How do you break in a new rifle

[stainz]

Hey. Iv heard a lot of noise about breaking in a rifle or you loose accuracy over time.. How do you properly break a new rifle in?

[r106]

Everyone is going to have there opinion. But mines is just clean it and go shoot half a box then clean again. I have bought a new rifle and treated it like i would a used and its still my most accurate rifle. Just don't heat it up to bad

[Weatherby Fan]

Everyone is going to have there opinion. But mines is just clean it and go shoot half a box then clean again. I have bought a new rifle and treated it like i would a used and its still my most accurate rifle. Just don't heat it up to bad

Yup thats what I do,clean it first,go shoot/sight it in,clean it when I go home........then shoot it ! clean it at the end of the season !

[Displaced Nova Scotian]

I was new to breaking in new rifles this year and stumbled upon this website which has been of great help. Have a read over who this company is and what they do and I think you'll find they're reputable.

After following this break in procedure I am quite pleased with how everything is working.

http://www.riflebarrels.com/support/centerfire_maintenance.htm

[sawmill]

So I guess 20 fast rounds and a dunk in a cold creek is out?

[guntech]

You will find varying opinions about barrel break in... or how often you should clean it...

...some say do it
...some say don't do it
...some even go so far as to say it is recommended by barrel makes so you will wear your barrel out faster... (That’s a myth)
...some even get pissed off talking about it

I particularly like what Lilja has to say about it.
"It is important to break-in a barrel though. The jacket material must be removed after every shot during the initial few rounds. If this isn't done the areas of the barrel that fouled will tend to pick up more fouling and it will build on itself. It is important to get a layer of powder fouling on top of the lands & grooves. This hard deposit will prevent the copper from stripping off the bullets. However, if the internal finish of the barrel is too rough the barrel will never be completely broken-in and fouling will always be a problem. Some barrels can't be broken-in. "
...there are breaking in procedures if you wish to do it.

Factory barrels are considerably different than custom match grade hand lapped barrels.

I am going to post one method.

Breaking In A Barrel - Read fully before starting the procedure

When cleaning, always use a good bore guide and a good rod.

Start with a clean, lightly lubed barrel, fire one shot, then run a loose patch through with Sweets 7.62 or any other solvent that will “eat” jacket fouling. Saturate the bore and let it sit a few minutes. Sweets indicate jacket fouling with a blue colour.

Run patches through to dry the bore and then wet patch it again and saturate the bore. After a few minutes dry patch it again. Repeat until the jacket fouling is removed (no blue patches). That means the barrel is clean.

After cleaning with Sweets, brush with Hoppes #9 and dry patch the bore and then leave it slightly lubed with a wet patch of Hoppes #9 before firing.

Then fire one more shot, and repeat the above procedure. Do this for a total of 10 shots, and then proceed to fire 2 shots and then clean as above, for 10 more shots. (For a total of 20.) The barrel is now broken in. It should be cleaned after every 20 or 30 shots there after if possible, or less often if fouling is not a problem.

You will find when the bore is broken in properly; the cleaning procedure is very quick, because there is very little jacket fouling in the bore.

I prefer Sweets 7.62, because it shows “blue” if there is any jacket fouling. I never use a copper or bronze brush with Sweets, because it will eat them, and give a false blue indication of fouling. I never let any other chemicals mix with Sweets. That is why there is a lot of dry patching and swabbing with rubbing alcohol and dry patching between switching chemicals.

For storage after cleaning with Sweets, dry patch and then swab the bore with several patches using rubbing alcohol; this will dissolve any remaining ammonia. Then lightly oil the bore.

Here are some links to various barrel maker's break in procedures:

http://www.kriegerbarrels.com/Break_...246-wp2558.htm

http://www.shilen.com/faq.html#question10

http://www.riflebarrels.com/articles...el_fouling.htm

http://www.pac-nor.com/care/


I have posted this information in the last 10 or 15 inquiries about "breaking a barrel in"... good luck with what ever you decide...

No one has mentioned when you do clean your barrel, the equipment and procedure is very important so you do not damage your barrel.

[Ltbullken]

I break barrels in. My method is shoot 10 rds, clean thoroughly after each shot, including copper out. After 10 shots, fire 5 x 3 round shots, clean the same, then 2 x 5 rounds shots, clean and good to go. Guntech has good info above. Manufacturers will give recommendations on how to break in a barrel so have a look for that. Some manufacturer's barrels are sooo good they don't require break in.... :roll:. B.S. - if they don't give a recommendation, I do the procedure above... Anyway, my gunsmith has always told me to break in a barrel. I trust him, he's a shooter and a damn fine one, so I do as he says.

Bore guide is good, minimizes the rod contacting the lands just ahead of the throat and importantly keeps gunk out of the magazine well and trigger group (one of the reasons apparently why Remmy triggers/safeties fail...). I generally clean my rifle after 15 - 20 shots and never over heat the barrel (fire 3 or 4 shots then let barrel cool). Before a hunting trip, I will confirm my zero, clean the barrel thoroughly, then fire a confirming zero group and keep that for the trip.