New Rifle Barrel Break-in for Accuracy?

[Kruel J]

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?

Any modern quality barrel will be lapped from the factory, so burs are a non-issue.

 

[titsonritz]

Any modern quality barrel will be lapped from the factory, so burs are a non-issue.

And if there are not you're buying the wrong barrel/firearm.

 

[Kruel J]

And if there are not you're buying the wrong barrel/firearm.

Exactly. I think maybe break-in might have been needed in years past. But today's barrel manufacturing leaves it irrelevant.

 

[Mooseman]

Any modern quality barrel will be lapped from the factory, so burs are a non-issue.

I guess Makers like Pac-nor are wrong too... Barrel Care - PAC-NOR Barreling, Inc. - Precision Rifle Barrels - Pac-Nor.com
You guys are just stubborn !

 

[Dwesson]

Exactly. I think maybe break-in might have been needed in years past. But today's barrel manufacturing leaves it irrelevant.

Clearly the sacred cow has been gored enough in this thread, and as others have pointed out, this notion of break in MOST LIKELY started from bench rest shooters back in the day (they love their ritual) and the idea of a fouling shot.

Just think today you can buy a gun off the rack, mass manufactured and with commercial ammo, for $500, shoot sub-moa. This was unheard of not too long ago.

Keep in mind this whole "break in" ritual was started decades ago when:

1. The action tolerances were far looser
2. There were far fewer barrel manufacturers making higher quality barrels
3. Ammunition consistency was for lower

But hey, if braking out the cleaning rod and cleaning your barrel between every shot for the first 5 shots vs just shooting 5 shots tickles your pickle, have at it...

 

[Dwesson]

I guess Makers like Pac-nor are wrong too... Barrel Care - PAC-NOR Barreling, Inc. - Precision Rifle Barrels - Pac-Nor.com
You guys are just stubborn !

Oh look another barrel manufacturer without any data. You'd think they would all agree on how many shots and the right regimen.

Make sure you don't follow Pac-Nor's procedure on your Bartlein barrel! You'll be proper f'd

 

[Bealzybub]

I use a bore snake. Easier and much quicker. Less chance of smackin the crown too.

 

[Mooseman]

Oh look another barrel manufacturer without any data. You'd think they would all agree on how many shots and the right regimen.

Make sure you don't follow Pac-Nor's procedure on your Bartlein barrel! You'll be proper f'd

So you don't follow manufacturers Instructions....

 

[DB is Here]

So you don't follow manufacturers Instructions....

As men we're predisposed to not follow manufacturers instructions nor ask for directions...It's in the Man handbook, page 37 section 4.1

 

[Dwesson]

So you don't follow manufacturers Instructions....

Only IKEA instructions, otherwise there's a pile of parts after I'm "done"

 

[Bealzybub]

If you aint got a pile of parts left after ANY assembly procedure well, you need to turn in yer man card......... Well, unless its a firearm maybe.........

 

[Ura-Ki]

There is ONE gunsmith on here whose advice concerning a barrel I Would follow, if he said Dude, break in that barrel, i would say "yessir" and follow his instructions EXACTLY as stated, so far he is still making pop corn!
There is also a real shooter in this thread I would follow any recomendations he passed down, but I think he might be flying south as we speak!

As you were, Carry on!

 

[Ura-Ki]

As men we're predisposed to not follow manufacturers instructions nor ask for directions...It's in the Man handbook, page 37 section 4.1

You aren't supposed to tell about that, we agreed, what happend in the garage stayed in the garage!








J/K

 

[Used To Hunt]

I believe in running one wet and then a few dry patches for the first few shots, then go right into load development. Not sure which camp that puts me in but there's great company on both sides.

 

[Mooseman]

Well what maker do they use ?
here is what the top comp shooters use... Precision Rifle Barrels – What The Pros Use
Hart used by 3% ,Krieger only used by 2% of the shooters, and Lilja 1%

 

[DB is Here]

there's great company on both sides

THIS

 

[Velzey]

Whoa there, I use Pac Nor barrels all the time, along with several other mfg. And own several myself. Never a problem with their barrels.
Never have read their break in procedure until now. Interesting
I've found even high end end barrels tend to shoot better after 50-100 rounds.

If you want to know why the manufacturers all have this nonsense on their website? It's because gunsmiths like the one in this thread wouldn't use their barrels to make guns.

It's literally as simple as that. If you don't believe me, ask them. I did at SHOT....

 

[Mooseman]

I guess Hawk Hill precision cut and lapped barrels don't know what they are talking about either...
Barrel break-in procedure
I sure don't want you guys on my Jury anytime soon if ya can't read the evidence !

 

[Dwesson]

Whoa there, I use Pac Nor barrels all the time, along with several other mfg. And own several myself. Never a problem with their barrels.
Never have read their break in procedure until now. Interesting
I've found even high end end barrels tend to shoot better after 50-100 rounds.

Yep and I'll PM you the barrel manufacturer who straight up told me they have "break in" procedures on their website because in their words "gunsmiths will go with other manufacturers if we didn't put it on there". I don't know why they would lie to me I wasn't a buyer of rifle barrels at the time.

Never said Pac-Nor barrels weren't good, I have Bartlein, Krieger and Obermeyer barrels on my bolt guns. They are all fantastic and I have also never said that the barrels don't shoot better after putting rounds through them. Quite the opposite in fact.

What I have repeated, numerous times in this thread, is that I have not seen any benefit in going through some arcane shoot/clean/shoot/clean/shoot/clean process for some indeterminate amount of rounds when a barrel is new in order to improve:

• accuracy
• speed of the barrel
• ease of cleaning
• longevity (this is laughable given your ammunition and shooting schedule have way more to do with barrel longevity)

If there is evidence, somewhere, that ANY of the above things are affected by this goofy shoot/clean procedure, I'd love to see it. I have an open mind on the issue. I'm going off my experience and what I have been told by the 'smiths that made my guns and at least one fairly well known manufacturer.

 

[Dwesson]

I guess Hawk Hill precision cut and lapped barrels don't know what they are talking about either...
Barrel break-in procedure
I sure don't want you guys on my Jury anytime soon if ya can't read the evidence !

If you can't tell the difference between circumstantial evidence and direct evidence, I don't want you near a jury either.