Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Barrel Break In Yes or No?

Bought a CA Mesa a few weeks back and CA recommends basically a 50 shot break in process while giving a through cleaning every 6 rounds. I am normally a Tikka guy and have never broken one in and never had an issue either and all of my Tikka barrels clean up easier then some customs I have had.

Question is should I bother with the CA recommend break in process or no? I know it won’t hurt anything to do it, but I also don't want to waste the time and effort if its not fully needed.

The last line of your post says it all…..

I run a patch to make sure the bore is clear Then go shoot.

Some barrels need it desperately... most barrels would benefit from it, making them less prone to fouling and much easier to clean when they do, and arguably more accurate while achieving higher velocities and less recoil (that outta start some schit lol)... And yet other barrels don't need nothing cept shoot'in... My litmus test is a clean proper fitting patch on a jag pushed down the barrel... if it slides thru nice and smooth feeling all the way, You are probably ok.. If it is tight and rough feeling (almost like sandpaper) and or the patch gets sticky (or stuck)... You are in for the mother of all barrel break-in battles... And if it's between these two extremes, It will likely benefit from a normal break-in procedure... I like the savage arms method i found online yrs ago... Just my experiences... Good Luck

Big Stick has a pretty good video of the procedure

You asked this question on the wrong forum, several things are guaranteed on the fire..........Leupold haters and break in haters........but then would never have bought a Christensen in the first place

If it doesn't shoot worth a crap, are you going to call Christension?


The answer to that, answers your question.

You can't blow off their recommendations, then bitch if the gun doesn't
perform as expected.

Even if you feel it's all BS.

Lot more barrels are ruined by cleaning than by shooting, just a thought. Rio7

I’ve broke in probably 25 new barrels, mostly Shilen, some Lilja and some Kreiger. All of them shot very well after the break in. Would they have shot just as well without the break in? Who knows.

I've had Rock Creek Krieger and Bartlein and they all shot extremely well without a prescribed break in

No, I do not follow a formal break in procedure.

I do it half a$$ed.

I do clean a new barrel thoroughly before shooting the first time. Then I clean it thoroughly after each range session for the first 50-100 rounds.

After those initial sessions and cleanings, I typically apply DBC per instructions. Clean thoroughly again after curing and consider myself finished.

After that I usually just run a patch after some foam cleaner to get the primer/powder residue out. If accuracy starts to slip I will do a deep clean using copper solvents.

CRS,

That's pretty much my procedure too. If the barrel's still fouling more than I like after around 50 rounds of range-testing then it gets DBC'd.

I chambered a barrel and studied it with a hawkeye borescope. Saw a tiny burr, sort of a metal rollover, on the trailing side of some of the lands in the throat. This disappeared after the first shot. I stopped doing the one shot clean etc regimen. Now I clean a rifle like CRS and Mule Deer do, after a range session.

I follow the manufacturer's recommendations. Why not? I figure they know about their barrels than I do.
Phil

For God's sake, don't try it without a "proper break in" in order to find out.

I clean between each round for the first 20 rounds, or less if I see a noticeable improvement in fouling earlier.

Does it make a difference? No idea. But it makes me feel better. I should probably wave a turkey feather over the barrel and burn some sage while I'm cleaning.

I am a fan of the Mule Deer method too.
BUT, having bought a Christensen myself last year, I recall an important point. This rifle has an accuracy guarantee. The company specifies the break-in procedure be followed for that guarantee to be valid.
If it does not meet spec and you contact them to get it fixed or replaced, they are going to ask if you followed the break-in procedure. You can, of course, answer that question any way your conscious allows - some folks' allow more than others.
That is, IMO, the only reason to follow that specific procedure.

Cheers,
Rex

Exactly 💯

That's a great reason for me to never buy a Christianson. Follow their break-in for guarantee to be valid.......what a joke. All the Tikka's in existence are rolling in the floor laughing at that one.

Here's what I did when I bought a Mesa 3 years ago. Remember, it's a hunting rifle.

0. Run a dry patch before 1st round.
1. Fired 1st batch of 20 rounds slow, then dry patched.
2. Fired 2nd batch of 20 rounds slow, then dry patched, then solvent patched.
3. Fired 3rd batch of 20 rounds slow, then dry patched.
4. Fired 4th batch of 20 rounds slow, then dry patched, then solvent patched, then checked for copper build up and clean.

The barrel today has a round count just over 600. I still dry patch around every 20 rounds or so, but solvent patch around 50 or 60 rounds.
The barrel basically stopped copper build up after reaching 120 rounds, but I still check every 100 rounds or so.

I just remembered I recently finished running ~60 rounds of Mono's through the barrel with only dry patching after every 20 rounds. No solvent cleaning.
I'm curious to see if there is any copper build up from that batch.