breaking in a rifle

how do u really "break in a rifle"?

any suggestions

1. Put ammo in.

2. Bang

Yup that's it. All the other cleaning after every round for 50 rounds BS is exactly that and can actually lead to barrel damage.

ok thanks

yea someone told me to do that 50 round thing

Don't. That being said your weapon is going to need some break in time to smooth things up but scrubbing your barrel like that won't do a darn thing. Think about it. What does cleaning gunpowder have to do with metal wearing in?

Don't get freaked out if your gun shoots like poop for the first dozen rounds or so. Most need those rounds to help smooth things out and foul up the barrel.

This will get interesting

No doubt!

But I've researched plenty. And if you go to places such as Sniper's Hide you'll actual scientific research. But there's people out there that think whatever crap they were taught is the end all for breaking in a barrel.

I will try and find the magazine I read this in, but it was CRAZY! They said it takes 74 rounds to break in a rifle. And you must clean it after every shot!

I usally shot cheap ammo in my guns about 25 rounds...and then clean. I then run the good stuff through it.

Try some JB compound. 50 strokes through the bore to polish things up before your first trip to the range.

And repeat.

I'll throw my two cents in.... Most of you who know me know I'm a huge fan of John Noveske. IMO he produces some of the best barrels on the market. I have been able to get true cloverleafs out of a 7.5" SBR barrel with a 1:7 twist at 50 yards. Think about that for a minute. The round does not even make a complete rotation in thebarrel. When you purchase a barrel from him it will come with a sheet talking about "break-in" suggestions. I would think he knows what he is talking about.

His advise.... Just shoot it! That is what I do and they all turn out great.

I originally bought an 18" for my first build and it probably took about 100 rounds before it really became a tack driver, but the 7.5" came in good the first time to the range. So just go shoot it.

clean after every shot for the 1st 20 rounds. then after every 3 rounds. thats the routine i use and have had really good luck with my rifles. its hard to "mold" your barrel if its filled up with powder, copper and lead.

everyone has their own way, but i will follow what has worked and recommended by almost every gun/barrel maker.

Its probably best to follow the barrel manufacturers suggestions if they give them.
Some have complicated procedures some say just shoot it.

After years of burning up wearing out and generally screwing up barrels of all kinds, I use a no fire break in on new rifles / barrels.

Use a good bore guide and rod or don't bother cleaning it.

Before firing 1st round.

1. Hoppes #9 until patch comes out clean.
2. Copper solvent until clean.
3. As many patches as it takes to dry the bore.
4. 50 ~ 75 strokes with Iosso bore paste (similar to JB paste) changing the patch and applying a very small dab more every 8 - 10 strokes.
5. As many patches as it takes to remove bore paste.
6. 3 patches saturated with break free clp, let stand over night crown down.
7. Patch out until dry.
8. Shoot to sight in, done.

May sound a lot worse than it is, besides letting it sit over night it takes me about 30 ~ 45 minutes.

I like the buy Hornady or Federal bullet and shoot method. Most people don't know their guns, including myself.
As long as I can hit a pie plate at 50 yards im good

WOW

Depends on what your breaking in. If its a chrome lined AR, just shoot the piss out of it. Then clean it good after range session.

I read everything I could when I bought my last new rifle - and came away still confused.

The big manufactures recommend the clean after every shot, then after every 5th shot, ect. Use copper remover, blah blah, the whole routine.

The small independent barrel makers recommend just shooting it. Some don't even like putting a brass brush down the barrel.

My experience was, when I cleaned alot and used copper remover, I couldn't get as tight of groups. I just started running a powder solvent patch through it every so often to and it shoots better now.

Also... I happened to be watching an episode of Top Sniper the other day. One of the competitions was a 'cold bore' shoot where they wouldn't get any practice shots to warm up their barrels. The teams all shot a few rounds the day before so their barrels would have copper in them. That tells me that removing copper is not only unnecessary, but detrimental to accuracy.

Then only thing that really needs to be done is to make sure you do run a couple patches down it BEFORE its shot the first time to make sure any of the manufacturing left overs get cleaned out.

The instructions given with a Larue rifle is something like, dont split the receivers until its had like 500 rounds through it. They seem to kind of know what they are talking about !

That being said I still clean a new bolt gun about every 10 rounds until 100 if I have the time. I rarely have the time though and have never had a problem with accuracy ! Well that was teh rifles fault anyways !

clean your rifle to get any residue that could be left over from packaging.... and then shoot it, and clean at a normal level.

you either have a gun that shoots, or does not shoot. You aren't going to make a match grade barrel from a mass produced manufacturer... no matter how many polishing compounds, or individuals swabs through the barrel you put.

There is quite a bit of information out there that shows excessive cleaning usually causes more barrel damage than a dirty barrel.

and now your .30 caliber rifle is a .31 caliber.

LOL

What does a bore guide do? Ive never used one but lots of people on here say they are a must.

it cetralizes the cleaning rod to minmize the cleaning rod jamming into the chamber.

you should always clean your rifle from the bolt/action side, never start at the barrel crown.

Here were my conclusions after reading a lot in preparation for my last rifle purchase.

1) Most rifles shoot better when they are not clean.

(1)(a) After cleaning, "fouling" shots improve accuracy.
(1)(b) Some competitors clean after every round, some do not.

2) The purpose of cleaning a barrel when breaking it in is not because to make it shoot more accuractely while it is being broken in. The theory is that the things to be polished by the passage of a bullet will better do so if they are fully exposed and not braced or covered by carbon and copper.

(2)(a) The damage from cleaning a barrel comes from cleaning in improperly with the wrong tools. Get a bore guide. Get a quality rod. Take your time. Let the chemicals do their job: if you can wet swab and let it sit overnight barrel down, you'll use a lot less elbow grease.

3) Over time, copper fouling can harm accuracy. The number of rounds required to cause enough copper fouling to significantly impact accuracy is generally more rounds than people shoot in any one session.

4) Some barrel manufacturers say to break in a barrel using some sort of specific procedure. Some say there is nothing to do. That includes both rifle manufacturers and barrel manufacturers. Procedures vary widely.

5) People disagree widely about whether bore paste is good, bad, or irrelevant. I have yet to see a microscopic view comparing before and after.

6) Some people swear by the polishing bullets. I have no experience with them.

This, the factory guns usually have some machining residue or grease from packing left over. Clean the whole gun first so the metal doesn't tear stuff up, then shoot the crap out of it!

Here ya go!
http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1562996#Post1562996

I have never broke a barrel in for any of my rifles. Just shoot them till accuaracy falls off clean with nylon brush and copper and powder solvent and start all over again. I shot my first one hole group with the 223 last year, and it is just a $400 rem adl.

There's a reason most short production and custom makers recomend just shooting the dang thing. There's been more barrels ruined by improper cleaning than by shooting. Most of them don't even realize they're ruined bacause they never knew their true potential.

You guys clean your guns?

Honestly, that barrel break in crap is just that. If she is shooting right, don't clean. If accuracy falls off then clean. Always been my theory.

Nope.

My bolt gun and marlin lever 308ME haven't had the barrel touched in at least 100 rounds for either one. My M-16 I just got has upwards of 150 rounds and hasn't been touched.