Proper barrel break in for new Savage 93R17

[Teh Wicked]

Got a birthday gift in the form of a Savage 93R17 BTVS with the Nutmeg laminated thumbhole stock and stainless heavy barrel. Put on a 14x Mueller stainless scope to finish off the combo. But Uncle sam sent me to Korea before I could event shoot 1 single round...So its sitting new in my safe back home...

As soon as I get home I want to shoot this thing, but I also want to break in the barrel properly. Suggestions?

 

[Dr. Vette]

Just shoot it.

Have fun!

 

[J E Custom]

Got a birthday gift in the form of a Savage 93R17 BTVS with the Nutmeg laminated thumbhole stock and stainless heavy barrel. Put on a 14x Mueller stainless scope to finish off the combo. But Uncle sam sent me to Korea before I could event shoot 1 single round...So its sitting new in my safe back home...

As soon as I get home I want to shoot this thing, but I also want to break in the barrel properly. Suggestions?

A 17 caliber is no different than any other rifle that shoots jacketed bullets they all need
break in if you want the barrel not to foul as bad and clean up fast and easy.

I recomend the shoot 1 round and clean method like most barrel makers and the number
of times you have to do this is normally some where between 5 and 10 shots (some barrels
will require more depending on the quality of the barrel).

At some point you will feel the difference and the bore will clean up with one or two patches,
then go to 3 shots and clean for 4 or 5 times and it should be broke in.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Teh Wicked]

A 17 caliber is no different than any other rifle that shoots jacketed bullets they all need
break in if you want the barrel not to foul as bad and clean up fast and easy.

I recomend the shoot 1 round and clean method like most barrel makers and the number
of times you have to do this is normally some where between 5 and 10 shots (some barrels
will require more depending on the quality of the barrel).

At some point you will feel the difference and the bore will clean up with one or two patches,
then go to 3 shots and clean for 4 or 5 times and it should be broke in.

J E CUSTOM

Does anyone make a bore guide for the 17 caliber? I have never used one on any rifle I have ever owned, but I figure I should start using them.

 

[J E Custom]

Does anyone make a bore guide for the 17 caliber? I have never used one on any rifle I have ever owned, but I figure I should start using them.

Yes they make a bore guide that fits a 17 cal.

Gun slick makes a universal one that fits a 17 cal +

And Possum Hollow Makes one calaber and rifle specific.

The one that Possum Hollow makes for the savage in 17 calaber is a # 115 .

There are other brands also these are just a few.

And I highly recomend the use of a bore guide on all rifles that can be cleaned from
the breach and for those that have to be cleaned from the muzzle a brass rod guide
that will go in the crown is a must if you want to maintain accuracy.

The bore snakes work fairly well but not like a good rod cleaning. (I use the bore
snake for temporary clean up in the field on all of my fire arms.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Dr. Vette]

I have found these threads interesting, FWIW:

Barrel break ins - TheFiringLine Forums

Objective research on Barrel Break-in procedures - Sniper's Hide Forums

 

[J E Custom]

I have found these threads interesting, FWIW:

Barrel break ins - TheFiringLine Forums

Objective research on Barrel Break-in procedures - Sniper's Hide Forums

This post is not intended to start an argument just clarify the reason that I recomend
break in of a new or even a used barrel that was not broken in in the beginning.

I read these post and found them to be very interesting and some good points were
brought out that bear discussing. and some were ridiculously over stated.

The first post talked about How fast you would wear out the barrel if you cleaned every
time you shot. one of the numbers was 100 rounds to break in. That's silly now one shoots
and cleans 100 times.

The second post talks about a truth telling Bore scope (I have one to) and I am sure that
they know how to interpret there findings. I made my living as a metallurgical Inspector
and I do know what I see and the difference between barrels that have been broken in
"properly".

First let me say that I do not care if someone agrees or disagrees with my findings
because they have a right to there on opinions, and it does not offend me if they
disagree with me. That's what makes the world go round.

I only know what I see and can prove to myself, I have tried as many things as possible
to make barrel life and accuracy better for my self and most of the improvements have
been common sense applications.

When I first started competition shooting I did like I had allways done with a new rifle
Shoot till I was tired and go home and clean for several hours or how ever long it took.

The worst case I encountered was a big bore that I shot 50 rounds through it and had
enough. so I went home and cleaned for at least 4 hours before I finally got a clean
patch.

That is when I set out to find a better way. This was a factory rifle and normally they are
not lapped like the custom barrels so they require more shots to smooth out the bore
so they will clean up easy. (Some never get better , they just fowl).

I have had almost every bad experience with barrels that is possible and wanted to stop
this and start having fun again . so I started doing different things to try to solve this
and hear are "MY" findings.

If I started shooting without any cleaning regiment they continued to fowl for ever and
even though they got better, they never cleaned up fast. (One or two patches).

The custom barrels do much better and the hand lapped are the best about not fowling if
they are lapped properly.

When you shoot copper fouling can build up, and actually protect the bore from ware but
it requires a much more intense cleaning and as stated earlier improper cleaning will do
more damage than shooting does.

If you do decide to use the/a break in procedure you must know how to properly clean
with out damaging the bore (Bore guides,solvent use, type and size of cleaning rod and
jags, never from the muzzle and ETC.) but these are things that everyone should know
to clean a bore properly.

The main reason I like to do break in is that it starts to reach its potential accuracy soon
and cleans up easier which minimizes cleaning that can damage the bore.

All of the rifles that I used a proper break in procedure, factory or custom clean up fast and
require very little brushing . I have not had an barrel shoot out and only set back a few
that had washed out the throat in order to restore accuracy.

If a person elects to just shoot and clean up when they are through shooting, will
continue to have to clean excessively and probably do more damage that good.

There are a lot of things that can damage a fine barrel, So I try to keep it clean and free
of anything that will shorten its potential life.

And after a few shoot and clean break in shots (Normally no more than 8 or 9 I dont even
use a brush ,just a cotton swab to apply the solvent and a couple of dry patches and it
is clean and when I look at it with the bore light it has no fowling copper or carbon. this
way the only damage to the bore is from shooting.

I realize that this post will not change the minds of some because of there experances with
this issue . and it was not intended to change anyone's mind just give them a choice to do
what they want and live with there decision.

I will continue to do break in on all of my custom rifles because it works for me and I don't
mind a little more effort if the results are better.

Enough Said

J E CUSTOM

 

[Dr. Vette]

Not intending to start any arguments either, but just thought I'd post it for discussion. My thought was that compared to "most" of the calibers we shoot the 17HMR would probably not put a lot of stress or wear on the inside of a barrel, so breaking it in would probably not be all that important. The general consensus is that a 22LR causes very minimal wear and though I know that the 17HMR is different I'm not sure how much, especially when it comes to bore wear.

FYI, I spend time breaking in my new stainless Weatherby last year - before I read either of those threads. It cleans up almost immediately now. Was that the result of the break in? The stainless? Dunno. But, it sure is nice.

 

[retiredcpo]

Well Im sure Ill get flamed real good for this one
I have two 17hmrs and shoot close to if not more than 1000 rounds every spring.
I did no break in at all on either gun and sometimes ill get 300-500 rounds through one before even thinking about cleaning it.
No I dont shoot my long range guns like this but my 17's I do.
I have been shooting on of them for about 10 years now and it just gets better with age. Both are tac drivers and have confirmed kills out to 300 yards with my wife shooting (real good conditions)
Shhot it have a lot of fun and drag a bore snake through it everynow and then.
retiredcpo

 

[J E Custom]

Well Im sure Ill get flamed real good for this one
I have two 17hmrs and shoot close to if not more than 1000 rounds every spring.
I did no break in at all on either gun and sometimes ill get 300-500 rounds through one before even thinking about cleaning it.
No I dont shoot my long range guns like this but my 17's I do.
I have been shooting on of them for about 10 years now and it just gets better with age. Both are tac drivers and have confirmed kills out to 300 yards with my wife shooting (real good conditions)
Shhot it have a lot of fun and drag a bore snake through it everynow and then.
retiredcpo

Why would you get flamed for not breaking in your rifle ?

The 17 HMR was designed to shoot "A LOT" and are one of the most fun rifles to have.

I like them so well I have built myself and a friend several custom rifles on Anschutz actions
and they are impressive to say the least.

I broke mine in because of the velocity(2500+ ft/sec) and whether it helped accuracy or not
is hard to tell all of the Lilja barreled 17s will shoot 10 rounds @ 100 yards well under 1/2
MOA all day long.

Bur they do shoot higher velocities than the factory ammo advertise (They Average 2574
ft/sec ) But that could be the great barrels that Lilja makes.

I recently bought a Weatherby MK XX11 in 17 HMR and I'm tempted to try shooting it without
breaking it in and after I get an accuracy and velocity average Clean it back to bare metal and
do a shoot and clean break in and see if it makes any difference in velocity and accuracy.

I know it has made a difference on the big bores that I came back and broke in later.

Again ; just my opinion.

J E CUSTOM

 

[retiredcpo]

They a A Lot of fun to shoot
In the spring we will shoot the whistlepigs all day long
They are great guns to have
Retiredcpo

 

[kansas45]

I bought a new Savage MKII 17 HMR TR Saturday. Put 50 rounds through it. I'm going to clean it now & head back to the farm & shoot it some more. I don't have any idea how many rounds I'll run through it today, but I'll clean it again when I get back home. This is my first 17, and if the first 50 rounds were any indication I'm gonna' really like this rifle! gun)

 

[Kangaroo Mack]

I am ex-Army... Not your's but an affiliate since 1900. Yes, I was in the Australian Army.

As such, we never had to "break-in" a new rifle /pistol/carbine because they were were all basically WWII hand me downs until the '60's when we got L1A1's and 9mm FN Browning's that were just 2nd hand. But OMC's or Owen Machine Carbines (9mm) were WWI jobs that we still used in RVN.

Having said all this, we never had an issue with any of the aforesaid (love that word) weapons but the one we did have troubles with was the US GPMG M60. I won't into that but as soldiers, we stripped, inspected and cleaned our weapons because they were our first route to survival.

Now that I am an Australian-American, I have a pocket revolver for street survival, an SA-XD service .357SIG to prevent home intrusion and a .22 WMR rifle just in case we need to survive outside urban areas.

A sorry state of affairs I know BUT at 65 with ailments like arthritis, heart attacks etc., baseball bats don't cut the mustard, do they.

I gave you all this crap as back ground to show you that I know more than just a little about firearms and the training I got over 45 years ago I have (I thought ) almost forgotten until I was attacked by an animal and dispatched the attacker calmly with a single shot to the heart from behind.

Now we get down to the meat an' potatoes of my little ditty. I do range practice on all 3 weapons once a month. One pull through on each with Hoppes #9 and as many pulls as it takes to get it smear free. Each weapon I purchased new and if I don't like what hits the target, it goes back to the manufacturer.

I don't go in for breaking in: waste of time, money and effort. I work on each weapon to the point where I KNOW I can trust it with my life, and that of those that I love. No other fancy BS matters. If you feel confident enough to put it in your hands and point it at an attacker/enemy/whatever, then you've done the right thing in looking after it because it will look after you, Mate

And that's my six-penneth worth , Fellas