Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Barrel break in...myth or what?

I picked up a Rem 700 in .308 SPS stainless that I installed a new Shilen Match select barrel. I followed a buddy of mines break in and I thought he was completely nuts. But I wanted to shoot so I went to the local "Wally World" and picked up some $12 a box Remington core locks. Per his procedure:

- Do 5 shots, clean after each shot
- Do 5 - 2 shot groups, clean after each 2 shot group
- Do 5 - 3 shot groups, clean after each 3 shot group
- Do 5 - 4 shot groups, clean after each 4 shot group

Used Wipe out bore cleaning solvent when cleaning. I can tell you that when I first starting shooting, I was getting somewhat pissed being this is suppose to be a great barrel an all. First set of groups were horrible which was understandable being any machining marks that were there, were being broken in. The more I shot, the better the groups, even with this cheap ammo. We decided to shoot some hand loads that drive tacks in his 5R mil spec .308.

Rem 700 .308 Shilen Select match 20" 1:10 twist.

155 Palma, 43.8 gr Benchmark, Rem brass, CCI, 2770 fps, 2.825"
125 Nosler BT, 47 gr H322, Rem brass, CCI, 3180 fps, 2.825"
165 Hornady SST, Rem Brass, CCI, but forgot to write down the other info.

With just a shot in the dark on a "recipe", we started. Below are the pics over layed at 250 yards. No pressure signs or any other issues. Needless to say, i was pretty impressed. In fact, my rifle shot his loads better than his 5R that he worked the loads up for. So considering at $12 a box and 50 rounds fired...... that was a well spent $36 for my barrel break in that I thought he was crazy for even mentioning it. But that is just my experience.