nmbarta
Well-Known Member
And JE still tries to help, shows what kind of guy he is.
You can lead a horse to water.....
You can lead a horse to water.....
So much for: "They don't build em' like they used to."
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del2les
Well-Known Member
I'm with JE on this. I have bought several used firearms that were never properly cleaned, and after deep cleaning the bore and doing the correct break-in, I was able to breed new life into those used barrels. YMMV
Edit: That does not imply a particular barrel may not improve with a fire lapping after the above, but that without lapping, I was able to make things better than just with a deep cleaning.
I started a thread about this a couple of months ago , it ruffled a lot of feathers
Just curious I just bought a Sendero 270 win last Friday took it to range Sunday got it zeroed last group was 3/4 in gun looked to have been fired very little no wear on bolt lugs should I do a break in on barrel JE got me to wondering I am new on forum but been reading post for some time
year.0
Member
I have never been explained the purpose of breaking a barrel in; this thread has been very informative. I feel like I need to spend the weekend deep cleaning barrels and try actually doing a proper break in on them.
Rich Coyle
Well-Known Member
I don't have much experience with barrel break in, but here is one experience.
What is the objective of breaking in a barrel? I heard it is to make a firearm easier to clean or make it more accurate. Here are the results of two Savage heavy barrel .223 Remingtons. I bought one to play with and run lots of experiments. I did the shoot and clean for more than ten shots to be on the safe side. Once I had the load I fired a ten shot group at 100 yards. It measured .430". I did the same thing at 200 yards. That ten shot group measured .870".
My buddy bought one and wanted me to break it in and make a load for him. When I got to the range I realized I forgot the cleaning rod. There was no way I was leaving without firing at least a three shot group. Using the load developed for the other Savage, with a tape it measure 3/8" . The owner fired five at 100 yards. His group was .400".
From this small sample I concluded breaking in a barrel is a waste of time except maybe making it easier to clean.
By the way experiments taught me square heads are more accurate than random heads. Neck sizing was more accurate than full lenght sizing and about 40 feet per second faster. Exact powder charges don't seem to make a lot of difference at 100 yards. Overall length is important. Switching primers can make a huge difference. Different powders can make a difference. Different bullets can make a difference. 2,000 rounds erodes the throat about .020".
What is the objective of breaking in a barrel? I heard it is to make a firearm easier to clean or make it more accurate. Here are the results of two Savage heavy barrel .223 Remingtons. I bought one to play with and run lots of experiments. I did the shoot and clean for more than ten shots to be on the safe side. Once I had the load I fired a ten shot group at 100 yards. It measured .430". I did the same thing at 200 yards. That ten shot group measured .870".
My buddy bought one and wanted me to break it in and make a load for him. When I got to the range I realized I forgot the cleaning rod. There was no way I was leaving without firing at least a three shot group. Using the load developed for the other Savage, with a tape it measure 3/8" . The owner fired five at 100 yards. His group was .400".
From this small sample I concluded breaking in a barrel is a waste of time except maybe making it easier to clean.
By the way experiments taught me square heads are more accurate than random heads. Neck sizing was more accurate than full lenght sizing and about 40 feet per second faster. Exact powder charges don't seem to make a lot of difference at 100 yards. Overall length is important. Switching primers can make a huge difference. Different powders can make a difference. Different bullets can make a difference. 2,000 rounds erodes the throat about .020".
I have only ever fire lapped one barrel. It looked like hell. I made my own lapping bullets by rolling some bullets in diamond paste, on a granite surface plate. Copper is softer so the diamond embeds into the bullet. Fired 10 rounds like that. Cleaned very thoroughly afterwards. Barrel accuracy improved slightly, but it looked like a mirror inside.
ntsqd
Well-Known Member
I went thru the break-in procedure with a .224 Valkyrie recently. Cleaned with Sweets to no blue on the patch after each round. Did it with a box of 20 factory rounds. It was tiresome, but if it makes it easier to clean in the long run then it will have been worth it.
Sorry to dissent, but I'm going to stick with Gale as IMHO he is the expert of record.
I'm not telling anyone else what to do, nor will I be told what to do.
BTW a difference of opinion does not require an apology. Civil adult men can agree to disagree.
How to Break-in a Barrel
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I'm not telling anyone else what to do, nor will I be told what to do.
BTW a difference of opinion does not require an apology. Civil adult men can agree to disagree.
ntsqd
Well-Known Member
When done civilly and without insulting language, yes, they can and they should. I don't think that you quite succeeded at that.
The way that I see it is that the first bullet down a perfectly clean bore will burnish the bore while also laying down a very thin jacket metal coating on the bore. The next bullet down the barrel isn't as effective at burnishing as the first because of the jacket metal and combustion by-products left behind by the first. Successively this adds up. McMillan makes a good point about the throat, but does no more (or less) to support his break-in method than the one he opposes. Five rounds before cleaning really means that you only got one good burnishing and 4 also-rans.
The way that I see it is that the first bullet down a perfectly clean bore will burnish the bore while also laying down a very thin jacket metal coating on the bore. The next bullet down the barrel isn't as effective at burnishing as the first because of the jacket metal and combustion by-products left behind by the first. Successively this adds up. McMillan makes a good point about the throat, but does no more (or less) to support his break-in method than the one he opposes. Five rounds before cleaning really means that you only got one good burnishing and 4 also-rans.
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