Probably should ask your rifle manufacturer first. Some believe barrel break in works while others think it's a waste of time and money. I followed the suggested break in for my last weatherby vanguard and it shot great. I didn't do any break in for my ruger Hawkeye or win m70 and the both shoot great, so who really knows? Good luck with your rifle.
I tried the break in theory on one gun and just spent a lot of time doing it. If it shot better afterwards, I couldn’t tell. I have owned dozens of new rifles that I just cleaned the bore, mounted the scope and went to shooting them. I seem to hit except when I miss and I doubt it has a thing to do with barrel break in...
I clean them throughly when i first get them, then fire about about 20 rounds or so getting the optic set. I clean them again down to the steel (verified by bore scope) and start load development. Once i get my load I clean them down to the metal again and live happily ever after and let the barrel tell me how often it needs to be cleaned.
Sam Millard of Pan Handle Precision, is another minimalist in his ideas about break-in and cleaning. I’ve done it a bunch of ways. There are just too many variables, but often times the most important cleaning is the first one. So, while the amount and exact content of the crud lining chambers and bores of new rifles is varied, it’s almost always there. Particularly in the case of factory and semi custom rifles.
Originally Posted by 16penny
If you put Taco Bell sauce in your ramen noodles it tastes just like poverty
But hey, much of confidence takes place between the ears. Magic feather worked for Dumbo.
P
No waste of ammo. First two rounds are sighting in, next three are your three round group. You're done. Where is the waste? That is why George building sought after rifles, and you sell Pharm.
Instead of putting my facts on the sight so other's can write it off as opinion let me ask you this!
What is the hardness of your average steel centerfire rifle barrel?
What is the average hardness of copper alloys used to jacket lead bullets?
Do you have to break in the chamber by expanding 70/30 brass cases into it? Oh and so you know the 70% is copper the 30% is zinc.
What causes most barrels to be shot out? Is it rifling wear to the lands or groves? Is it throat and crown erosion?
What causes throats to erode and crowns to erode?
If you look at the tools used to make a barrel and then look at what a bullet is made from it is a fools folly to think you can break in a barrel by passing a copper alloy lead slug down the bore. The abrasion comes from powder and heat and pressure of the combustion is what does a barrel in not frictional mechanical wear. That is also why you can look at a Savage barrel for instance after 1000 rounds have gone down it and if you ignore the throat and crown it is still looks nasty and rough nothing has been worn down. If you look at Remingtons pre-CHF you will see all kinds of artifacts that have been their since the barrel was made even 5000 rounds later. Last but not least if break in was a real thing and not magic nonsense then taking a 1/4 inch off both ends and rechambering and recrowning would not work as consistently as it does to restore 90% of the original barrels accuracy as often as it does (not talking about BR levels of accuracy for the record)! The US Army requires or required 20K rounds of accurate fire on the
I'm not a bench rest shooter. I'm also not near as anal as I once was when it comes to accuracy.
My barrel break in proceedure.
I add squirt or two of Kroil to a jar of JB Bore Paste. I use a bore guide. I liberally cover/saturate a bronze bore brush with the JB/Kroil paste. I put 50 strokes or 25 cycles minimum, though the barrel. If I decide to do more, I change out the bore brush and do an another 50.
Then I clean to bare metal.
I go and shoot. It usually takes 8 to 10 rounds to foul the barrel in. I'll usually shoot at least 20 rounds or so.
Most times that is my barrel break in and I do not clean for another 75 rounds or so. I'm not shooting moly or black powder and my rifles are stored in an atmospherically controlled low humidity environment.
If I'm feeling energetic, I might do the JB/Kroil bore brush thing once more after the first range session. These days I'm not doing much load development as over the last 25 year or so, I've developed pet loads.
I always foul in the barrel after cleaning, before hunting the rifle.
Anywho,. Does this routine break in the barrel. Don't know, don't really care. I've owned and shot a lot of rifles and it works for me.
Merkel K3 Extrem, 270 Winchester
Doing the JB Bore Paste/Kroil thingy!
Shots 1 & 2 @ 25 yds to get on paper. Factory 150 grainers.
shots 3-5 @ 100 yds., for zero. Factory 150 grainers
Shots 6-8 @ 100 for zero. Getting serious. Using my "go to load" for the 270 Win., 130 gr. Accubond handloads
Shots 9-11, @ 100, and where I called it good. 130 gr. Accubond handloads
After this, its first shot out of a cold barrel to check for zero.
Krieger knows what they're talking about. I followed their recommendations for the three that I owned and use the same process for new barrels that are of good quality. With a good barrel it's all about polishing tooling marks in the throat. You can do it in three to five rounds in the first range session or three to five range sessions cleaning each time when you get home.
But hey, much of confidence takes place between the ears. Magic feather worked for Dumbo.
P
No waste of ammo. First two rounds are sighting in, next three are your three round group. You're done. Where is the waste? That is why George building sought after rifles, and you sell Pharm.
Easy there, Homer. I’m not referencing George’s protocol, it doesn’t sound much like break in.
And I like selling drugs. I make enough money to buy George’s rifles.
P
Obey lawful commands. Video interactions. Hold bad cops accountable. Problem solved.
But hey, much of confidence takes place between the ears. Magic feather worked for Dumbo.
P
No waste of ammo. First two rounds are sighting in, next three are your three round group. You're done. Where is the waste? That is why George building sought after rifles, and you sell Pharm.
Easy there, Homer. I’m not referencing George’s protocol, it doesn’t sound much like break in.
And I like selling drugs. I make enough money to buy George’s rifles.
P
It wasn't a jab at you. Just rebutting your remarks of a waste of ammo. Nothing wrong with selling drugs or medical devices I have a bunch of friends that do it.
We've got a gunsmith near me that's done work for a couple of buddies and myself. His name is Don Geraci and in the 1980's he held a bunch of benchrest world records, he's in the benchrest hall of fame, etc.
He tells me to do a break in procedure like Krieger recommends so I do it. I figure if Krieger & a guy with a bunch of shooting records says do it then I'd probably better listen to them.
I only do it with good custom barrels. I don't worry about it with factory rifles, you're not going to smooth out a $20 barrel.