gauge. fire, clean, fire, clean (10 times). fire, fire, fire, clean (ten times), etc.

No clue why. Everybody I talk to says 'clean the the he!! out of it, lube it liberally, and shoot!

I'm up for input, I don't want to screw up a gun.

[Izzy43]

Why I am SURE this has come up here before? I did a search and could not find anything so here is my question.

There is a YouTube vid of a guy that talks about breaking in his new 10/22, stock, barrel. He suggested that you fire a round..just one. Then clean the thing. Then you fire another and you clean it. After a mag, you start to fire...oh boy...2 rounds!! After a mag of that, you can then go up to 5 etc etc until you have blasted around 200 rounds.

Here are the 2 vids about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=654SItF4e7k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LitGDerYR6Y&feature=plcp

I have not heard of this. Can anybody say if this is correct or just overkill??

That method is typically used for centerfire rifles. Not necessary for .22s. I own six .22 rifles and when new I just cleaned out the factory preservative from the action and barrel and started using the rifle. All shoot very good and accurate.

Check your owner's manual and see what it says about barrel break-in. I bet you won't find it mentioned in the manual.

[Bill I Am]

That method is typically used for centerfire rifles. Not necessary for .22s. I own six .22 rifles and when new I just cleaned out the factory preservative from the action and barrel and started using the rifle. All shoot very good and accurate.

Check your owner's manual and see what it says about barrel break-in. I bet you won't find it mentioned in the manual.

Good idea. It does seem a tad overkill but I figured I would ask.

BTW, LOVE that pic of Idylwild and that cabin.

[phrogg111]

If it's not in the manual, don't do it.

I bought a .223 barrel from Accuracy Systems, Inc. for my AR-15. They had a 3/4 MOA guarantee, but it was only valid if you broke the barrel in right - which they had instructions on how to do.

My barrel break in period was 60 rounds. 300 is absurd.

[RandyD]

That method is typically used for centerfire rifles. Not necessary for .22s. I own six .22 rifles and when new I just cleaned out the factory preservative from the action and barrel and started using the rifle. All shoot very good and accurate.

Check your owner's manual and see what it says about barrel break-in. I bet you won't find it mentioned in the manual.

Izzy43 is correct. If you look at the website of the premium barrel makers, you will see that they recommend a similar procedure to break in their barrels, but this procedure is only used for barrels in centerfire cartridges. The purpose of breaking in a centerfire barrel (which is generally cleaning after every shot for the first 10-15 shots) is the last step to insure the tooling marks are smoothed out to reduce the copper plating effect when a jacketed bullet is fired. .22 Long Rifle ammo is not jacketed ammo and there is no need to use this procedure on a .22 LR barrel.

[Bill I Am]

If it's not in the manual, don't do it.

I bought a .223 barrel from Accuracy Systems, Inc. for my AR-15. They had a 3/4 MOA guarantee, but it was only valid if you broke the barrel in right - which they had instructions on how to do.

My barrel break in period was 60 rounds. 300 is absurd.

So, what did you have to do with those 60 rounds to "break" in your barrel?

[Army]

Scrub the barrel good before you fire one round. After that, go play. Since each .22 bullet wears its own lube, bullet fouling is almost non-existent. After 500 rounds, scrub it again, and forget about it for a long time.

While it is possible to load up the rifling with powder residue and burnt on lube in a .22 barrel, the odds of shooting it enough in your lifetime to "shoot it out" are rather stratospheric.

10/22's don't need much, if any, lube. A tiny tiny tiny bit on the rails, and that's about it. Too much lube just attracts unburnt powder and lube, making the receiver get all gunky and slow the action.

[Fjold]

With a 22 rimfire you clean the barrel when you buy it and then shoot it. Clean when you want to after that.

[1000stars]

Con:

http://www.6mmbr.com/gailmcmbreakin.html

Pro:

http://www.kriegerbarrels.com/Break_In__Cleaning-c1246-wp2558.htm

[Merc1138]

Con:

http://www.6mmbr.com/gailmcmbreakin.html

Pro:
http://www.kriegerbarrels.com/Break_...246-wp2558.htm

And here's John Krieger himself explaining how he prefers not cleaning barrels:


Barrel break in = superstitious hogwash

Manufacturers post procedures otherwise they'd have people pestering them about it constantly. If there was any science behind it proving the results, you'd see more consistency in break in methods, as well as reports actually documenting results.

phrogg111, how would they know you didn't?

[rojocorsa]

Barrel break in is a hoax.



But to be fair, if you can show me hard numbers, that would be good.

[Jet Setter]

My Chiappa .22 upper requires a break in period of about 100 to 150 rounds. It would actually help if the upper does not break before your break-in period is over.

Break-in is cumbersome but can be worth it to protect your barrel. However, for most .22LR, 100+ rounds break-in seems extensive. I am glad I did it on my end as I have already had to use the warranty. They are slow, but take care of you.

Perhaps, for your 10/22, meet in the middle and do about 50 rounds of break-in just for your piece of mind.

[1000stars]

Volquartsen Custom rifles do not require any break-in. Why would a stock 10/22 or any other rimfire rifle need one.

[mmayer707]

This sounds like a dream for anyone with OCD. Break it in by shooting it. Then clean it. Really, clean it after each shot for multiple shots? Sounds ridiculous to me.