Turn your firearm break in cleaning world upside down

pharmseller · Feb 17, 2017

When I clean I use Wipe-Out foaming bore cleaner. Follow the directions.

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DizzyJ · Feb 17, 2017

Perhaps some of you have seen this, many have not. Please forgive me if it's already been posted, but it's good and it's from a renowned match winning barrel maker.

How to Break-in a Barrel

Core · Mar 10, 2017

DizzyJ said:
Perhaps some of you have seen this, many have not. Please forgive me if it's already been posted, but it's good and it's from a renowned match winning barrel maker.

How to Break-in a Barrel

In hindsight, I believe my method of using a swab to clean my barrels rather than a metal rod is the way to go. Not to say you couldn't cause wear with repetitive cleaning but swabbing out a dirty barrel is not going to hurt anything. I have been shooting 200-300 rounds on my first range trip with my pistols for some time. I preseason my barrels with FrogLube before first shots. I was using a synthetic metal surface modifier or conditioner. FrogLube conditions the barrel well if not better than my previous synthetic method. It lifts carbon which is hugely beneficial. Barrel cleaning is so easy with FrogLube.

jsparks747 · Jun 4, 2017

Better yet, get used to it while you "break it in"

Core · Jun 4, 2017

jsparks747 said:
Better yet, get used to it while you "break it in"

I suppose the "break in" phenomenon is a result of a combination of field testing a firearm for reliability, and "fielding" the platform by the operator or user. As a rule of thumb breaking in a firearm is very specific to the manufacturer. Precision manufacturing and high-quality control yields a gun that runs and cutting corners yield a gun that might not run without fitting or modifications. I just read the AR study and I think something we seldom think about is the major differences in cartridges and their respective projectiles and how they wear the barrel. Some projectiles (bullets) wear a barrel out fast, some are very easy on the rifling. And as McMillan mentions some cartridges are just hard on barrels. I would think we can develop better projectiles and better barrels to extend the lifespan of these barrels. This would be a good market considering out troops are fielding .300+ sniper platforms in the combat zone. Think about the benefits of doubling the lifespan of a .300 barrel for snipers. Loss of mean velocity and accuracy would be increased 200% over the lifespan of the barrel. It's not uncommon for a sniper to take hundreds of shots while deployed in the modern era. Historical kill counts are also indicative that a sniper may be placed in a position where 1000 round lifespan is a liability. Training and certification rounds, and rounds in combat could use that rifle up fast. Depending on the platform cleaning may or may not have an adverse effect on mean accuracy and barrel wear. From my experience, I don't like a clean bore on a precision rifle. I just feel more comfortable with a few rounds through the barrel, the first shot on a well-swabbed barrel seems to yield more deviation in a pressure for several reasons. 1. temp 2.residual lube 3. friction variations on the inside of the barrel. I have found that the cheap ammo in my semi-automatics can be corrosive to some degree and It's more important to run a swab of solvent and lube down the chamber and barrel. I can give some good advice: if you shoot cheap Russian ammo in your AR or AK, expect excessive barrel wear. If you're a thrifty type, you might want to stick with American made factory ammo. If you are a high volume shooter, you can probably afford to replace a $200 barrel every year but considering any projectile with steel in it can cause mean accuracy to drop at 1/2 the lifespan of nonsteel projectiles it is worth noting.

jsparks747 · Jun 5, 2017

Core said:
I suppose the "break in" phenomenon is a result of a combination of field testing a firearm for reliability, and "fielding" the platform by the operator or user. As a rule of thumb breaking in a firearm is very specific to the manufacturer. Precision manufacturing and high-quality control yields a gun that runs and cutting corners yield a gun that might not run without fitting or modifications. I just read the AR study and I think something we seldom think about is the major differences in cartridges and their respective projectiles and how they wear the barrel. Some projectiles (bullets) wear a barrel out fast, some are very easy on the rifling. And as McMillan mentions some cartridges are just hard on barrels. I would think we can develop better projectiles and better barrels to extend the lifespan of these barrels. This would be a good market considering out troops are fielding .300+ sniper platforms in the combat zone. Think about the benefits of doubling the lifespan of a .300 barrel for snipers. Loss of mean velocity and accuracy would be increased 200% over the lifespan of the barrel. It's not uncommon for a sniper to take hundreds of shots while deployed in the modern era. Historical kill counts are also indicative that a sniper may be placed in a position where 1000 round lifespan is a liability. Training and certification rounds, and rounds in combat could use that rifle up fast. Depending on the platform cleaning may or may not have an adverse effect on mean accuracy and barrel wear. From my experience, I don't like a clean bore on a precision rifle. I just feel more comfortable with a few rounds through the barrel, the first shot on a well-swabbed barrel seems to yield more deviation in a pressure for several reasons. 1. temp 2.residual lube 3. friction variations on the inside of the barrel. I have found that the cheap ammo in my semi-automatics can be corrosive to some degree and It's more important to run a swab of solvent and lube down the chamber and barrel. I can give some good advice: if you shoot cheap Russian ammo in your AR or AK, expect excessive barrel wear. If you're a thrifty type, you might want to stick with American made factory ammo. If you are a high volume shooter, you can probably afford to replace a $200 barrel every year but considering any projectile with steel in it can cause mean accuracy to drop at 1/2 the lifespan of nonsteel projectiles it is worth noting.

That works for ARs but I don't have one (sold my guns for a fresh start. Haven't found one I like yet. I am finicky, don't judge) nor do I plan to get one anytime soon. I prefer Bolt action rifles which was what I was talking about.

Goosebrown · Jun 5, 2017

There's a letter from McMillan floating around that says he thinks "breaking" is a scam. The barrels are done when they ship and every round deteriorates the barrel. YMMV.

I shoot about a hundred rounds before I count scores. I run a snake once mid season and clean after the last shoot of the season. For benchrest target.

I have one rifle, a 204, that likes to be cleaned. The rest are all adverse to cleaning.

Greenbug · Jun 5, 2017

pharmseller said:
I have a very detailed and meticulous process. Its straightforward but complex.

Insert bolt

View attachment 341579

Mount a scope

View attachment 341582

Boresite

View attachment 341580

Go to the range

View attachment 341581

Shoot the heck out of it

View attachment 341583

Go home

View attachment 341584

Put it away

View attachment 341587

View attachment 341585 View attachment 341586

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YOU FORGOT TO MENTION THE VERY FIRST STEP IN YOUR BREAK IN PROCEEDURE!!!!!

BUY A TIKKA RIFLE!

I just got another Tikka in 7mm-08 and broke in the barrel yesterday morning. After shoot & clean for 5 rounds while sighting in the scope I noticed that the bore felt very smooth and was not offering up much crud on the cleaning patches. So I decided to shoot a 3 shot group. Shots number 6, 7, & 8 went into a .484" group at 100 yards. Cleaned it after that first group and shots number 9, 10, & 11 went into a .367" group at 100 yards. I think that the folks at Tikka/Sako have got it down when it comes to building rifles that shoot very well for an off the shelf option.

First step in the barrel break in process is start with a good barrel!

41mag · Jun 5, 2017

I've tried to get excited about rifles but so far mostly old buffalo single shots are the closest to holding my interest. Realize ymmv.

tac · Jun 5, 2017

Back in 1980 me and couple of friends went to the Steyr factory in Austria to collect twenty SSG69 sniping rifles. I got to test fire a couple using our preferred round, the 200gr S&B soft-point [sssshhhhhhh].

Those were the first commercial cartridges every fired by those guns - apart from the Proof rounds in the Ferlach PH - five shots at 100m on a tunnel range.

The other seventeen rifles had the same treatment.

The group of five rounds was just under 1".

Fast forward to August 2000 and our home range. I was due to leave the Army in a couple of days, and went to pay my respects to an old friend - the SSG69 I'd test-fired twenty years before.

I set up at our 100m range, and fired five rounds of S&B 200gr soft-point stuff. They went into just under an inch. The gun log showed a count of just shy of ten thousand shots of the same stuff.

Break-in?

What break-in?

tac

pharmseller · Jun 5, 2017

Greenbug said:
YOU FORGOT TO MENTION THE VERY FIRST STEP IN YOUR BREAK IN PROCEEDURE!!!!!

BUY A TIKKA RIFLE!

I just got another Tikka in 7mm-08 and broke in the barrel yesterday morning. After shoot & clean for 5 rounds while sighting in the scope I noticed that the bore felt very smooth and was not offering up much crud on the cleaning patches. So I decided to shoot a 3 shot group. Shots number 6, 7, & 8 went into a .484" group at 100 yards. Cleaned it after that first group and shots number 9, 10, & 11 went into a .367" group at 100 yards. I think that the folks at Tikka/Sako have got it down when it comes to building rifles that shoot very well for an off the shelf option.

First step in the barrel break in process is start with a good barrel!