“You must break in your barrel!” Really?

[trophy8]

I’ve never believed in a barrel break in. I’ve done it to a few. I took out a rifle I put together a month of two ago.

Impact 737 action
Foundation MG2 dark distressed
Proof prefit comp contour 26” 1/7.5 6mm creed
Trigger tech diamond set at 8 ounces
Atlas BT46 with RRS arca adapter
Foundation full length Arca rail
Hawkins M5 DBM
Hawkins heavy tactical rings
Leupold mk5 5-25x56 PR2 mil

So you think a barrel needs broke in to shoot well? I decided to just seeeeeeeend it today. No shoot and clean. Just straight up sight it in then run heavy strings of fire.

Factory Berger 105s.

Here’s the rifle. Then here’s an 11 shot group as fast as I could load em and shoot at 100.

[trophy8]

Then the magic happened. I decided to put it on paper at 200.

3 shots. .09” at 200.

Don’t need no stinking break in. Load em and launch em!

[ctom87]

Originally Posted by trophy8

Then the magic happened. I decided to put it on paper at 200.

3 shots. .09” at 200.

Don’t need no stinking break in. Load em and launch em!

Attachment 1066373

Attachment 1066374

Could been .03" had you broken it in!!

Kidding. i don't break them in either.

[Bucknaked]

That’s awesome but that’s a quality barrel too! Good shoot’n deadeye

Dang Man, get that fanger nail taken care of- that would bug me to Death lol

[trophy8]

Originally Posted by Bucknaked

That’s awesome but that’s a quality barrel too! Good shoot’n deadeye

Dang Man, get that fanger nail taken care of- that would bug me to Death lol

Ha. That’s the result of HFM 3 months ago. 1/10. Do not recommend catching that at all lol

[Texas Grown]

Nice shoot-n Matt.

[SwampBuck]

Haha! Very nice

[Trapper76]

Could you imagine how good that rifle would shoot if it was properly broke in? Just kidding, nice rifle and great shooting.

[STX_Shooter]

I read somewhere that the break in theory was started by barrel makers so you would burn the barrel out faster and buy another one sooner…

[Slick8]

Great shooting Matt.

I've been in the camp that it can't hurt to do a barrel brake in but in reality what is it really going to accomplish? You already have a hand lapped custom barrel. Cleaning every round for 20 then shooting groups really doesn't do much imo.

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[ATXArcher]

I guess that’s OK shooting, but you missed the center of the target

Glad to see you enjoying that Leupold!


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[Raider4044]

It’s about time you shot that thing!

[BigOh!]

Never done it.. "They" say lots of things
.dang nice shooting

[Drycreek3189]

Originally Posted by BigOh!

Never done it.. "They" say lots of things
.dang nice shooting

“They said” and “I heard” are the two biggest liars ever !

[Artos]

Improper cleaning has ruined more good barrels than most people know...when the benchrest boys who were consistently winning stated break in wasn't needed was all I needed to hear.

Also, 'squeaky' clean is also not needed.

[Big Lee]

When trophy 8 speaks on guns and accuracy. Most of us should listen.

[trophy8]

Originally Posted by Big Lee

When trophy 8 speaks on guns and accuracy. Most of us should listen.

Let’s not get carried away here .

[Nate Riley]

Aren't Proof barrels hand lapped?

[trophy8]

Originally Posted by Nate Riley

Aren't Proof barrels hand lapped?

Don’t know. But several high end barrel makers hand lap and still say to do a break in.

[Nate Riley]

Originally Posted by trophy8

Don’t know. But several high end barrel makers hand lap and still say to do a break in.

I just think (in agreement with your first statement) that its much more likely to be unnecessary on a high-end, lapped barrel. And its more likely to make a bigger difference in an "off the shelf barrel".

I would at least do what you did to see if a high end barrel even needed it.

[cattlelackranch]

Originally Posted by trophy8

Don’t know. But several high end barrel makers hand lap and still say to do a break in.

Most barrel manufacturers don’t say to break in their barrels….but people keep asking them for it so they list a break in procedure in for the process.

Your gunsmith who does the chambering is usually the weak link. How they finish the cut transition can be horrible sometimes. Bore scopes are cheap now, everyone should have one IMO.

Nice shooting.

[muzzlebrake]

If'n I put on a Krieger single cut rifled and factory hand lapped barrel I would not think it would require any sort of break-in. Now a mass produced cheap factory button rifled or hammer forged barrel would be different approach depending on how it shot the first 5 rounds. Some of these mass produced barrels have some horrible looking stuff inside the bore. A top quality bore scope is your friend. One that can put the image on a big laptop screen in high resolution. And yes there are some improper cleaning materials and methods that can hurt a good barrel so you need to see what's in there first.

[Daddy D]

Hell of a rig! Perfection

[RifleBowPistol]

Looking good. I have never broke in a barrel in my life, would not know how, not sure there is truly a way to break in a barrel, other than to shoot it.

[Ag 89]

Good shootin'

[kmitchl]

Seems there are two camps on barrel break in. Must do and never do. I am going through a barrel cleaning program to get the copper out. I will soon know if they shoot better. I would be more than pleased with the results you got.

[howabouttheiris]

Originally Posted by kmitchl

Seems there are two camps on barrel break in. Must do and never do.

I don't do it and in general I don't personally recommend break in to someone unless they have experience and the proper brushes / bore guides.

I believe the average rifle owner will do more damage to the barrel (throat and crown) by putting the brush through it 5-10 times than any amount of shooting will.

[fish4food]

Dang good shooting!!!

[SwampBuck]

Part of me wonders if barrel makers say “must break in” simply as a CYA statement.

But I’m no expert.

[bloodstick]

I never ordered a barrel before until i rebuilt my late fathers Savage 110 7Mag thats older than me (32). Got a Shilen medium contour SS barrel and had it cerakoted. Shilen told me to do a 50 rd break in. 1 shot, run bore snake, repeat for 5 rounds. Then 5 shot group, run bore snake, repeat to 50 total rounds.
Idk if it did anything or not, but it sure shoots good.
3 shots at 100 with basic factory Norma Whitetail 150g





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[S-3 Ranch]

I bought a savage 116 SS , my break in on it was lapping and crowning the barrel, then
3 shots to “ foul it “ after that it was a .40 moa @ 100 300WM , lapping a off the rack rifle
Will deburr / break in , IMO is the way to go

[muddydog]

Good shooting! I never break in barrels. They will either shoot or tweak the load to shoot. I was at one time that guy that compulsively cleaned my barrels but have determined that's not needed either. I'll clean every 200 rounds or yearly. Some barrels shoot better clean, some like to be dirty

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[Brute Killer]

Barrel break in. How to decide if you need to do it. - YouTube

[muzzlebrake]

Originally Posted by Brute Killer

Barrel break in. How to decide if you need to do it. - YouTube

Pretty sure those cut rifled Brux barrels are already glassy slick thru the entire bore being hand lapped to micro finish before they ever leave the factory.

Mass produced box store rifle barrels that are hammer forged or button rifled and never lapped before they leave the factory are a whole different animal. The more you shoot a store bought gun the better they get(usually) because every shot is actually doing a tiny amount of fire lapping and over time the lumps and bumps down the bore are smoothing out and multiple cleanings to remover copper fouling is also doing some micro lapping. That's why sometimes you see a gun start to "come around" after a couple of hundred shots. I also believe that some guns that shoot better dirty is because the copper fouling is filling in those low spots and chatter marks from the button mandrel and thereby making the bore smoother. High end bore scope will show you a lot of stuff you never knew about and will leave you scratching your head about how the gun even shoots sub MOA. Only takes one good look down one of them cheap ugly old Savage barrels and you wonder how is it possible. After all them old Savage barrels are hand straightened by eyeball on a manual press and by a 3rd generation employee whose father and grandfather did that job before him. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1837719936336570 But why are they shooter? Why does Savage recommend breaking them in?

[Brute Killer]

Originally Posted by Brute Killer

Barrel break in. How to decide if you need to do it. - YouTube

Originally Posted by muzzlebrake

Pretty sure those cut rifled Brux barrels are already glassy slick thru the entire bore being hand lapped to micro finish before they ever leave the factory.

straightened by eyeball on a https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1837719936336570 But why are they shooter? Why does Savage recommend breaking them in?

Not suggesting he has the final word on anything. I just think it's a funny vid.

[BrianL]

I don't really believe in breakin for shooting better, but dang sure believe in it for cleaning better. If you have a burr in the barrel and shoot 20-40 rounds before cleaning, it is going to take a LOOOONG time to get all that copper out.

[El Paisano]

Well. if you are doing precision, long-range shooting it may be a worthwhile investment. If you follow some directions you will shoot over 100 rounds, which, at store bought, or even reloaded prices is a pretty significant investment. And for what?
I paid less than $300 for a rifle last year, before I ever heard about barrel break in. I shot many groups, but one 5 shot group at 100 was .358" and one 3 shot group at 200 yds was .403".
I also got a RAP this year that will consistently shoot 1/2 to 3/4 moa groups all day long without the break in procedure. That is plenty good enough for me.

[Snapperhead94]

FWIW, recently bought a Christianson 300PRC. Recommended break in was 50 shots. I performed the recommended sequenceand had no color on the swabs through 20 shots. NONE! I will add that it didn't really start shooting right until I stopped cleaning and ran another 15 shots through the barrel and got it dirty.

[soldierarcher]

Op, Good shooting. Just had to drop in Mr. Cortina huh? Eric flat knows his stuff! Plus he test's everything like 5 times. I watch his youtube channel religiously.

[Kong]

I break my barrels in with a fresh target and lots of ammo, I believed in that years and years ago and I never saw a single difference so I stopped doing it. I do clean them pretty often but I always send a single round down the tube to foul it before going hunting with them. Some guys swear by breaking them in and others not so much, me not so much.

[trophy8]

This needs bumped

Suck on that Christensen

[fish4food]

Originally Posted by trophy8

this needs bumped

suck on that christensen

[Edward F]

Originally Posted by trophy8

I’ve never believed in a barrel break in. I’ve done it to a few. I took out a rifle I put together a month of two ago.

Impact 737 action
Foundation MG2 dark distressed
Proof prefit comp contour 26” 1/7.5 6mm creed
Trigger tech diamond set at 8 ounces
Atlas BT46 with RRS arca adapter
Foundation full length Arca rail
Hawkins M5 DBM
Hawkins heavy tactical rings
Leupold mk5 5-25x56 PR2 mil

So you think a barrel needs broke in to shoot well? I decided to just seeeeeeeend it today. No shoot and clean. Just straight up sight it in then run heavy strings of fire.

Factory Berger 105s.

Here’s the rifle. Then here’s an 11 shot group as fast as I could load em and shoot at 100.

Attachment 1066371

Attachment 1066372

11 shots as fast as you could? That looks like eagles peak and per rule number #11 no rapid fire! 🤓

[billfromtx]

An 8 ounce trigger on a hunting rig? It’s a shooter for sure!

[trophy8]

Originally Posted by billfromtx

An 8 ounce trigger on a hunting rig? It’s a shooter for sure!

That’s not a hunting rifle lol. 20+ lbs

[billfromtx]

Originally Posted by trophy8

That’s not a hunting rifle lol. 20+ lbs

I didn’t see a weight.

[diamond10x]

In my experience I have never had rifles perform better than when it's dirty. I have also painstakingly broke in all but two of my bolt rifles.

[Draco]

Way back there, 60's and 70's, bench rest shooters would break their barrels in by coating a few bullets with Simichrome polish and shooting them through the barrel. They said it took the burrs off the lands. Who knows but I've done it on a couple guns that would not perform and it helped them immensely.

[Lost10mm]

Hey man, your pencil left some lead on the paper

Good shooting. That's pretty impressive based on what I've seen on a typical range day.

[kck]

Yes, Proof barrels are lapped as are almost all, if not all, custom barrels. No, you do NOT need to break in a hand lapped barrel. BUT, you will be breaking in the throat that the reamer cuts. When I chamber a barrel, I sneak up on the last few thou of the throat to ensure that those final cuts leave the least amount of sharp edge and burr possible (burr is a very strong word to use) but your first shots will start to smooth out that transition from the throat to the lands. If cut carefully, you should notice very little, if any, issue with accuracy in those first shots. Off the rack stuff will tend to have more of an issue due to inferior barrels and reamers that get used within an inch of their life. This needs to be mentioned as well...the crown of a barrel is just as important and you can break in, shoot, clean, blah, blah all you want but if your crown sucks then your gun sucks. Any GS worth his/her salt will indicate that bore to within .0002 or less and cut that crown proper for consistent bullet release every time so don't go banging up a good crown trying to clean and "break in" a nice gun. Cut rifled all day over button pull...sorry, just had to throw that jab in.

Matt, nice shootin' by the way!!!