Do I need to clean the barrel before the first shot?

[Jman415]

The gun store guy told me that the rifle that I bought would be good to shoot without cleaning before. After asking people on this forum it seems the consensus is to give it a clean before shooting. However there are some opinions that say just shoot or that cleaning may actually damage my barrel more than just shooting it first and cleaning it after.

The rifle is a tikka t3 lite stainless .308.

 

[JW21]

I'd go ahead and give it a cleaning before you shoot it, mainly to knock out any access crap the manufacturing process. That's what I've always done

 

[Sako man]

Might as well, make sure there is no crap in there that will get imbedded in the barrel if you shoot it.

 

[bkw1911]

The gun store guy told me that the rifle that I bought would be good to shoot without cleaning before. After asking people on this forum it seems the consensus is to give it a clean before shooting. However there are some opinions that say just shoot or that cleaning may actually damage my barrel more than just shooting it first and cleaning it after.

The rifle is a tikka t3 lite stainless .308.

I think you're confusing the great "barrel break in debate" and just a simple cleaning to start. It's good to get the oils and who knows what other debris is in the barrel from the factory. If you don't want to damage the barrel while cleaning then get a quality coated cleaning rod and and bore guide and don't over clean it. I'd run one patch with solvent, then run however many it takes till the barrel is dry then go shoot and enjoy it.

 

[Jman415]

Ok I'm going to go ahead and clean it. As for the break in debate there is a thread on here that convinced me that the shoot clean shoot clean shoot clean is not necessarily the way to go. I'm going to give it that first clean and then put a couple mags through it.

 

[sib1948]

As you have decided. Give any new gun a thorough cleaning, then leave the barrel alone until accuracy starts to fade or you start having issues. This includes pistols, semis and bolt action platforms. Good luck, have fun and be safe!

 

[Steel head]

I always clean a new barrel before shooting.

 

[dragman]

If it's a factory gun and your using factory ammo and you not going to go through a complete break in process then I see no harm in it. But if you are looking to get everything out of what you have then yes I would clean it first to know where you start from. .

 

[thrusty]

I would personally clean the barrel and gun first - especially if it's factory new so that you get out anything that was left behind from the manufacturing process.
As stated above, don't confuse a typical cleaning with a new barrel break in process. The break-in process is what's heavily debated....everyone already agrees that you need to clean...just when and your particular process are the variables.

 

[alman1531]

The main thing that can damage a barrel during cleaning is improper cleaning. Such as not using a bore guide, damaging the crown pulling the rod and jag back through. I always give the barrel a quick cleaning before the first shot to get out the factory rust preventative or any other residue left in from the factory. Always use a bore guide and take care to not contact the crown with the jag pulling the rod back through the barrel. As far as the break-in; there are dozens of threads on that subject here that run the full spectrum from do nothing but shoot, to voodoo black magic. I choose to just shoot the rifle and I currently get sub 1/4moa out of my AX308MC and 1/3moa out of my Kimber 84L hunting rifle. Choose what works for you and go for it.