Thread: Thoughts on new barrel ' break-in '

Was just gonna say you can borrow mine....

@Ftx325 While I cannot answer whether you should or should not break a barrel in, I sort of do break my ones in.

Every rifle I get I take it to the range and sight it in. I want to sight it with a cold bore so that the first shot at an animal is where the round goes.

I start the sight in at 25m and I clean it after each shot. I am waiting for the barrel to cool and I find the time it takes to clean it is about the same for it to cool enough for the next round. After doing this three times, I check the group and adjust the scope accordingly. Then clean it again. I repeat this for the next three shots, by which time I should be close to centre at the start distance. I then move to 100 yards and do another three shot group as above. After about 10 or 12 rounds I start to fire the three shot groups as a slow string then clean and repeat until I am happy that it is sighted in. All the while making sure it gets time to cool between each group.

I do not know whether it makes a difference to barrel longevity as I have never fired enough rounds to wear one out, and if you can afford to fire the 3000-5000 rounds to wear out a rifle, at $1 per round you can afford a new one afterwards....

What I do notice is that I shoot better having taken the time to get used to the rifle (effectively practising) and I have noticed that while it may not need a clean before each shot, accumulatively it provides a more thorough clean and the rifles I have done tend to be easier to clean later on. I do this process on 2nd hand rifles and I think the cleaning process is what makes the difference as clearly there will be no run in effect here.

As mentioned I do not know if it makes any difference to the rifle, but it is a good way to get used to it yourself, and why not put a few packets down while sighting in, it certainly wont hurt the rifle to clean it and use it.

I usually take another rifle to shoot while I wait for it to cool too....no point in being bored...

Agree with @zimmer, it depends on whether you’re getting Cu fouling. If not, then minimal break in needed. If you’re getting Cu fouling then need to deal to it sooner than later. You may need to lap and polish the barrel yourself a few times. Easy enough to do. Observe Cu fouling from muzzle using LED torch after running a Cu solvent thru. If you’ve got excess Cu foiling the patches will be dark blue and you will see Cu build up in one or more lanz looking down the muzzle

Originally Posted by mikee

He does mention that i only experience is with custom barrels but Tikka have been making barrels for long enough to do it properly even when mass produced.
I noticed the gunmith moved the bolt handle to the "wrong side" while shortening the barrel

Wrong side.? Nah mate... that's the proper side for us truly talented fellas.
Have just got back from pengy's place where he was kind enough to let me use his range. Thanks pengy... another one of those GC's I have met through the forum.
It appears to string left and up on a 45 degree angle as it heats up. Didn't really have enough time to let barrel cool properly between shots but the deviation was quite pronounced from cold to hot... appeared to be nearly three inches which seems like alot. Thought it was me but pengy had the same outcome when he took over the drivers seat.
Will have to try again when got some more rounds and more time. But it's nice to shoot and a pussycat with recoil compared to my big boys toys.
So overall a happy camper... just needs a bit more fine tuning....

I asked the same question when I bought my Howa mini 223 awhile back. Same variety of answers. In the end I decided to break it it. Howa recommended it so I thought they know more about rifles than me I may as well do it as I'm planning to keep the rifle for a long time. Maybe the Howa recommendations are just arse covering on their part, but as I was sighting in with a new scope anyway it didn't really cost me anything except time

Originally Posted by mikee

He does mention that i only experience is with custom barrels but Tikka have been making barrels for long enough to do it properly even when mass produced.
I noticed the gunmith moved the bolt handle to the "wrong side" while shortening the barrel

Pretty easy to do, I've done it many times on small calibres such as the 308. JB Weld the right side of the action up and angle grind out the left. Bolt successfully moved and sometimes, even more smooth.

I once observed a police captain firing off a case of 7.62x39 at the range with a newly acquired target rifle. When asked why he was doing such a thing, he said that he always did it with a new rifle. One way to waste 500 rounds and a Saturday morning, ruin an expensive firearm and still suck at competition shoots.

Originally Posted by outlander

I once observed a police captain firing off a case of 7.62x39 at the range with a newly acquired target rifle. When asked why he was doing such a thing, he said that he always did it with a new rifle. One way to waste 500 rounds and a Saturday morning, ruin an expensive firearm and still suck at competition shoots.

the reason I don't do competition shoots ... I know I suck and don't really want to advertise the fact any more than I need too..... at least if I cock it up shooting an animal I can blame the animal for not standing perfectly still when I took the shot and missed - it heard the shot coming and ducked , it tripped just as I pulled the trigger , No it's not still standing in the same spot, it was over there when I took the shot honest ... and so on.....

Barrel brake in is very similar to a comfort blanket to a child, it serves no purpose other than to .......................yes ......you guessed it.....provide a little comfort.
I think its a waste of time.........but still do it.

bryn

Two theories on extensive barrel break in procedures, both for gunsmiths benefit.
First to get you to wear the barrel out faster.
Second to give the smith an alibi for the odd bad barrel that turns up from time to time.
Who knows. I tend to clean them a little more frequently and not let them get to hot for a start.
Both of my T3 rifles shot great from the first round. If the rifle is stringing I would check that the stock is not touching the barrel or suppressor. Tikka's are usually free floated. And that the guard screws are not loose or too tight.
Regards Grandpamac.

Originally Posted by grandpamac

Two theories on extensive barrel break in procedures, both for gunsmiths benefit.
First to get you to wear the barrel out faster.
Second to give the smith an alibi for the odd bad barrel that turns up from time to time.
Who knows. I tend to clean them a little more frequently and not let them get to hot for a start.
Both of my T3 rifles shot great from the first round. If the rifle is stringing I would check that the stock is not touching the barrel or suppressor. Tikka's are usually free floated. And that the guard screws are not loose or too tight.
Regards Grandpamac.

Hi again @grandpamac
I gave the barrel a clean before we went to rid it of any residual factory lube. I fitted the carbon stock myself and checked the barrel clearance and that the screws were done up and snugged tight....so if it turns out that was the issue no one to blame but myself.
We were shooting alot faster than I wanted and the barrel was getting hot to the point it would burn my fingers if I held them there so pretty sure that was the issue. We spent to much time playing with the wife's 7.62 x 39 and were rushing with mine.
Hopefully next time we can shoot mine first and spend a bit more time fine tuning the scope and let the barrel cool properly.
It's taken me a while to get the wifey keen on shooting so tend to prioritize her to keep the interest up.

I’ve owned a few tikkas by now and I’ve only ever cleaned before shooting then away you go! Then clean when accuracy is not as usual.. I’ve just picked up my custom hardys build made from my tikka action and with csrbon barrel and they give you paperwork with the rifle and it tells you to break it in the shoot one, clean for 5 then shoot 3x 5 time etc... and for the price I’ve payed all up I’m not taking any chances!

I know what you're saying... I really wanted to do the same with the carbon barrel but I couldn't afford to be without an arm and a leg....

Very nice rifle though....