I write for one of the rifle magazines and recently did an extensive test on barrels from factory to super-premium hand-lapped, using a bore-scope to observe fouling and range tests for accuracy. I concluded most crash-course break-in routines aren't any better than just cleaning the barrel when groups start to enlarge.
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<br>Also, break-in helps rougher barrels more than super-smooth custom barrels. They're already smoothed by lapping at the factory!
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<br>My standard break-in for factory barrels these days is to shoot the thing, then see if it's fouling bad. If it is, then I "clean" the bore using 220-grit lapping paste on a patch wrapped around a bore brush. Unless the barrel's hopeless, this really smooths them up, without eroding the throat like fire-lapping. Most factory barrels respond well to being cleaned with JB the first few times. Custom barrels can just be shot, then cleaned every 10-30 rounds as fouling indicates. Doesn't hurt them a bit.
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<br>Most custom gunsmiths will privately admit the fancy break-in procedures are baloney, but such procedures have become so ingrained in the shooting public's consciousness that they hesitate to buck "common knowledge."
This is the ony case I've ever heard of where someone ACTUALLY TESTED whether break-in makes any difference.
As a target shooter I agree with MD's conclusions.
Reminds me of the moly craze agout 10-15 years ago. Moly "inceases velocity, improves accuracy, makes your barrel last longer," etc., etc. Yet when someone actually tested the assumptions, the only effect was that it lowered velocity because fome of the powder energy was used up in vaporizing the moly alreadyu in the barrel.
It ain't a fact until someone tests it.
