Barrell Break In

lerch · #1 05-03-2005, 04:19 PM

I have just bought a savage 116 300 rum and I am hoping to shot it in a upcoming competition that is about 3 weeks away. My question is what are the ultra long range wise men's (Kirby Allen, GoodGrouper, ETC.) opinion on their favorite barrel break in technique. I am hoping to make the gun into a lighter weight 100-800 yd gun. I've got me a Kirby Allen custom job on the way to take care of the 1k plus stuff for me. Any ideas would be great,

Thanks [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Brendan Atkinson · #2 05-03-2005, 07:12 PM

I break in all of my new barrels, whether they be benchrest, varmint or just plain ordinary hunting. One shot and clean for the first five or so shots is a good start. A couple of three shot groups to follow, with a clean after each one. After a good clean, you should take the barrel out into the sun and have a good look into the muzzle area. If you can see copper, it needs more cleaning. It's as simple as that. I have found that my best barrels have 'come good' (as in stopped fouling) after around 10-15 rounds. I do not use moly coated bullets when running in, but certainly do after that. For the knockers of moly, the last three World Benchrest Champions used it.

Brendan Atkinson in South Australia

sniper2 · #3 05-03-2005, 07:58 PM

I have a Mod116 SAK and it shoots like a target rifle!The first thing I did was run 000 steel wool through the barrel several times (100) at least as with all my new rifles and then try the fire method mentioned above. Good luck with your Savage I know of two of these that will shoot sub sub min. pretty cool I thought for a hunting rifle off the shelf!

ricka0 · #4 05-04-2005, 09:57 AM

I think the posts above are accurate and they are consistent with the barrel expert Daniel Lilja. You might review his procedure outlined at Break-in Procedure

When an BR shooter and electron microscopist (PhD) pal of mine said skip barrel break in for these reasons .... I forwarded the email to Dan Lilja and Dan patiently explained the problems with his reasoning and why I should stick with his outlined break in procedures.

Note Dan specifically warns <font color="red"> AGAINST </font> barrel break in with Moly.