New Rifle Barrel Break-in for Accuracy?

[Dwesson]

I shoot 300 H&H mag at 100 to 600 yards , I shoot .50 BMG at 600 to 1000 yards, I shoot a National Match M1A at 100-300 yards, and my current 22-250 varmint rifle build (as seen in this Thread) should be good from 100 to 800 yards once i get it broke in and the load using Sierra Matchkings is determined. I have 2- AR-15s I custom built I have not Benched yet due to the weather, so i have other choices besides my .22 Bench guns.
Why do you keep poking me with your Verbal stick ?
Yeah , I squeeze Copperheads with my bare hands to get one drop of magic oil out of em ...

I'm just a "computer armchair bullshooter" remember? I think your paper targets are thicker than your skin.

I also am not the one that states a barrel's true accuracy can only be achieve via a somewhat undefined break in process which you have loosely said is "shoot until accurate".

I also don't propose to have some miracle oil that adds 70FPS to my bullets, and yeah I am throwing the red flag on that one.

I am asking for data to back up your assertions, you're failing to provide data and/or contending that issue has too many confounding variables to measure.

That's it. There's no more to the story than this.

I am debating the point for the readers of the thread, not you. It's pretty obvious at this point that you believe what you do because you've been doing it your whole life. There's no amount of evidence (or lack there of) that's likely going to change that for you.

 

[11Charlie]

I think we need one with a Facepalm....

I'll give you a like for that because that can go both directions!

 

[CLT65]

The point is... Not ALL of us want to be Average shooters... just like most Golfers don't want to just be average Golfers.

This is true, and I do respect the accomplishments of those like yourself who pursue a discipline with passion and a force of will to compete with the best.

I personally do not have that passion. I don't have the time, money, or competitive personality to compete on that level. I enjoy precision shooting at times, with my limited time, equipment, and experience, and I'm very comfortable shooting at the level I do. If that means I'm average and that "real shooters" will look down their noses at me, then so be it. To each their own.

 

[Dwesson]

This is true, and I do respect the accomplishments of those like yourself who pursue a discipline with passion and a force of will to compete with the best.

I personally do not have that passion. I don't have the time, money, or competitive personality to compete on that level. I enjoy precision shooting at times, with my limited time, equipment, and experience, and I'm very comfortable shooting at the level I do. If that means I'm average and that "real shooters" will look down their noses at me, then so be it. To each their own.

Ever see a bench rest shooter try and shoot off one of these? The shooting sports are so diverse, even within the same category of firearm (whether you're shooting F Class, Palma, PRS, small bore, high power, service rifle etc) no one can claim "real shooter" status.



Take an accomplished trap shooter and put them on a 5-stand line or a challenging sporting clays course and they aren't likely to do so hot.

Cowboy action shooters who are top of their game would come up lacking in a USPSA Open class match, I'd wager.

Shooting, whether it's with a pistol, shotgun or rifle is a perishable skill and one that is very specialized. You'd have to be ignorant to claim one specific shooting discipline is the one that makes someone a "real shooter". Unless your last name is Miculek

 

[CLT65]

True, plenty of variety in the shooting sports, just as much or more as any sport. And then there are those of us who were born without that competitive spirit, who just like to shoot for the fun of it.

 

[Dwesson]

True, plenty of variety in the shooting sports, just as much or more as any sport. And then there are those of us who were born without that competitive spirit, who just like to shoot for the fun of it.

 

[Ura-Ki]

 

[Kruel J]

17 pages since this started yesterday!

I will give the thread this much, my "likes" increased by at least a hundred with the posts I made.

 

[slimmer13]

17 pages since this started yesterday!

But at least the issue has been put to bed once and for all.

 

[ferret427]

Buy gun. Shoot gun. Here is my thinking, and as I am not Brian Litz, school me! My goal is to better understand.
The internal ballistic difference between a "broken" vs "not broken" barrel pales in comparison to component deviation in cartridge construction. Average case volume, powder/primer consistency, projectile concentricity, neck tension, etc. A few microns at a few specific points in a barrel that make up a very small percentage of the condition of the bore overall ultimately has almost no impact on precision. After all, if all projectiles are subjected to the same conditions in the bore, then they will all behave similarly in the bore. That said, given a minimal variance in pressure from ignition and consistency of the orientation of the projectile relative to the bore, precision is determined by external ballistics. The bore determines spin rate, and via pressure, muzzle velocity, and in conjunction with cartridge consistency the projectile state upon exit of the muzzle.
The state of the projectile at point of exit along with barrel harmonics and consistency of gas ejection around the crown determines the initial path of a projectile, and at that point, external ballistic factors take over and are the primary factors in determining poi. After all, over distance, wind and angle relative to target are the biggest determinants of shot placement (barring shooting long range for a given cartridge where goofy things like direction matter).
Am I full of it? No idea. What do you think, on page 18...lol.

 

[DLS]

You are full of it ... full of good thinking!

 

[tkdguy]

Maybe this is helpful. With a new rifle one can shoot a round or three and then clean the barrel. This can be repeated as often and for duration as you want. I usually do a box of 20 or 30 that way over a few sight-in sessions and am happy with the results.

 

[Mooseman]

Buy gun. Shoot gun. Here is my thinking, and as I am not Brian Litz, school me! My goal is to better understand.
The internal ballistic difference between a "broken" vs "not broken" barrel pales in comparison to component deviation in cartridge construction. Average case volume, powder/primer consistency, projectile concentricity, neck tension, etc. A few microns at a few specific points in a barrel that make up a very small percentage of the condition of the bore overall ultimately has almost no impact on precision. After all, if all projectiles are subjected to the same conditions in the bore, then they will all behave similarly in the bore. That said, given a minimal variance in pressure from ignition and consistency of the orientation of the projectile relative to the bore, precision is determined by external ballistics. The bore determines spin rate, and via pressure, muzzle velocity, and in conjunction with cartridge consistency the projectile state upon exit of the muzzle.
The state of the projectile at point of exit along with barrel harmonics and consistency of gas ejection around the crown determines the initial path of a projectile, and at that point, external ballistic factors take over and are the primary factors in determining poi. After all, over distance, wind and angle relative to target are the biggest determinants of shot placement (barring shooting long range for a given cartridge where goofy things like direction matter).
Am I full of it? No idea. What do you think, on page 18...lol.

You are correct for the most part. We can only do as much as possible to eliminate the variables for achieving the best accuracy.
It begins with the ammo and barrel and ability of the shooter. You also have Temperature, humidity, wind as you mentioned, elevation, and then there is that pesky Coriolis Effect to deal with at extremely long ranges. Then you have bullet balance , and then yaw and flight changes as a bullet goes subsonic...

 

[ferret427]

I guess that what I meant to say with all of that crap was that a burr in the barrel is not worth 2 bullets in the bullseye...or something.

 

[Velzey]

I'm just reading and on occasion.
Always a fun topic.

 

[Mooseman]

I guess that what I meant to say with all of that crap was that a burr in the barrel is not worth 2 bullets in the bullseye...or something.

Well a burr can deform a bullet or push it more to one side as its traveling the bore like a bump in the road....so can a build up of copper on one spot.

 

[Mooseman]

I'm just reading and on occasion.
Always a fun topic.

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Hell , I went thru 3 pots of coffee last nite here... lol

 

[Velzey]

I know one thing..
This was out of a freshly cleaned barrel. Rifle has had appx 50 rounds total thru it.
Factory Win ammo!
100 yards, 7mm-08 outside temp was 21 degrees.

I've seen allot of guys over use brushes. Let the solvent work for you. Let it set between wet patches (15-30min). You will be amazed at what comes out.

 

[Bealzybub]

Solvent?

 

[ferret427]

If a burr was to deform a bullet by a bit in the bore, 2 ideas (no idea of validity):
A: the rest of the pressure pushing the bullet down the bore would take care of it.
Or
B: in making a barrel, what are the odds that the rifling process could leave a feature in a bore that would produce an irregularity larger than the tolerance that the tool forming the bore such that it would not be a feature of that was not produced through the length of the bore?