Barrel break in

[cwtebay]

Howdy! I bought my son a Bergara B14 in 300 PRC for Christmas. I am looking for different opinions on barrel break in. I have a Bergara B14 BMP that took nearly 100 rounds to "settle in" using the company's prescribed process. Essentially it's clean, shoot several, clean with solvent, oil, repeat. My rifle is EXCEPTIONALLY accurate beyond my expectations, just looking to burn a whole lot less $$ in powder and bullets getting there.

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[Winger Ed.]

Of all the different ways, I don't think any of them are wrong to the point of damaging a barrel.
Myself, I'll clean every second shot for the first ten, then call it good.

Some rifles did improve over time, but not by much.

[PopcornSutton]

I agree that there are many ideas about breakin. Use a bore guide to protect the action and leade of the barrel from the cleaning rod. Use a good bore cleaner that has ammonia in it. I don't like shooting a squeaky clean dry barrel, so a patch with a few drops of oil first, then shoot a couple rounds during sight-in. Then clean the barrel, wet patches, bronze brush, then wet patches and let soak a while. Push a clean white patch through and look for blue color. Repeat until there is no blue on the patch.

[GregLaROCHE]

It’s been a long time since I had a new barrel, but never did anything besides shoot them and clean them frequently. Today I see some of the premium gunmakers are lapping the bores. If I were to have a new barrel I would like one that was lapped. If it wasn’t I would do it myself.

[John Taylor]

As far as I know the only part of the barrel that needs break in is the throat. The reamer that does the throat area will leave lines across the lands, even on a barrel that has been lapped because the chamber is cut after. I have never taken the time to break in a barrel, just start shooting it. Seems strange but a muzzle loading barrel seems to shoots better after it has had a little rust.

[Hickok]

I tried all "the shoot one, clean, shoot one and clean"...and gave up on it. I couldn't logically see any way to prove it, one way or another.

Now I just go shoot, return home and clean the barrel. I simply check for copper or alloy in the barrel. Works for me.

[Cap'n Morgan]

Common sense tells me barrel break-in is a myth (but it wouldn't be the first time I was wrong).
The best barrel advice I have seen is "don't let the barrel get too hot"

[waksupi]

Just clean the bore well before starting to shoot it. Get rid of any factory grit that may be in the bore. Then lightly oil the bore, and go shoot it. When you see copper build up at the muzzle, clean it and start in again. If it will be a lead dedicated rifle, lapping may be beneficial to take off sharp edges. For jacketed bullets, a stainless barrel will shoot good from the first group, and chromalloy steel barrel takes around 100 rounds to settle in.

[dverna]

I doubt anyone knows for sure.

To determine if breaking in helps, you would at least 20 barrels for each methodology to get a statistically valid conclusion. And you would need to use the same receiver, stock, and machine rest. Unlikely even barrel makers do that degree of testing.

I surmise barrel suppliers recommend what they think should work.

I have used the following protocol for jacketed bullets:
Shoot one, and clean
Shoot two, and clean
Shoot three, and clean,
Shoot four, and clean,
Shoot five, and clean
Shoot ten, and clean.

Then clean about every 25 rounds for the next 100

I do not know if it is worth doing. But it cannot hurt. BTW, did that on two .308 hunting rifles and both are MOA for 5 shot groups. I do not worry about the cost of components but cleaning the barrel is not fun.

[Mk42gunner]

I'm in the clean it first, then shoot it camp. Clean when needed.

I've seen way to many rifles deliver good accuracy without the clean, shoot one round clean drill.

In my mind a good barrel will shoot fine, if it needs exceptional measures taken to shoot decently; there is something wrong that just cleaning probably won't fix.

Wasn't it Gale Macmillan that said that barrel break in was invented to sell barrels?

Robert

[country gent]

I have also found that the barrel burners break in faster. (220 swift 22-250 243 300 win mag) Than the milder cartridges (218 bee 222 rem 308 45-70) What was also surprised me is the bpcr rounds and the soft lead bullets didnt take much to break in and polish the throats up nice.
I did he kreiger break in in my match barrels.
Ive always wondered how much was final polish and how much was stress relieving. Other than the throat leade watching with a bore scope didnt show much past the removal of tool marks, I cant say they shot better or worse. But they dtd seem much better for cold bore or first shot into the group.

[curdog007]

I tend to agree with Gale Macmillan. All mine shoot great, the cold bore shots are all right on the money, and I don't do any of these gyrations.
If a barrel won't put a cold bore shot where it needs to go, it'll go down the road. But I've never had to do it.
I think most problems are elsewhere (usually in someone's head).

[indian joe]

I am in the, cant prove it - cant hurt camp.
was asked to organise a rebarrel job for a friend ages ago (22-250). Dennis Tobler did the work - unsure whether it was his barrel or a Shilen. The gun came back exactly how I had asked for it (custom profile if you like) and instructions for break in (1 and clean x5 then ?????? dont remember it all - finished with a five shot group - 20 rounds in total) . It shot good from the start and the last five went into a neat half inch @100yards - coulda been a fluke - 6X scope and shooting out the window of my subaru - certainly at my limit anyway. The owner was delighted, that old parker hale had never been that good, just wave it out the window and they drop dead he told me months later.
That said I strongly believe you see the best out of a patch ball, ml barrel after about 100-150 shots and by 500 you will be making adjustments to the load because it has wore some/shined up (talking about cheap barrels there though)

[Bmi48219]

Recently bought a PTR CT 9. According to the owners manual the barrel is guaranteed for life, as long as you follow the break in schedule. Those were two trips to the range I didn’t really enjoy. But that’s done.

[PopcornSutton]

This goes along with which barrel chambering method is best, there will never be agreement. On a fresh chambered good barrel, John Taylor's comment is correct, the breaking is smoothing the throat due to reamer cutting. Anyone with a bore scope can see this. That rough surface surely sheds some copper form the jacket, and lead from a cast bullet. The rest of a good barrel is lapped and is fine. A factory gun is a different matter.

Either way, a few rounds and cleaning from the beginning can't hurt a thing.

[centershot]

I'm in the clean it first, then shoot it camp. Clean when needed.

I've seen way to many rifles deliver good accuracy without the clean, shoot one round clean drill.

In my mind a good barrel will shoot fine, if it needs exceptional measures taken to shoot decently; there is something wrong that just cleaning probably won't fix.

Wasn't it Gale Macmillan that said that barrel break in was invented to sell barrels?

Robert

Indeed it was!

https://www.6mmbr.com/GailMcMbreakin.html

[Rapier]

After over 45 years in long distance competition with rifles and handguns, I settled on the Sweet Shooter method of barrel break in. The wet bore shooting to imbed the bore with Techron sure improves cleaning and lack of fouling. When folks do not do a proper break in, and cleaning, I get their guns in for a re-barrel, so you do as you wish. When “shot out” I buy the actions real cheap.

[oldcanadice]

Used to shoot a little bench-rest. Very meticulous break in until my last barrel. Saw the McMillan thing and never looked back. Had problems and I quit shooting bench, but still have the rifle. There are less than 200 rounds through that barrel. From day one -- as tested by another shooter -- it is dandy. It has always shot better than I can hold. Now, I just THOROUGHLY clean the first time and carry on after that.

[John Taylor]

Many years back I ended up with a single shot rifle in 45-70. Shot lead bullets in it and every time I opened the action there was lead coming out of the chamber with the brass. I didn't know much about chambers at the time but I asked a smith what it could be and he looked at it and said the throat had never been cut. Each land was peeling lead off the bullet so there was six little pieces of lead. I had always thought that the throat was part of the reamer but found that it sometimes is not. A while back I got a used 25-25 Stevens reamer and found it had no throat.

[country gent]

A lot of the old PP chambers were cut with no throat and the leade off of the case mouth. I have a 308 reamer here that has no leade or throat its done with a separate reamer so oal of a loaded can be matched.