Reply With QuoteOne 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".
Who does it by the book and who does not and why is it important ?
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".
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."
[COLOR=#ff0000]Hello to all you nice folks at NSA :)[/COLOR]
I simply load and shoot. If a barrel is rough, I use JB Bore compound on it and go on.
Shoot it smooth, imo...
Break it in just like you shoot it.and shoot it like you stole it.
Ya'll hang on I'm gonna drive closer
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.
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.
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.
Keep it Clean is all you need to do.
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.
Life is tuff.....its even tuffer when your stupid
{John Wayne}
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