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

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Absolutely classic.

I did the shoot 1, clean voodoo routine ONCE! A very long time ago.

Never again.

Lija also claims barrels can be too smooth ,contributing to increased fouling...but I cannot get my head around that theory.

The smoother something is, typically the less friction you will encounter when it comes to metals - and if removing machining marks
reduces fouling, then would not also reducing a more aggressive lapped surface to create a smoother surface with better [lower]
co-efficient of friction be even better for reducing fouling?

Finer /less aggressive surface finish would create smaller micro troughs where contaminants can lay up.

Some might claim a smoother surface increases contact area between bullet and barrel, but that may not necessarily
be the case, you might just end up with a larger number of shallower micro peaks/troughs rather than a lower number
of more aggressive micro peaks/troughs. without changing the actual contact area by much.

same goes with barrels with differing number of lands-grooves,..ie; more or less may not alter actual contact area
between bullet and barrel...because one can compensate by altering the widths so that contact area remains consistent.

Vudoo break-in,is CRITICAL too.(grin)



Hint...............

Myth

Break in is a waste of time.

smy1, I'm glad a fellow Okie posted this. On a lapped custom barrel the throat from chambering will have a little machining fluff. My break in procedure is a small amount of xxxx steel wool wrapped around a bronze cleaning brush and with a hand drill lap the throat for a few seconds. Run a wet and dry patch through it and you are done. I haven't had a factory barrel in years, so can't speak of them.
I don't know any custom maker that laps any finer than 320 as a polished bore will copper foul moreso with a slick bore.
Now in a month or two another thread will spring up again on this subject.

I'm about to find out if a more aggressive lapped finish will solve that barrels fouling issues. I lapped it with 180 aluminum oxide at the advise of a gentleman who lapps barrels nearly every day. I'm going to shoot it and see if it breaks in or not. Should be interesting.

180 is akin to sand blasting a bore.

Hint...............

I kinda like Brux Barrels recommended break in procedure. "Just shoot the damn thing" lol

Ooooopsie!..............

I'll acknowledge your expertise with regards to sand in a barrel.

BARTLEIN barrels say that increased roughness causes increased fouling.

The various fire lapping kits on the market can include abrasives down to 400, 600, 800 and 1200 grit size.

Regarding the claim that a 'too smooth' bore increases fouling- maybe those who push that theory can provide
and explain the suppprting science/physics behind it.

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.

The last new barrel I broken in I did the following. Cleaned barrel and applied Dyna Bore Coat. Used five rounds to get the gun sighted in. And 9 more for load development. I then loaded 500 rounds of the best load. The next weekend I went out and shot all 500 rounds at prairie dogs over two days without cleaning once. When I got home I cleaned it with Wipeput and it wasng too bad. Loaded up 500 more rounds and repeated. After 1500 rounds it shoots just about like it did when I started, which is to say pretty damn good.
Probably broke every rule of break in and the instructions for DBC, but I am not losing sleep over it. I have better crap to do than fart around cleaning insistently.

Haven't shot a Virgin spout,in almost (2) whole days and can only speak in the first hand to 100's.

Hint...............

Feller, think about it! Ever pushed a clean finger across a clean piece of glass?

Pushing ones finger across smooth glass is easier to to do than across etched glass.
etched glass is rougher, more abrasive and thus more grippy. (has a higher coefficient of friction.)

Better you Explain what you are trying to say through science/physics and we will see if it stands up
to scientific scrutiny.

Apples and oranges. There's no disputing that a rough barrel will peel copper off a jacket like when you crashed your bicycle on gravel. The point that Butch is making is that a very smooth surface (think a polyurethane finish on a basketball court ripping your skin off) can accomplish the same thing. I hand lapped that Hart barrel and intend to shoot it soon and see if the fouling has been resolved. I'll post the results.

I've done break-ins and I've just started shooting them. Coincidence, maybe........but the most accurate shooters I have aren't the ones that got a break-in.

Waste of MY time. YMMV

My process is somewhat similar.

Fire three shots, don’t clean.





Fire three more, don’t clean.




Come back a few days later, fire three more shots, don’t clean.





Come back a few days later, fire three more shots, don’t clean.





Now, I had other rifles I was breaking in, so I didn’t go to the range just to shoot one rifle three times. Plus, it’s a Tikka, so that’s kind of like cheating.





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