bowerman61028

I have read a bunch of different opinions about a breaking in a new gun. I just purchased a new .243 Savage and was looking for peoples experiences on different break in methods. Should I be cleaning between every shot, ever third, every fifth? For the first 5, 20, or 100 rounds? How much difference will this make in accuracy and life of the barrel?

DeerandbearhoG

From what Ive been told, the rifling in a new barrel is microscopically burred and will embed w/ copper fouling ,that may never come clean and affect accuracy, if not removed after each shot. I shoot ten rounds cleaning after every shot, then every 3 shots till about 40 rnds then I clean it really good when I get home w/ "truly magnificent" bore solvent until there is absoultly no visible copper residue in the barrel.

bowerman61028

Should I use patches and solvent to clean it, a wire bore brush, or a combination of both when cleaning in-between shots?

DeerandbearhoG

I saturate a patch &run it through, then a brush, then another patch.(1st 10 shots) I also like to run the rod from the receiver to the muzzle so I dont get all that fouling in the chamber.

Thats how I do it, but I'm not sure if thats the correct way, it just seems to work for me.

.25MOA

One thing Ive seen help a lot is to use Flitz on a tight patch for an hour or so to "knock the edge" off any really rough spots in the bore prior to my first range session. Change Flitz patch every 10 min or so. Note on a high-end hand-lapped barrel of course this step is not necessary nor recommended. After that, and of course that step is entirely optional, I do the usual clean after every shot first 5, every 3 until I'm not getting any "blue" on my patches. What you are accomplishing here smoothing all the imprefections left behind from tooling at the factory. Those blemishes cannot be corrected when they are full of and covered in copper. Best advise Ive ever heard from my benchrest cohorts is LET THE BARREL TELL YOU WHEN ITS BROKEN IN. Most factory barrels thats 40-50 rounds in my experiance. When you get to where your cleanings after 10 or so rounds yeild little to no coper fouling, and little to no change in accuracy, your there. Once broken in, I usually clean on avg every 20-30 rounds for a factory barrel, sometimes you can get double that out of a custom barrel depending on caliber and load.

As for technique, Ive gotten to where I NEVER use a copper brush on any of my barrels, and a nylon one only if necessary. Hit it with a few tight-fitting solvent soaked patches first to get any loose carbon (Hoppe's 9 or any carbon-killer is fine). Then a few strokes with a nylon brush if it is exceptionally fouled. Then dry it out well from that, shoot it full of Gun Slick or Wipe Out foaming cleaner, give it 30 mins and push 2 or 3 dry patches through (this also doubles wonderfully as cool down time, which is IMPERATIVE for proper break in and barrel life in general). For a properly broken-in barrel, that will be all the cleaning necessary and very little elbow grease. If the barrel is still in the break in process or has been abused prior it may require 3 or 4 sessions of foam to get down to raw metal. I have seen barrels on guns that were never broken in or had the copper properly cleaned out that required DAYS of soaking to get clean. When you get no copper blue-green on the patch coming out the other end, its good to go!! Be very mindful of your muzzle crown, don't drag the rod over it. Better to butt the muzzle up against a wall or other solid surface and have the jag stop just short of exit and then barely force it out enough to free up the patch and VERY carefully pull it back through. More guns have their accuracy ruined by improper cleaning technique than any other single factor, including complete lack of cleaning. Hope this helped!!

skb2706

Always seems to be two very different camps when it comes to 'breaking in barrels'. Personally I believe it is a waste of time. Shoot and clean it as you would if it were decades old.
There is no way to prove that it either works or it does not. Some factory rifles actually shoot a bit better fouled just a bit.

Pay close attention to the post that included the part about more barrels being ruined by improper cleaning than not being cleaned often enough or at all. Nearly every major barrel maker will say exactly the same thing but not all of them agree on 'breaking in' a barrel.

stalkingbear

It's NOT a waste of time breaking in a barrel or hand lapping it UNLESS the barrelmaker has already done it-as is the case with just about all good barrelmakers. It's been clearly proven that breaking in a barrel provides for better accuracy and easier cleaning,as well as longer life.

skb2706

Since you cannot have any one rifle barrel that could have been used both ways. It is not possible to prove. Doesn't matter who ya are.

eldeguello

IMO, the idea of breaking in a new barrel was invented by the barrel makers in close collaberation with the cleaning solvent/ramrod/cleaning brush boys.

The way I break in a gun is to use a patch or two to remove any oil & grease from the bore, then shoot the thing and zero it in. Then clean well when you get home. Clean it every time after shootingit to prevent rust & corrosion.

None of this other crap is necessary, and will just wear out the bore sooner.

The rifle that fired this, and many other similar, targets, was "broken in" this way. (6mm Douglas Premium grade barrel - that's FIVE shots @ 100 yards...)

I could show you MANY SIMILAR targets shot with various rifles of various calibers, all of which got no special treatment of the new barrel...

.25MOA

Very good observation. Ive had quite a few factory barrels and custom barrels that shot better after a few fouling shots, some after more than a few fouling shots!! Again, practice a lot and listen to what your rifles tell you.