Barrel break-in and maintenance

[Elton]

Ask 10 different people and get 10 different answers. But I want to know what the members thoughts are on barrel break in and cleaning.

Growing up it was a no brainer. If you bought a new rifle you had to break in te barrel, and after every use ir hunting trip you had to clean your rifle. And if not used then still once a year you had to wipe down and re-oil it.

However i keep seeing that modern mentality is almost the exact opposite? Don't break in your barrel and dont clean until accuracy starts dwindling? Otherwise you damage your barrel.

What to believe?

 

[John Telford]

I’m no pro on the subject but I have followed a simple procedure on my new barrels if anything to give me piece of mind! So the theory is to clean out any tooling marks or burs or whatever left after a mass production process. It’s really simple actually. You firstly clean the barrel to remove all shop oils (or you run the risk of bulging the barrel). I then run a patch with hand cleaner containing grit a few times to remove any residual metal. Clean with a new patch and shoot a shot. Repeat shooting twice before cleaning etc up to 5 shots and your done. After this clean with Copper solvent as per your usual way. I like iosso- Makes barrel nice and shiny!

 

[mark-hunter]

Check also here:

Barrel break in

Dear Colleagues, I was not able to find separate thread on this subject, so I opened this one. Some rifle makers reccomend break in of the barrel, and some dont. Those who recommend, usually give some procedures of number of shots to be done, then followed up by cleaning before next sequence...

www.africahunting.com

For hunting rifle, irrelevant.
For match rifle, arguable in both ways.

 

[Phil Giordano]

I do a sort of break in.
As soon the new rifle arrive at home, I clean it very well : usually the rifle has been previously shot some times in the factory, and then again for the proof marks. Also, and more important, during the process of rifling, the barrel is lubricated with grease to help the process of rifling, so in a new barrel (if not lapped) there is a mix of grease, dirt, fouling and so.
I remove all that with a good cleaning session.

After that, in the process of understand the "character" of my new rifle, and of the inizial sight in, I shot no more than 5/6 cartridges, always in a cold barrel. No cleaning at the bench, just keep things slowly.

At home, again a good and deep cleaning session.
This process for the first 20/25 cartridges.

Then I start shooting 10/12 per shooting session. Groups of 3, cooling the barrel very well between groups.
And cleaning it at home very well.

When I reach around 100 shots on its shoulders, my sessions become of +/- 15 cartridges, and I clean very well the barrel every 30/40 shots - using a bore snake between the sessions.
The shooting routine will be the same, cooling the barrel between groups.

That's it.
Just common sense, at least it seems to me.
I noticed that after the first 120/150 shots, usually the barrel become easier to clean, maybe "smooter".

During the hunting season just bore snake, when not in use a bit of good cleaning oil and then a clean patch, so the oil inside the barrel is just a thin film.

This is my procedure with my rifles, I add that I have magnums like 300s or 8x68S, this is why my shooting sessions are usually no more than 15/18 rounds.
But I shot a lot with my hunting rifles, just to build great confidence and personal accuracy with them, so I need to keep them as clean as I can.
They all shoot very well, so I guess I'm doing right.

 

[Anthony George]

Best people to ask are barrel makers

Most here supply break in procedure with barrel

As a side note the way a barrel is made will determine the run in
Ie
Hammer forged vs cut rifle etc etc
Hand lapped vs not

 

[rdog]

My 2 cents worth on this subject, how the barrel is made , hammer forged , cut rifling, button rifled, hand lapped & its internal finish determine how much running in is required, all should be run inn to some degree, as this process will make the barrel easier to clean in the future especially in the regard to copper fowling, 1 shot & clean for 5 shots, 2 shots & clean for 10 shots, 5 shots & clean up to 20 shots,do not over heat the barrel, is a pain in the arse but worth it , clean with a bronze brush & a carbon removing solvent, & use a bore guide & a1 piece coated cleaning rod.
Then with copper solvent & patch out thoroughly, when you get home repeat the cleaning process asap & use Iosso paste after the copper solvent, you can use the running inn process to sight in the rifle you only have to do it once in the life of the barrel

 

[marksman]

here is an answer from the late great Gale McMillan

Posted: 09-25-1999 10:10
The break in fad was started by a fellow I helped get started in the barrel business . He started putting a set of break in instructions in ever barrel he
shipped. One came into the shop to be installed and I read it and the next time I saw him I asked him What was with this break in crap?. His answer
was Mac, My share of the market is about 700 barrels a year. I cater to the target crowd and they shoot a barrel about 3000 rounds before they
change it. If each one uses up 100 rounds of each barrel breaking it in you can figure out how many more barrels I will get to make each year. If you
will stop and think that the barrel doesn't know whether you are cleaning it every shot or every 5 shots and if you are removing all foreign material that
has been deposited in it since the last time you cleaned it what more can you do? When I ship a barrel I send a recommendation with it that you clean it
ever chance you get with a brass brush pushed through it at least 12 times with a good solvent and followed by two and only 2 soft patches. This
means if you are a bench rest shooter you clean ever 7 or 8 rounds . If you are a high power shooter you clean it when you come off the line after 20
rounds. If you follow the fad of cleaning every shot for X amount and every 2 shots for X amount and so on the only thing you are accomplishing is
shortening the life of the barrel by the amount of rounds you shot during this process. I always say Monkey see Monkey do, now I will wait on the
flames but before you write them, Please include what you think is happening inside your barrel during break in that is worth the expense and time you
are spending during break in"

Gale was talking about an Australian barrel maker that he had taught how to make barrels

there needs to be an understanding of what you are running in before you would "run in a barrel"
what is it you are achieving?
l look at it that if you start with a clean bore and it does not copper up why clean it?

my own way is that l will clean the bore before a shot is fired but also patch out with Ballistol oil to shoot over a lubed dry bore then read the bore,
if there are no burrs my barrel will not copper up but if there are l would clean so that the burr is not hidden by the copper and it will burn off with more shots usually at game once l am sighted
if you believe your barrel has bumps and lumps that need to be smoothed out you have a dud
l am also a believer in only cleaning your barrel when you are storing your rifle for extended periods or when the rifle starts to shoot off in usually around 200-300 shots in my rifles but let the rifle tell you when its needs a clean, although l do push a patch of Ballistol through the bore to stop corrosion/rust if l feel the need
l think its more up to yourself and how you feel about it as some really believe in rituals and some dont but l cant see it hurting if it gives you confidence and makes you feel better about it
what l think anyhow

 

[Vintageguy]

I used to be the guy with the copper solvent trying to get every trace of copper out and see the patch something other than green. Now I start with a perfectly clean dry bore on a new gun and after shooting I brush it with a plain solvent 10 passes per shot but never more than 50 total then I run clean patches through, last one oiled with 3 in 1 oil if it’s going to maybe sit a while.
All my bores shine with copper but my rifles all regularly give me one hole multiple shot groups and I no longer have that clean bore flyer I used to be plagued by. I’ve had old second hand rifles that were just so so that turned into very accurate rifles when I employed this routine and quit with my ocd over copper. Everyone has “their” secret and method but I like the easy ones that give me the desired results.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Kreiger, who makes custom cut rifled barrels, has a suggested procedure for break in of their barrels.

https://www.kriegerbarrels.com/faq#breakin

 

[Inline6]

Having shot a lot of premium barrels, have tried the break in procedures and do nothing at all but shoot it and about everything in-between. I can't tell a nickels worth of difference in accuracy or barrel life from one extreme to the other. This is coming from the field side of comp shooting (PRS style). That said, if the rifle could not go 5 for 5 on thumb tacks at 100 yards the barrel came off. The barrel is like a set of race car tires, they are expendable and you are not going to win on a bad tires. They are also a cheap component in the grand scheme of things.

Cleaners I like a few, bore tech eliminator and ThorroClean Bore Cleaning System. I'm a real fan of the ThorroClean system. It works really well and fast.

Agree with you on cleaning, when the rifle opens up, time to clean.

This is one of those everyone will have different experiences and you will have to filter out the noise to what will apply to you.

 

[steve white]

Has anyone ever found rust lurking underneath copper or moly layers, or is that pretty much a wives' tale?

 

[Inline6]

Has anyone ever found rust lurking underneath copper or moly layers, or is that pretty much a wives' tale?

How many people actually have bore scopes is a better question. Have seen little rust in a heavily copper fouled barrel. Using an abrasive clean you could see no evidence of it (rust) afterwards. For what it takes to get out copper and moly I'm not sure how anyone would actually be able to give you a real honest answer. Just my .02

 

[marksman]

Has anyone ever found rust lurking underneath copper or moly layers, or is that pretty much a wives' tale?

yes l have seen it with my borescope but as you are cleaning you usually clean it out showing pits
l have seen it on a poorly looked after lee speed a mate owned that looked bright and shiny to the naked eye but as l cleaned it over days l checked and could see through the mess
the rifle was shot at competitions by my mate with barrel sights at 100y and good enough but he did not like that it was so hard to clean
this is what it looked like after l cleaned it up and gave it a polish with autosol, he rebarreled it

 

[Red Leg]

A couple of passes with Balistol before the season or before initial sight-in, and a couple of more at the end of the season. Sometimes that will be the same couple of passes. Thank God for copper to fill in those imperfections in the barrel. In nearly six decades of shooting, I have never "broken in" a barrel.

 

[marksman]

just to add l have found what l would say is the corrosion on copper that will come from slight fouling left in the bore from a young guy's rifle that was left for 3 months without lubricating the bore after cleaning and not realising the copper was not properly cleaned out
it shows to me that something is hygroscopic that has been left behind causing the corrosion showing the need to lubricate a bore

 

[Inline6]

just to add l have found what l would say is the corrosion on copper that will come from slight fouling left in the bore from a young guy's rifle that was left for 3 months without lubricating the bore after cleaning and not realising the copper was not properly cleaned out
it shows to me that something is hygroscopic that has been left behind causing the corrosion showing the need to lubricate a bore

View attachment 479311

Looking at what you have posted, I would say it looks acid etched more than anything. Wonder if corrosive ammo was used and it was not properly cared for afterwards.

 

[marksman]

Looking at what you have posted, I would say it looks acid etched more than anything. Wonder if corrosive ammo was used and it was not properly cared for afterwards.

he only used OSA 165gr gameking 308 ammo but l am thinking it may be a residue from what he was using to clean the rifle maybe? or because taking all the oils ect... out it was prone to corrosion ect..., the rifle was only 1 yr old and had shot 200 shots max
l am pretty sure he used bore tech eliminator to clean the bore which l use myself but he did not lube after cleaning although he does now, you could not see any of this with the naked eye
the bore had some serious patches of rust as well,
and he also had a dehumidifier in his lockup and average 20 + degree weather

l should also show what a good polish with Autosol did
the other photos were off movies l kept of the bores as l did not take photos but this one is a photo l took of the bore showing the difference after a polish and clean to show the young bloke but l did not take a photo of the slight pits left from the rust patches

 

[curtism1234]

Barrels need breaking in and cleaning?

 

[Inline6]

he only used OSA 165gr gameking 308 ammo but l am thinking it may be a residue from what he was using to clean the rifle maybe? or because taking all the oils ect... out it was prone to corrosion ect..., the rifle was only 1 yr old and had shot 200 shots max
l am pretty sure he used bore tech eliminator to clean the bore which l use myself but he did not lube after cleaning although he does now, you could not see any of this with the naked eye
the bore had some serious patches of rust as well,
and he also had a dehumidifier in his lockup and average 20 + degree weather

View attachment 479312
l should also show what a good polish with Autosol did
the other photos were off movies l kept of the bores as l did not take photos but this one is a photo l took of the bore showing the difference after a polish and clean to show the young bloke but l did not take a photo of the slight pits left from the rust patches

View attachment 479313

Use bore tech myself, have never experienced that with it. Not sure what's going on with it. Either way one thing to take away, even though a bore scope looks bad. As long as the rifle is shooting you are okay. It will look worse than it actually is. Copper will fill in a lot of imperfections.

 

[marksman]

Use bore tech myself, have never experienced that with it. Not sure what's going on with it. Either way one thing to take away, even though a bore scope looks bad. As long as the rifle is shooting you are okay. It will look worse than it actually is. Copper will fill in a lot of imperfections.

l agree that the bore scope can cause unnecessary stress depending on what you expect from a rifle and l do have a couple of barrels that dont look good when bore scoped but do the job intended at reasonable distances usually under 200y but they will never shoot long distance reliably
the problem with the "Copper will fill in a lot of imperfections" theory is that when the copper deposits it is never evenly and because like metals tend to "stick" to like metals, more and more copper will accumulate until the fouling material is higher then the surface of the bore, also the bullet scraping the voids can destroy the balance of of a bullet which is why it may take some shots through the barrel before the barrel will settle down and shoot smaller groups
l own a 6.5x55 that started fouling badly after being such a good shooter, it would still shoot a three shot group into half moa or smaller but after three shots sprayed like a shotgun and took days of scrubbing and soaking to clean, that was ok till l could not buy the bullets l was using and could not do any testing to find another sweet spot load because it would take so long in between cleans, l ended up trying Tubbs final finish as l thought what could l loose on this crap barrel, the results were that the barrel ended up being very easy to clean, did not foul as it did and shot the same small group all day as it did before fouling, l was very happy although l know it wont be for too long
l would not recommend this with a good barrel but if your barrel is crap why not
for those interested this is an after photo from using the Tubbs final finish sry l dont have a before