Thread: Breaking in a barrel

Hi everyone, looking for some advice for breaking in a barrel, a Google search gets all kinds of responses so seems very personal choice

When I got my 7mm08, I cleaned the barrel every round for the first 5, then every 5th round after that probably for my first 20 rounds through it, accuracy is decent and now been 80 plus rounds through it

I picked up a Bergara BA13 yesterday in .308 so thinking about breaking that in soon

Just after opinions on what you all think as there will probably be many preferences

Thank you in advance

Sorry to bother you all, just worked out the advanced search option and found plenty of answers. It sure does seem very much personal preference

I am thinking I'll probably clean each round for the first few but give it some time to cool between rounds so it's a cold barrel

I don't do anything. Pretty sure I read somewhere reliable that it's bullshit, but it probably depends on the quality of the barrel. Enjoy the BA-13, great rifle!

yes opinions seem to be varied - if a manufacturer asked a new owner to break in the barrel well maybe - what say our gunsmiths on here - I certainly would not go and bang 20 rounds thru a new barrel in one go- but thats just me - maybe just a few to zero first up - then clean

I don't think a break in will help with accuracy, but my own thoughts on it that if it is a well made target grade barrel you aren't going to see much if any benefit from it and if it's an expensive caliber that's a lot of ammo sent downrange for $$$.

Where I feel you might gain some benefit is with factory barrels in the time it takes to clean them, but really it's hard to know unless you can get a pair of barrels that have been built from the same tooling side by side to test them. The ones I have done a break in and treatment on are definitely much quicker to clean than others and also seem to run slower muzzle velocity than an equivalent same caliber barrel shooting beside which could be good but also could be a bad thing?

You can destroy a barrel faster by over/incorrectly cleaning it than you can by shooting or under leaning I believe. I've never done a break in regime just shot and regular clean. Mind you in no target shooter, just ask anyone who knows me

When the "cleaning" to break in a barrel first raised it's head, those in the trade stated it was designed by ammo manufacturers to up sales, seems to have become the "norm" for many.

I agree with Marty Henry one can love a rifle barrel to death - I watched a Ron Spomer video on this subject- now many on here dont like the guy me I do and on this subject I do not doubt he has spoken to top barrel makers and gun experts on accuracy - his answer he just did not know if it made any real difference but he does a simple barrel breaking in regime since he would err on the side of caution - certainly I would give any new barrell a good clean before firing clean out any grease put in by maker and that includes .22 rimfire - would be neat to be able to fire a couple of lead projectiles at a slow speed down a centerfire barrel first to give it a polish before pumping jacketed projectiles down it -

I have always used a cleaning programme with new barrels.
The reasons were explained to me by a reputable gunsmith when he replaced a barrel for me in the early eighties.
I would like to see evidence from those who believe running a break in programme is worse for a barrel than not cleaning it.
All the barrels I have acquired new are in a lot better condition than those I have acquired second hand.

Before undertaking any activity, it is helpful to think - what outcome am I hoping to achieve with this intervention?

My "break in" procedure for rifle barrels is:

1. give the new barrel a quick clean
2. start shooting

back in my full bore days some of the old boys fired a solid lead down first shot down their 303 before a shoot - so their first sighter was a lead pill - their reasoning - it was good for that barell - so why do a break in procedure well 1) the manufacturer recommends it in their user manual 2) it could help with later cleaning -3) it may help with accuracy by giving the barrel a final lap before extensive work - 4) clean out any fine mettalic burrs left after manufacture - this last one could be important with a crudely made barrel esp Chinese or cheap from behind the iron curtain where the barrel was made old fashioned way with cutting broaches - so I would since its not going to hurt - but I know how to look after barrels - now bubba comes along and its a steel rod and brush and attacks barrel like its a chunk of muck metal - that will do damage not good - but if a manufacturer of really good barrels says not neccesary then I would at least not put many thru before a clean and certainly not overheat the barrel and burn residue to the inside of a really hot new barrel - does that all make sense

I know of two people now that have seen copper streaks in the muzzle of their rifle and taken to it with a scotchbrite. One was lucky to have no stuffed it, the other got a shortened barrel from it (scratched the hell out of the muzzle on one side).

So yeah, you can love a barrel to death.

One of the quickest ways to kill a barrel (apart from storing it with the can on after firing so residual moisture from the burning of powder settles on the rifling) is leaving a barrel uncleaned for longterm storage in an area that might be a little damp (like the inside of a steel box which isn't well vented). Corrosion is the end of more barrels than just about anything else!

yes a mate showed me his barrel - what ya think wrong with this says bubba - corrosion mark / stain down left hand side of barrel the other side looked okay - where did you have this stored - yup lying on its side under his bed - not touched for a long time - they are out there

Grabs some popcorn and a comfy chair