Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Bbl break in...

How about it? I have not done this in quite a while. Most of the guns I have I have had for many years and my father likely did it. Even have one that I don't recall going through any real process with and it shoots fine.

I want to do it right IF its really necessary. I have read several different ways to do it. So, advice would be much appreciated, even if you think its hogwash and not needed. I look at it like something that cant possibly hurt it and might be good for it. Whats the verdict? Whats the proper way? The way I last read was as follows: fire a shot, clean with copper solvent, and swab til dry...assure bbl cool down then fire again....cleaning between every shot for the first ten shots...then every 3 shots with ample cool down between shots and clean ever three shot up to 20 rounds.

Sounds about right. Here's what one bbl manufacturer (Shilen) says:

Break-in procedures are as diverse as cleaning techniques. Shilen, Inc. introduced a break-in procedure mostly because customers seemed to think that we should have one. By and large, we don't think breaking-in a new barrel is a big deal. All our stainless steel barrels have been hand lapped as part of their production, as well as any chrome moly barrel we install. Hand lapping a barrel polishes the interior of the barrel and eliminates sharp edges or burrs that could cause jacket deformity. This, in fact, is what you are doing when you break-in a new barrel through firing and cleaning.

Here is our standard recommendation: Clean after each shot for the first 5 shots. The remainder of the break-in is to clean every 5 shots for the next 50 shots. During this time, don't just shoot bullets down the barrel during this 50 shot procedure. This is a great time to begin load development. Zero the scope over the first 5 shots, and start shooting for accuracy with 5-shot groups for the next 50 shots. Same thing applies to fire forming cases for improved or wildcat cartridges. Just firing rounds down a barrel to form brass without any regard to their accuracy is a mistake. It is a waste of time and barrel life.

Nerf

I follow a method similar to Shilen though I don't wait for barrel to cool down when shooting 3 or 5 at a time.

FWIW the couple of barrels I did not take time to do this extra bit wiht foul worse than any of my other barrels. But that could certainly be a fluke.

Seems to me if you aren't in a hurry like I was that one time(1 week before the nationals I had 2 barrels die out of the blue --well I was trying to stretch them..... and had only time to swap and rezero and hope the ammo was fine...) I"d take the bit of time it takes. Like Shilen notes, it can be used wisely and not just blasted away.

Jeff

If you clean a new barrel after every shot, a pattern quickly becomes obvious: Each successive cleaning produces less copper than the one before. Copper accumulates faster in a new barrel, even one that has been lapped.

With the one lapped barrel I have done, I was down to very minor deposits after a dozen rounds. With other barrels, it took cleaning after each of the first 10, and cleaning after about each of about 10 groups of 3 to get the deposition rate way down.

I don't think break-in does a thing for accuracy, but I do think it does a lot for how long a new barrel will hold accuracy without cleaning.

After the barrel has been fired and cleaned 20 times, it's clearly broken in. You can do that with 20 annual hunting trips, cleaning after each, or you can do it at the range. I do mine at the range.

Kenny Jarrett likes to say at his barrel-cleaning seminars that the barrel will tell you when it is broken in, and how it needs to be cleaned.

Like Denton's copper message...

jim

Thanks for the info guys. Kinda what I thought and had heard. Still good to know and to hear different opinions and perspectives.

I just went through the break in process with a Lilja barrel. Like denton said, the first 6 shots revealed quite a bit of copper fouling but got less and less with each shot and cleaning. Lilja recommends cleaning every shot for the first 10-12 shots. I had never broken in a factory barrel before, but I figured for the price it sure can't hurt to break the barrel in like Lilja advises. It was avery bright day and the first few shots it was easy to see the copper fouling in the grooves at the muzzle.

Exactly on the cost issue too!! Thats why I always try to do it on custom tubes. You are paying 300-400 or more for teh tube. Then give or take another couple hundred to put it on and chamber it.

Whats the time compared to break it in? Vs having to stick on another barrel.

Jeff