barrel break-in procedure for new rifle

[82boy]

I use the same method on all of my rimfires as recommended by custom barrel manufacturers around the globe. "Use of any metallic brush will void any warranty, only swabs are to be used."


What Barrel manufacture is this ? This is the first time I have ever heard such a thing. Then again what kind of warranty does any barrel maker offer?

[shelbyfan]

I use the same method on all of my rimfires as recommended by custom barrel manufacturers around the globe. "Use of any metallic brush will void any warranty, only swabs are to be used."


What Barrel manufacture is this ? This is the first time I have ever heard such a thing. Then again what kind of warranty does any barrel maker offer?
Volquartsen has it on it's information. I really don't know why they have it. But I rarely ever need a brush anyway. Only on dirty barrels or barrels that have been mistreated.

VQ's website.

We recommend a pull through type cleaning kit for all Volquartsen barrels. We always recommend breech to muzzle cleaning. Failure to do so with void any factory warranty.


Also, you are not just breaking in the chamber. On a new barrel there is a lot of slag and burrs on the rifling that come off with usage. I go around this by using bore paste and polishing the barrel, chamber and rifling before it ever gets shot.

[King Ghidora]

I clean my rimfires every 10 years whether they need it or not. Well not every 10 years but close. Seriously I didn't clean a Marlin Model 60 for 11 years after I bought it. I didn't clean it until it started having feeding issues. I cleaned it once and waited another 6 years before I cleaned it again. It still shoots perfect after 21 years of ownership. Rimfires can go a LONG time between cleanings. The only time I ever cleaned that Marlin often was when I bought a brick of Remington Thunderbolts. I had to clean that rifle 3 times and I only shot about 200 rounds of that stuff through it. I shot the rest through a Stevens 15-A which is a single shot, bolt action rifle from the early 50's. I actually had to clean it 3 times because the bolt would barely move.

I do run a rod through my rimfires once in a while. But to actually take it apart and clean it is just something that is overrated. I don't run a brush through the bore that often either really. I only do it when I start noticing some affect on shooting. I've cleaned my new MkIIFV a few times because the chamber is tight (that's how you get a super accurate gun) and any buildup will cause ejection problems.

To be honest I don't use patches on rimfires because every brush I've ever bought was too big to go through the bore if you wrap a single layer of a patch around it. So I just use a brush. It hasn't hurt either of my older rimfires. I've had the Stevens for 31 years and it was my dad's for 15 years before that and my neighbor owned it before that and nobody every cleaned it on a regular basis. And it will still drive tacks any day.

I do take care of my guns. I clean my shotguns every time I shoot them. But shotguns are a different animal completely. I clean my centerfires too but not too often. I generally clean them after about 200 rounds except for my handguns which I clean pretty much every time I shoot them. I keep everything oiled where it should be oiled and I keep things clean that need to be clean. But rimfires don't really need to be cleaned all the time. If I cleaned one every 10 rounds I don't think I'd ever get it fouled enough to shoot accurate. And if you want to shoot a rifle without letting it get fouled you'd have to clean it more often than every 10 rounds IMO. It takes about 25 rounds for a rifle to settle in for accurate shooting after a good cleaning in my experience. That number might be smaller as the cartridges get bigger but I know that's about how my 110 in .30-06 works. People talk about shooting a fouling shot. I think it takes a box of ammo to get a centerfire barrel fouled enough to shoot consistently.

[varmitbuster]

Also, you are not just breaking in the chamber. On a new barrel there is a lot of slag and burrs on the rifling that come off with usage. I go around this by using bore paste and polishing the barrel, chamber and rifling before it ever gets shot.


if you are buying a top notch match grade rimfire barrel they are already hand lapped when you get them. the burs have been removed already from the barrel. same goes for centerfire. so relapping isn't needed. i order shilens and lilja barrels myself for my rimfire match rifles. i just have to break in the chamber and they are ready to go. i have bore scoped every one of my new barrels. none of them had burs in the bore. they did have a few very tiny burs at the end of the chamber.

my mcgowan barrel for my .308 needed lapping baddly when i got it in. after lapping and a propper breaking in i have no problem cleaning it at all. the copper and crud comes out of it very fast now.

basically if you stick with a upper end barrel maker who laps thier barrels before you get it you'll be better off.

[varmitbuster]

he's talking about a savage rifle so the barrel won't be hand lapped. some lapping would be the first thing i would do.

here is what shilen says about thier barrels and this is why i stay with thier barrels.

How should I break-in my new Shilen barrel?
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.
Here is our standard recommendation: Clean after each shot for the first 5 shots. The remainder of the break-in is to clean every 5 shots for the next 50 shots. During this time, don't just shoot bullets down the barrel during this 50 shot procedure. This is a great time to begin load development. Zero the scope over the first 5 shots, and start shooting for accuracy with 5-shot groups for the next 50 shots. Same thing applies to fire forming cases for improved or wildcat cartridges. Just firing rounds down a barrel to form brass without any regard to their accuracy is a mistake. It is a waste of time and barrel life.

[nosa]

The easiest way to clean any barrel I've found is the Boresnake. Put whatever cleaner you use, pull it through both ways about 4 times and it will be sparkling clean.

[BIGDAVE54]

That is just a big load of crappolla that unfortuneately half decent people invented to show their really bad undecent side with. I even wrote Jeff Quinn on Gunblast last week and asked him if he had heard of a break in procedure for a new rifle barrell. Supposedly some brain surgeon scam artist cam out with special barrel breakin bullets.....I am betting it was the PT Barnum bullet company. I trust Jeff Quin about anything that makes a bang when you pull the trigger. He said no. Just do not overheat a new rifle. I agree. I do fire about ten rds and run an oily patch through or shoot a squirt or two of Mobile One synthetic motor oil down the bore.It makes a fantastic muzzle flash and will help clear any loose debri. I DO think it is importat to clean a new bore real good before fireing it because it could have packing grease or fine debris of some kind tha could score it if it were shot through the bore.

[shelbyfan]

They do make bore cleaning bullets specifically for breaking in new barrels. However, they are basically a waste of money as the bullet is coated and the coating comes off nearly immediately when it enters the barrel. Also, they are a big fat waste of money. A small tube of JB Bore Paste runs about 11 bucks and it will last a very long time.

[varmitbuster]

big dave,
i tend to agree to a point. the bullets that you reload to help clean a barrel up don't sound like a good ideal to me either. the truth is if you have ever bore scoped a new factory rifle barrel you'll wonder how it would even hit the side of a barn. they are rough and not very uniformed. they have rough edges, burs and many have misformed rifling. the braking in helps to clean the edges up, remove burs, but the misformed rifling will still be there.

that is the reason i use high end barrels on everything. the companies who make them know that we target shooters are a demanding crowd. they handlap them and when you bore scope them they are perfect. the only thing you have to clean up is when the new chamber is reamed. there will be tiny burs from that process.

another thing the more uniform the barrel is in the rifling and chamber area the easier they are to clean. i have had many top grade barrels on rimfires and centerfires. i wouldn't dream of using the tubs bullets for cleaning up a top notch barrel or a ugly factory barrel. i'd lap a ugly factory barrel then see how it went from there.