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Gunsmithing Barrel Break In

Chuck0313

Private
Full Member
Minuteman
Mar 6, 2009
41
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54
Phoenix, AZ
Just rebarreled my Remington 700 with a Schneider barrel. Any thoughts on how to break it in. Read some articals that say it is a waste of time. Others say to treat barrel with Sentry Solutions Smooth Kote with BP 2000.
 
Re: Barrel Break In

Complete waste of time and a fucking myth.

Clean it once to get any crap out of there from smithing. Then, go shoot.

They dont need cleaned until you see a loss of accuracy.
 
Re: Barrel Break In

Preparatory cleaning is a must. There's nothing good in there, and what is there (and it's always there with any new barrel) needs to come out before running a bullet down the bore.

What follows is subject to conjecture. I've done both and do very little, if anything, to a custom aftermarket barrel. Generally they don't need it and they are the ones most vulnerable to potential harm.

My efforts to break in a custom aftermarket barrel resulted in discontinuation after about 7 rounds, because I couldn't get the bore to produce any evidence of copper fouling after that.

Original factory barrels tend to be better suited and show more results from break-in, as is defined in the modern lore. Improvements will come in the form if slower fouling accumulation, and greater ease of cleaning. Throat life could be adversely affected.

Greg
 
Re: Barrel Break In

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: shaggyback</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Complete waste of time and a fucking myth.

Clean it once to get any crap out of there from smithing. Then, go shoot.

They dont need cleaned until you see a loss of accuracy. </div></div>

sums it up IMO.

i put a lot of effort into break-in when it was first written about (Ross Seyfried in the '80s?) and it did nothing for me. so i think, nothing will help a crappy barrel, and nothing is necessary to make a good barrel shoot.
 
Re: Barrel Break In

I will usually JB compound a new factory bore with its first cleaning. Custom barrel, first cleaning, shoot.
 
Re: Barrel Break In

Abrasives in the bore can void some custom barrel maker's warrantees.
 
Re: Barrel Break In

I know. I don't use it in any custom bores.
 
Re: Barrel Break In

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Greg Langelius *</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Abrasives in the bore can void some custom barrel maker's warrantees. </div></div>

Depends on what type of abrasives and how you use them. There is alot of things that can really mess up your bore on a rifle. One little tiny dam burr can become a very large pain in the arse. I agree with you all the way about a good pre cleaning. I suggest to most people to clean well and fire a few shoots then clean again to check for any excessive fouling when first starting to shoot the new barrel. If everything looks good fire another 10 rounds or so and clean again just to check for any problems. If there is anything wrong it can be fixed very easily before the barrel is ruined. I have seen my fair share of weird things that can happend when it comes to barrels and copper fouling. I dont believe in a break in on anything but a hammer forged barrel or something like it that hasnt been hand lapped will need some help to get off the ground right. Anything that has been lapped correctly will not need any help unless the smith who chambers it leaves some burrs.