Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters how do you prep a brand new centerfire barrel

before the first shot has fired? Factory Browning X-Bolt, blue.

curious to know how you prep the barrel before ever firing a shot.

thanks in advance.

I look down the bore to make sure there's nothing except air inside.

Yup.

I usually drag a boresnake through it to make sure it's clean.

I run some solvent through on a couple patches to get out any goo that isn't obvious.

Yup, just make sure it's clean and ready to fire.

If I’m unsure of its potential I’ll push a patch through. If I’m confident it’s a barrel worth keeping, it gets DBC before a bullet ever travels down the bore.

^^^^ This

lol, thanks for the replies. yes, the do or don't do the DBC on a cherry tube was part of my wondering...

I shoot them before deciding to DBC, because with many of today's barrels (both custom and factory) it often isn't needed.

This.




This.

Yes, me too.

In all my shooting and hunting since 1972, I've never 'broke in' any rifle/handgun ---- other than shooting them in the process of grouping, practice, and hunting. IMO 'brake in' is a waste of time, $$$, & components.

Jerry

That plus I will run a patch with solvent through it just to say I did...

I like to run some Wipeout foam through the bore to ensure no meatal fouling,etc. I then spray or run a soaked patch with EZ-Ox and let dry overnight. Next day I run a boresnake through it. I will go ahead and workup loads, etc and just run a boresnake damp with EZOx a couple times between different powders/loads. I do not, however, shoot in any benchrest or competition, my rifles are hunting rifles. I have done the whole barrel breakin dilly before, but truthfully, saw nothing better than the EZ-Ox method...for me.

Run a clean patch through.

Theory being to get any tiny fragments that might remain from tooling. Might have my head up my butt on that

Can’t see doing any of the detailed break in procedures ....

on a good tube, I still shoot a couple and clean, and build up the group size a bit. Its generally when I'm already starting to test ammo anyway so no big deal.

IMHO the barrels I've "broken in" have fouled less than those not. It really doesn't take that much extra time either.

That said on the 257 wtby factory gun, I never had time, didn't have time to DBC either, its been zero'd and shot and that means maybe 40 rounds total over the years, and never cleaned.... so far so good, hovering at moa or so...

DBC I can't find hurting any tube but like John says, it may not be needed in some, though I tend to eventually put it in for nothing else RE corrosion help...

I run a patch with JB down the bore and with factory rifles that have not been test shot almost always some metal will come out. Sometimes really big machining chunks.

To break in or "season" a barrel may be better accomplished by pouring really good home made BBQ sauce down the bore. I think a Chipotle pepper sauce would lightly take the burrs off the rifling and help improve the throat and the amount of more BBQ'ing needed in the future.

Wipeout then shoot like hell.

Yep, that’s why all my keeper tubes get DBC, whether they’re foulers or not.

How many rounds do people put through a new barrel before cleaning for the first time?

I have to fireform 50 .257 Roberts AI cases soon. Do I shoot all 50 at once or 25, clean, 25 and clean again? I know Mule Deer has written to shoot a new barrel until accuracy diminishes then clean, but as I'm just fireforming would you guys put 50 rounds through a new barrel?


It's easy to say yes to someone else but when it's your own barrel (and $$$) it makes you a bit more cautious.