can you break in a new barrel with cast bullets ?

[canuck4570]

I have a new Ruger #1 in 44 magnum
is there a method to break in the new barrel with cast or am I better to start with jacketed bullet ?

would prefer just to shoot cast in this rifle

thanks in advanced

[smithnframe]

If you're only going to shoot cast in it the break it in with cast bullets!

[canuck4570]

If you're only going to shoot cast in it the break it in with cast bullets!

OK what is the procedure is it the same thing has jacketed bullet
shoot one clean and shoot one thill the bore feels smoothed with the cleaning brush

[tomme boy]

Takes a lot longer if the barrel has any defects in it by just shooting cast. Break it in with jacketed it will go MUCH faster. I have had factory barrels and custom. I break them all in with jacketed. I have had Shilen, Krieger, Hart, Rock Creek, Obermeyer barrels.

[canuck4570]

shooting season here is short
well I guess I have to order jacketed

[waksupi]

I used LBT lapping compound in one barrel that was not settling in. I would fire a shot, then run a tight patch through the bore. It would squeak going up the bore, until it hit the area that hadn't lapped yet. It took around 10 rounds until it squeaked all the way, and the groups were good from that point on.

[lar45]

My favorite gun smith told me how he polishes a barrel to start with.
Run about 50 patches on a tight jag down the barrel and just scrub the daylights out of it until it is all polished. He said that he has taken factory barrels and turned them into 1/2 moa shooters.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

For every opinionated cast boolit shooter, there is a different recipe to "break-in" a new rifle.
with that said, I would recommend the same break-in procedure that you have previously, successfully done on a new rifle in the past.

My opinion:
I wouldn't automatically break-in a new rifle. I'd shoot it as is, with whatever projectiles I want to end up shooting in it, and if there is a problem, then I'd research what solutions there are to correct the problem.

On more opinion:
When I started shooting rifles (in rifle League), I was a proponent of "polishing a bore", I used flitz on a patch on a jag mounted to a cleaning rod ...and I polished every rifle I owned. After shooting rifles in league for a year, I learned that some friction is desirable, so I no longer polish new rifle barrels, I just shoot 'em until they settle down. If it doesn't settle down, I'd research what solutions there are to correct the problem ...maybe that's polishing, maybe that's fire lapping, maybe there is a mechanical problem that isn't easily detected by the average shooter.

[fredj338]

If the idea is to smooth things out, I wouldn't go cast. I would run 20rds, cleaning every 2rds, of jacketed. Then scrub it down to bare netal & start shooting cast.

[alamogunr]

I know this is primarily about breaking in rifle barrels but thought I would throw this out. I just acquired a new Dan Wesson 1911. In the instruction book that came with it, they recommended that break-in be done with hardball. I don't think I'm wrong in thinking they mean 230gr jacketed. They specifically recommended against breaking in with jacketed expandable ammunition.

This gun is very tight so I am following their recommendation as to ammunition. The rest of the procedure will be similar to some of the posts here, ie, X number of shots followed by cleaning, etc.