Barrel break in- important ?

[campdude]

Who does it by the book and who does not and why is it important ?

[pisgah]

One of those questions that will never, and can never, be answered. Once you choose Option A, you can never go back and try Option B with the same barrel, so there's absolutely no way to know which is "better".

[Texas Solo]

Generally, factory barrels need to smoothed out a bit, and a proper break in can help do that. They will get better in time.
Custom barrels that have been hand lapped don't usually need a break in period to shoot their best...or so I'm told.

This is from the Shilen rifles site:

"Break-in procedures are as diverse as cleaning techniques. Shilen, Inc. introduced a break-in procedure mostly because customers seemed to think that we should have one. By and large, we don't think breaking-in a new barrel is a big deal. All our stainless steel barrels have been hand lapped as part of their production, as well as any chrome moly barrel we install. Hand lapping a barrel polishes the interior of the barrel and eliminates sharp edges or burrs that could cause jacket deformity. This, in fact, is what you are doing when you break-in a new barrel through firing and cleaning."

[LHitchcox]

I simply load and shoot. If a barrel is rough, I use JB Bore compound on it and go on.

[Oscarflytyer]

Shoot it smooth, imo...

[pdog2062]

Break it in just like you shoot it.and shoot it like you stole it.

[stomp442]

I'm a believer in the break in process for sure. I have tried it both ways on a few different builds and the barrels that I have done the break in process on I have literally watched shoot better after about 35-40 rounds using the same hand loads. I have done this on barrels from E.R. Shaw to Criterion and Shilen to Hart. I figure some cheap bullets and a little powder and time is a small price to pay, for in my experience a much better shooting easier to tune barrel. Just my experience and opinion.

[campdude]

Thanks guys

I have never broke in a barrel but all my rifles are hunting rifles from when I was younger. I no longer hunt and wanted to build one for precision and just wanted some honest opinions.

[barrel-nut]

Pick a method that makes you smile, and go with it. As pisgah so correctly pointed out above, you'll never know what could have been with a given barrel, whichever you choose. The one thing I can tell you for sure, is that the best break-in regimen in the world won't make a mediocre barrel shoot one-hole groups. Also, a really rough bore is not necessarily going to be an inaccurate barrel. It will foul quicker though.

[hunterbob]

Keep it Clean is all you need to do. :cool:

[eddiesindian]

excellant thread:
I believe what everybody has mentioned is what they,ve personally seen, including myself. As pisgah mentioned, its up to the individual.
I kinda go the way of stomp 442.
Once youve figured out this break in thing, next comes the bigger question: How often should I clean the barrel.