A question about a new rifle

[Beekeeper]

A bench rest shooter I am not!!
That said I am asking the following.
At the range on Monday there was a Gentleman who set up 2 benchrest rifles .One he said had a brand new barrel.
He would fire it one time and let it set while he fired the older one.
Then he would spend 30 minutes swabbing the barrel of the new one with dry patches , shoot it once and leave it set.
This went on all day.
What is the reasoning behind the shoot once, let it set , clean for 30 minutes , shoot once , and repeat?

[3006guns]

Letting the barrel cool completely and having it clean for the next "first shot accuracy". A heated barrel, no matter now beautifully made, can start wandering a bit as it warms up. He might have been establishing a first target, to be kept as records as the gun got older too. Something to refer back to in the future.

It's an old, time honored technique but I'm not sure if it's all that useful anymore with modern bedding.........but I'm not a benchrest shooter either! (Besides, most of my "bench guns" are milsurps with "well seasoned and experienced" bores)

[Trey45]

What 3006guns said, and I'll add he was doing what some consider to be a proper new barrel break in. Shoot it, allow it to cool, clean it. There's a system involved too, something like 20 shots that you clean after every shot, then you can shoot 2 or 3 times between cleaning. I've never put much stock in all that cleaning between each shot, then again I don't shoot benchrest guns either.

[GabbyM]

30 minutes swabbing a barrel sound very excessive to me.
I've personally destroyed a barrel by getting carried away with cleaning rods. Burt whatever floats his boat.

My recommendation with a new barrel would be to follow the manufactures recommended break in procedure.

[mike in co]

30 minutes swabbing a barrel sound very excessive to me.
I've personally destroyed a barrel by getting carried away with cleaning rods. Burt whatever floats his boat.

My recommendation with a new barrel would be to follow the manufactures recommended break in procedure.


most br shooters today will tell you either the bbl fouls or it doen't. 5 dhots or so for breakin and clenaing,BUT if the bbl fouls in those 5 shots, nothing wrong with TRYING to do a longer breakin.

moderen br bbls are works of art.

most br shooters use bore guides to keep the cleaning rod off the throat.....a precise bore guide, not a generic.

mike in co

[Doc Highwall]

When a barrel is made there are pores in the surface of the steel left over from machining. The reason or thought process is to burnish the pores closed by shooting a shot and then removing all fouling of copper and powder that are in the pores and then repeating the process till you see how the patches are coming out. When I have done this after the first shot it takes a lot of patches to get the barrel clean. As you shoot more shots you will notice that the first patch pushes more fouling out and the second patch is not as dirty. I have noticed this within five or six shots. Is it worth it I say yes. I shoot and clean between shots for the first five shots, then I shoot two shots and clean five more times for a total of ten more shots, and then I shoot five shots clean and do this three times for a grand total of thirty shots to break the barrel in. While I am doing this I am sighting in the gun at the same time not trying to rush things just making shure every thing is the way I want it giving me confidence of my equipment in match competition.

[Lead Fred]

When I first started shooting my 26in Shilen varmint barrel, I just shot sighted it in like I normally do. 5 shot groups, clean it when I get home.

That was several 100 rounds ago, and it still shoots 1/4 MOA @ 200 yards

[Hip's Ax]

If he is indeed breaking in a new barrel 30 minutes between shots is quite believeable. I do the shoot one clean out all the copper then shoot another on all my brand new match barrels. Once the copper stops being deposited I find zero copper fouling problems in that barrel for the rest of its life.

Most barrels slick up in 7 or 8 rounds. I just finished a Palma rifle with a tight bore Krieger and it took 30 rounds!!

[Beekeeper]

Thanks Guys.
I had never seen it before and was amazed he would take that much time cleaning after each shot.
Didn't want to look the fool and ask him and stand there shaking my head up and down like a bobble doll.

Mike he had all the right tools.
the only one I knew was the bore guide and it was almost a press fit in the receiver.
The rifle was a perfect piece of art.

Jim