Vapodog

I've done it many ways and can tell no difference from not doing it at all.....Further I've seen no data at all to convince me that there's value to "breaking in" a gun.

Clean the oils from the factory and go sight it in.....then go hunting.

48thguns

Well Vapodog, you, IMHO,are dead wrong. I break in and shoot at least 10 rifles a year with Wilson. Douglas, A&B, and on and on barrels and if you want to shoot sub 1/2 MOA you better be taking your time and doing it right. I've seen alot of premium barrels ruined by just putting some oil? in the barrel and then go hunting. That's why there are so many rifles on GA, AA andGB that look good and can't hit squat. You have been lucky. I have built over 100 custom Mausers in my lifetime, have my own range and I speak the truth. Like I said before, some need TLC and others don't....I'm not going to take a chance on a 400 dollar barrel and action....no way. Good luck, Rick.

ColoradoElk

What I don't understand is that if there is validity tothe "break-in" process there would be no inaccurate rifles. I am sure you can damage rifles by doing the "wrong" thing, eg scratching the rifling with multiplesection aluminum rods or shooting down a barrel wet with oil, but to think the only variable in accuracy is the cleaning interval/method of cleaning the barrel seems to ignore things like bedding, free floating etc.

Maybe thebenefit of the break-in process is that it slowsthe (over-excited) shooter of a new rifle to a rate of fire that doesn't cook the barrel.

CE

Doe Dumper

I have done it with all of my new rifles and they will all group beautifully with many different factory loads. I usually break in 3 or 4 new barrels a year for friends simply because they dont wanna take the time. I never figured shooting free ammo out of someone elses brand new gun was a chore...lol.

James B

I have never done anything special to break in a new barrel. I guess I use Vapos method. I clean the barrel before I use it then try to keep it fairly clean after that. I do not however let my barrels heat up much ever. I also tend to run my velocities quite bit lower that most reloaders. Accurate loads are much more important to me than velocity and as a rule, most loads are more accurate when reduced 5-8 percent from listed max. It is true that on rare occassions, max loads are more accurate. Usually not though. Depends on the powder and the nature of the beast.

trailer

I’m not sure if does anything or not but I do go through the process just for the heck of it. It’s not going to hurt...

Solitary Man

48thguns, there is not a consensus among custom barrel makers about a break in procedure.Some say to do it, some don't. The late custom barrel maker Gale McMillan thought it was a bunch of nonsense andthe guys at Hart Barrels don't think it's necessary either. I haven't been to Shilen's website in a long time, but I knowthey used to mention on there that they didn't think barrel break-in was a big deal.They said theyincludedbreak-in instructions with their barrels only because that's whatsome customers wanted.

When I get my Sako back with the new Lilja barrel I'll probably grudgingly do whatever Lilja recommends for break-in. But whether I do or not, I absolutely know for a fact it won't impact my deer hunting one iota. In 30+ years of deer hunting with rifles I can tell you that I've never, ever missed one because my barrel wasn't "properly" broken in.

Remember, this site is about hunting. It's not about competitive benchrest shooting orshooting game at 1000+ yards. There are other sitesdedicated to those things.The averagehunter does not need to go through some tedious break-in ritual with his rifleto be successful. I'm sure it won't hurt anything, but it's certainly not absolutely necessary.