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I just purchased my first NEW rifle (Tikka T3x Lite Stainless) and am wondering about "breaking in" the barrel. The manual says nothing about it, but I've read the manual for a Bergara B14 and they say to clean the barrel after every shot for the first 5, then after every ten for the next 50, then as necessary (after shooting). Any thoughts relative to this gun in particular, or in general?
 
Shoot it til it's dirty. Rinse, repeat. I don't believe in barrel break-in personally. YMMV.
 
I have owned quite a few rifles, and can only think of two that needed any break in.
The first was a Green Mountain 17 Mach 2 barrel I had fitted to a marlin 25 action. At first it only shot patterns! At 50 yds it would do 4" at best! I thought it was an ammo problem. So I gathered up every brand I could think of and went at it again. I cleaned between every brand, and fired about 30 of each brand. It seemed like every different ammo was shrinking the group! Right about 300 rounds down the tube it had gotten to where any ammo I fired would shoot into a 3/4" bull. And at 500 rounds from a good mechanical rest I could cut that in half.

All I can guess is that there was something rough in the barrel that was smoothed out by shooting.

Years back the big barrel makers used to "Hand Lap" their premium barrels. I don't hear much about that any more. Maybe machining has gotten better, or inspection has stepped up their game. But new rifles right out of the box are so much better than they used to be!
It used to be a reason to celebrate if your new rifle would put 3 rounds into 1" at 100 yards! Now "most" will put 3 into 1 1/4" easily!

So I would say Most barrels need nothing but a good cleaning before being shot, But not always! DR
 
I just purchased my first NEW rifle (Tikka T3x Lite Stainless) and am wondering about "breaking in" the barrel. The manual says nothing about it, but I've read the manual for a Bergara B14 and they say to clean the barrel after every shot for the first 5, then after every ten for the next 50, then as necessary (after shooting). Any thoughts relative to this gun in particular, or in general?

You are going to love this purchase. Mine has become one of my favorite shooter's and a go to every time I go to the range. It is just a blast to shoot.

As for break in. I took it to the range shot about 40 rounds through it and then cleaned it after I got home. Let us know how your first range trip goes. :)
 
Ok so will it hurt anything to pull a lightly lubed patch down the barrel every five shots ? Don't go crazy with metal brushes and lead or copper remover. Just a lightly oiled patch. It's always given me great results. I look at it like a cast iron skillet that you make non-stick just by seasoning with oil. And I use an Otis cable with a patch so running a patch down the barrel the proper direction takes little effort. But that's just me. :)
 

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