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Long Range Hunting & Shooting
Barrel break in true or not?
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<blockquote data-quote="rfd" data-source="post: 2746111" data-attributes="member: 80476"><p><strong><em>Excerpt from "Breaking In a Barrel" by Lee Shaver.</em></strong></p><p></p><p><em>Those who know of Lee recognize the he is without a doubt a master gunsmith, and the following can cross over to all manner of firearms and their projectiles.</em></p><p></p><p>Several years ago, I developed a process for breaking-in barrels for lead</p><p>bullet use that eliminated the afternoon of shooting and cleaning with</p><p>jacketed bullet. It began because I would occasionally have to get bad</p><p>leading out of a barrel for a customer, and when you charge what a</p><p>gunsmith must charge to stay in business you don't want to spend an</p><p>afternoon scrubbing the lead out of a customer's gun. And I'm sure the</p><p>customer would rather not pay for said services.</p><p></p><p>What I learned was that when scrubbing lead out of a barrel, I could run</p><p>a tight oily patch through a few times and then take the patch off the</p><p>jag. I would then unroll a little 0000 steel wool and cut a piece the size</p><p>of the patch. Place that over the patch and then run it all through</p><p>together. (The proper fit is when you have to bump the rod a few times</p><p>with the palm of your hand to get it started in the bore.) When you</p><p>shove that steel wool over a patch through the bore of a badly leaded</p><p>barrel, it may sound like paper tearing as the lead is ripped out of the</p><p>barrel in a pass or two. I can clean the lead out of the worst barrel in</p><p>about ten or fifteen minutes that way, and an average leaded barrel will</p><p>be clean in a few strokes.</p><p></p><p>After using this technique for a while, I began to notice that the rifles</p><p>that I was de-leading that way seemed to lead less afterwards, which</p><p>got me to thinking. We use fine steel wool on the outside of old guns all</p><p>the time to do some cleaning or spot rust removal, and it does not</p><p>damage the surface of the steel. It just scrubs it. Which lead me to</p><p>consider the fact that we are trying to break in a barrel by smoothing</p><p>the surface without cutting, and it seems to me that process would go</p><p>much quicker if we used something on the inside of the bore that was</p><p>closer to the hardness of the barrel instead of lead or copper. So I</p><p>started trying the steel wool and oiled patch technique on new barrels</p><p>before shooting them. I use it about as tight as I can get in the bore and</p><p>wear out a steel wool pad or two in about 15 minutes, then I go and</p><p>shoot the rifle.</p><p></p><p>How well does it work you might ask? On a few occasions, I have built a</p><p>new rifle and taken it to a match without ever having fired the rifle. All</p><p>have performed flawlessly in their first match and several times I won</p><p>the match or set a record with them. On one occasion, I set a new 300</p><p>yard range record with the first 13 shots out of a barrel. This method</p><p>has become a service we offer to our customers here in the shop and I</p><p>have shared the technique many times with others.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="rfd, post: 2746111, member: 80476"] [B][I]Excerpt from "Breaking In a Barrel" by Lee Shaver.[/I][/B] [I]Those who know of Lee recognize the he is without a doubt a master gunsmith, and the following can cross over to all manner of firearms and their projectiles.[/I] Several years ago, I developed a process for breaking-in barrels for lead bullet use that eliminated the afternoon of shooting and cleaning with jacketed bullet. It began because I would occasionally have to get bad leading out of a barrel for a customer, and when you charge what a gunsmith must charge to stay in business you don't want to spend an afternoon scrubbing the lead out of a customer's gun. And I'm sure the customer would rather not pay for said services. What I learned was that when scrubbing lead out of a barrel, I could run a tight oily patch through a few times and then take the patch off the jag. I would then unroll a little 0000 steel wool and cut a piece the size of the patch. Place that over the patch and then run it all through together. (The proper fit is when you have to bump the rod a few times with the palm of your hand to get it started in the bore.) When you shove that steel wool over a patch through the bore of a badly leaded barrel, it may sound like paper tearing as the lead is ripped out of the barrel in a pass or two. I can clean the lead out of the worst barrel in about ten or fifteen minutes that way, and an average leaded barrel will be clean in a few strokes. After using this technique for a while, I began to notice that the rifles that I was de-leading that way seemed to lead less afterwards, which got me to thinking. We use fine steel wool on the outside of old guns all the time to do some cleaning or spot rust removal, and it does not damage the surface of the steel. It just scrubs it. Which lead me to consider the fact that we are trying to break in a barrel by smoothing the surface without cutting, and it seems to me that process would go much quicker if we used something on the inside of the bore that was closer to the hardness of the barrel instead of lead or copper. So I started trying the steel wool and oiled patch technique on new barrels before shooting them. I use it about as tight as I can get in the bore and wear out a steel wool pad or two in about 15 minutes, then I go and shoot the rifle. How well does it work you might ask? On a few occasions, I have built a new rifle and taken it to a match without ever having fired the rifle. All have performed flawlessly in their first match and several times I won the match or set a record with them. On one occasion, I set a new 300 yard range record with the first 13 shots out of a barrel. This method has become a service we offer to our customers here in the shop and I have shared the technique many times with others. [/QUOTE]
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