Five different rifle makers, 5 different break in procedures

Here's a SIGforum discussion from 2017, "Barrel break in procedure, whats yours?" -OP was armored:

https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...660020224#6660020224

And, here's what I've read recently, with one or more phrases italicized by me, because, especially interesting:


1) https://www.whiteoakarmament.com/
How should I break in my barrel?
I suspect that more barrels have been damaged than helped by "breaking in". Barrel makers take a lot of care to get a uniform finish on the inside of a barrel. Barrels are lapped not so that they will be smooth, but so that the finish and dimensions will be uniform over the entire barrel. When you use an abrasive cleaning compound you will change the finish on the inside of the barrel. Since some areas of the barrel are going to be protected by copper that you are trying to remove, and others areas are not, the surface finish is no longer going to be uniform. Since I got a bore scope I have backed off on my use of abrasive bore cleaners. I use them, but not nearly as aggressively, particularly on a new barrel.
My personal break in procedure is to take a new upper to the range and zero the front sight and shoot a group or two. This will take about 15-20 rounds. I then bring it back to the shop and clean it good with shooters and a good quality brush. I check it with a bore scope, but generally very little copper fouling is present. Depending on how it looks I may hit the throat lightly with some JB. That's it, it is now broken in.
This is for all for good quality hand lapped barrels. I will get a little more aggressive with mass produced barrels.
For general cleaning and barrel maintenance we use Hoppes #9 for cleaning, Break Free CLP for lube, and only use Dewey rods.
_________________________________________________
2) https://compasslake.com/how-to-instruction/
Your new barrel will shoot best if careful attention is given to a proper break-in. Differing opinions exist; however, we recommend that no more than 20 rounds are fired at the time before cleaning the barrel for the first 60 rounds. Your barrel must be thoroughly cleaned each time for the first 120 rounds.
Procedure for thorough cleaning: in all cases, it is vital that cleaning tools (brushes, patches, etc.) be pushed from the breech to the muzzle and then removed from the end of the rod at the muzzle end. DO NOT drag anything back through the muzzle.”Clean the bore with JB Bore Cleaner after 100 rounds as follows:

Work the JB into the patch.
Wrap the patch around a worn bronze bore brush (not nylon).
Using a bore guide, stroke back and forth for 5 strokes in the first half of the barrel. (Breech Half) Push patch through the muzzle
and unscrew brush from rod and carefully remove rod from barrel.
Remove old patch from brush.
Repeat steps 1 – 5 for 5 complete cycles.
Note: A neglected barrel may require this to be repeated for many more cycles until it is smooth.
Note: The patch will never come out clean as JB is a slightly abrasive compound and is working to polish your throat and bore.
_____________________________________________
3) https://www.legacysports.com/faq/
Please do not sight-in and or group the rifle during the break-in procedure.
For the first ten shots we recommend using copper jacketed factory ammo. Clean the oil and powder residue out of the barrel before each shot using a commercial bore cleaner with an ammonia content. After firing each cartridge, use a good bore cleaner (one with ammonia) to remove fouling from the barrel using only a soaked patch. We do not recommend anything with an abrasive in it since you are trying to seal the barrel, not keep it agitated.
For the first ten rounds, clean and let the barrel cool between each round fired using a patch and rod only.
Following the initial ten shots, you then may shoot 2 rounds, cleaning between each pair of shots. This is simply insuring that the burnishing process has been completed. In theory, you are closing the pores of the barrel metal that have been opened and exposed due to the manufacturing process.
To keep the temperature cool in the barrel, wait at least 5 minutes between break-in shots. The barrel must remain cool during the break-in procedure. If the barrel is allowed to heat up during the break-in, it will impede the steel’s ability to develop a home registration point, or memory. It will have a tendency to make the barrel “walk” or “climb” when it heats up in the future. If you take a little time in the beginning and do it right, you will be much more pleased with the performance of your barrel in the future.
­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­______________________________________________
4) https://christensenarms.com/barrel-break-in/
BREAK-IN PROCEDURE
01 CLEAR BORE
First make sure that the barrel is clean and free of any oil or solvents from the manufacturing process. Once clear, fire 2 three-shot groups.
02 BOREBRUSH
With the bore guide inserted, run a solvent-soaked patch through the barrel, breach to muzzle, removing it at the muzzle. Repeat this with a new soaked patch 3 times or until no black is showing on the patch. Then scrub the barrel back and forth using the caliber-correct nylon brush soaked with solvent. Ensure the brush completely exits the muzzle and chamber before reversing direction. Repeat 20 times for a total of 40 passes through the barrel. Follow this step with a dry patch until it comes out clean and dry.
03 UNDERSIZED BOREBRUSH
Next, using the undersized brush, run a solvent-soaked patch through the barrel, scrubbing back and forth for a total of 20 passes through the barrel. Again, ensure the patch exits both ends of the barrel before reversing direction. You will notice a blue tint on the patches from dissolving copper residue. Repeat until no blue/copper residue is found. Follow with dry patches until they come out clean and dry
04 SHOOT AGAIN
Fire another 2 three-round groups for a total of 6 rounds.
05 REPEAT
Repeat steps 1-4 until you have fired a total of 50 rounds. 50 rounds is usually sufficient to smooth out the surface of the barrel lining and “break in” your barrel. As your barrel breaks in, you will notice that it will clean faster and without using as many cleaning patches or solvent.
_______________________________________________
5) https://barrett.net/support/faq/
What is your recommended barrel break-in procedure?
Because individual barrels, powder, primer and bullet combinations vary widely we don’t offer a specific procedure. We do, however, recognize that a clean barrel shoots better. We also recommend that you not overheat your barrel, especially when it’s new. Our experience has shown us that the bore will begin to be less prone to fouling over time and that accuracy increases as this happens.
______________________________________________

Five sides of the same coin.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RichardC,

Go to 50 rifle makers and there will likely be 50 different barrel break in procedures. There's very little consensus. Take a look at Bartlein and Krieger -- I have greater respect for their barrels, and their recommended break in procedures are a bit more pragmatic.

The best way to prove that one procedure is better than another is to test multiple barrels over a controlled procedures for the life of the barrels. Nobody will take the time, effort, and expense to do that. Meaning there is a lot of "I think", "this seems to work for me", "I've heard from buddies"....

IMO the better the barrel is made, the less break in time is required. Much boils down to whether or not one feels the reaming process produces imperfections that should be dealt with for the first few rounds. If the shooter doesn't care much about accuracy or barrel life, then break in procedures mean little.

I've been around rifle owners who shoot enough to retire multiple barrels. I do believe some level of cleaning is best for the first few rounds, with cleaning efforts focused on the throat. With the exception of an LWRC hammer-forged barrel that is just of second-tier quality, all my barrels shoot well. So far, my barrels have exhibited reasonable life -- based on round count and accuracy demands.

Every barrel is different, even if only slightly. Different calibers affect barrels in different ways. We don't shoot the same from one barrel to the next -- temperatures, rates of fire, ammo. I doubt anyone will ever develop the best break-in method for all barrels and all shooters.

Part of the deal is, buyers ask, so they put out something.

Common sense would be, clean the gun, lightly lube, then shoot.

I think most any method ends up at the same place 100 rounds & a few months later.

Think of guns that met an early demise, neglect, poor cleaning techniques, no cleaning or care. I don’t remember any harmed from ‘improper’ break in procedure.

That all said, yes I’ll take it easy starting out.

quote:

Take a look at Bartlein and Krieger -- I have greater respect for their barrels, and their recommended break in procedures are a bit more pragmatic.

Thanks, fritz, more fascinating reading!


https://www.bartleinbarrels.co...to-break-a-barrel-in
The age old question, “Breaking in the New Barrel”. Opinions vary a lot here and this is a very subjective topic as well. For the most part, the only thing you are breaking in is the throat area of the barrel. The nicer the finish that the finish reamer or throating reamer leaves, the faster the throat will polish/break in. A rough throat can take longer to break in and also cause copper fouling. Some shooters think it’s the barrel has a problem, but it could be from when it was chambered.
__________________________________________________________________________________

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

With any premium barrel that has been finish lapped -- such as your Krieger Barrel --, the lay or direction of the finish is in the direction of the bullet travel, so fouling is minimal compared to a barrel with internal tooling marks. This is true of any properly finish-lapped barrel regardless of how it is rifled. If it is not finish-lapped, there will be reamer marks left in the bore that are directly across the direction of the bullet travel. This occurs even in a button-rifled barrel as the button cannot completely iron out these reamer marks.

Because the lay of the finish is in the direction of the bullet travel, very little is done to the bore during break-in, but the throat is another story. When your barrel is chambered, by necessity there are reamer marks left in the throat that are across the lands, i.e. across the direction of the bullet travel. In a new barrel they are very distinct; much like the teeth on a very fine file.

When the bullet is forced into the throat, copper dust is removed from the jacket material and released into the gas which at this temperature and pressure is actually a plasma. The copper dust is vaporized in this plasma and is carried down the barrel. As the gas expands and cools, the copper comes out of suspension and is deposited in the bore. This makes it appear as if the source of the fouling is the bore when it is actually for the most part the new throat.

If this copper is allowed to stay in the bore, and subsequent bullets and deposits are fired over it, copper which adheres well to itself, will build up quickly and may be difficult to remove later. So when we break in a barrel, our goal is to get the throat “polished without allowing copper to build up in the bore. This is the reasoning for the fire-one-shot-and-clean procedure. ...

There is no right answer to cleaning products and equipment, however under no circumstances should you use a stainless brush. If you choose to use brushes in your cleaning use only quality bronze phosphor brushes or nylon. Clean them after every use to extend their life. Copper solvents will dissolve a bronze brush rather quickly.
_________________________________________________________________


sourdough44, I'd be inclined to take it easy, also.

Most people consider the barrel break-in process to end after 10, 20, or 30-ish rounds. This part smooths out the throat, and possible the chamber.

For precision long-range shooters, the break-in process isn't finished until the muzzle velocity stabilizes. For the non-magnum calibers I own, MV tends to slowly increase up to maybe 75-100 rounds. For some of my barrels the increase has been fairly small, say 40 or 50 fps above the MV of initial rounds. IIRC many are in the 70-100 fps ballpark. These MV increases are large enough to make a difference in steel matches.

The outlier was my second Bartlein 6.5CM barrel. Its MV seemed to stabilize at just under 100 rounds. I then shot the rifle in a match, and the MV increased during the match -- enough to cause high misses on long targets. The second MV plateau likely occurred in the 175-200 round ballpark. My gunsmith had never heard of that occurring. I shared that info here on SF, and I believe NikonUser said he heard of it occurring once before.

****
Maintaining a clean throat is an important part of long-range precision shooting. If reasonably good break in procedures do that, I'll all for it. A rough throat (and an older fire-cracked throat) tends to build up carbon. If we don't remove that carbon, it builds up as a ring or donut. In steel matches I've seen/heard of very good shooters whose accuracy went south in the middle of the event -- diagnosed later as a carbon ring in the throat.

I've had bad carbon rings occur on two of my barrels -- 6.5CM barrel #2 and 18" AR15 barrel #1. MV increased and accuracy was dissapointing. I've become very cognizant of carbon constrictions during my barrel cleaning process. I now notice initial ring buildup when pushing wet patches down the bore. When patches seem a little tight at the end of the chamber, then loosen up just a short bit down the bore, it's time to clean the throat a bit more.

Is it important to use a (breech end) bore guide in bolt action rifles?

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:
Is it important to use a (breech end) bore guide in bolt action rifles?

It's not necessary, but it's a good idea.

I currently use a bore guide only for 22lr rifles. I really want the jag to go straight in. I no longer use bore guides for my centerfire bottle-neck-case chambered rifles. Pretty easy to get the jag in the chamber, then fine tune the jag/rod alighnment before pushing it into the throat. I can feel the potential carbon ring throat constriction a little better without a bore guide

quote:

Originally posted by fritz:
Most people consider the barrel break-in process to end after 10, 20, or 30-ish rounds. This part smooths out the throat, and possible the chamber.

For precision long-range shooters, the break-in process isn't finished until the muzzle velocity stabilizes. For the non-magnum calibers I own, MV tends to slowly increase up to maybe 75-100 rounds. For some of my barrels the increase has been fairly small, say 40 or 50 fps above the MV of initial rounds. IIRC many are in the 70-100 fps ballpark. These MV increases are large enough to make a difference in steel matches.

The outlier was my second Bartlein 6.5CM barrel. Its MV seemed to stabilize at just under 100 rounds. I then shot the rifle in a match, and the MV increased during the match -- enough to cause high misses on long targets. The second MV plateau likely occurred in the 175-200 round ballpark. My gunsmith had never heard of that occurring. I shared that info here on SF, and I believe NikonUser said he heard of it occurring once before.

****
Maintaining a clean throat is an important part of long-range precision shooting. If reasonably good break in procedures do that, I'll all for it. A rough throat (and an older fire-cracked throat) tends to build up carbon. If we don't remove that carbon, it builds up as a ring or donut. In steel matches I've seen/heard of very good shooters whose accuracy went south in the middle of the event -- diagnosed later as a carbon ring in the throat.

I've had bad carbon rings occur on two of my barrels -- 6.5CM barrel #2 and 18" AR15 barrel #1. MV increased and accuracy was dissapointing. I've become very cognizant of carbon constrictions during my barrel cleaning process. I now notice initial ring buildup when pushing wet patches down the bore. When patches seem a little tight at the end of the chamber, then loosen up just a short bit down the bore, it's time to clean the throat a bit more.

I am no pro, but I have more issues with carbon build up in my barrels than copper fouling in the rifling. This is just observation from groups and my bore scope. I will use some Hoppes after every range session and a copper solvent around 200-300 rounds downrange. I'm still learning though...

quote:

Originally posted by huskerlrrp:
I have more issues with carbon build up in my barrels than copper fouling in the rifling.

Same here. Virtually no copper in my barrels, but carbon fouling can be an issue.

The worst carbon fouling I have is with an LWRC 14" AR15 barrel. I can swab until the cows come home after shooting, and the patches continue to show carbon. It's also my most picky barrel for accuracy -- really only shoots well with 69 SMK loads.

I forgot to note that during the barrel break in process I monitor carbon on patches as much as copper. One indication that the barrel is breaking in is a dramatic decrease in carbon on wet patches. This generally occurs after about 10-15 rounds.

My quickest barrel to stop showing a lot of carbon is a Bartlein BB alloy SS in 6 Creedmoor. Carbon fouling went to virtually nothing after 5 or 6 rounds, IIRC. My 'smith said that BB steel is noticeably harder than regular SS, based on the chamber reaming process. If this barrel holds up over its life, I might consider going with BB steel for other calibers, too.

I don't guess it matters which ammo one uses to break in a new barrel? The first twenty shots or so?

Cheap plinking .22/5.56 is suitable, as long as its brass case, copper alloy jacket similiar to your match ammo?

Or, is there a reason to use the good stuff you're likely to be shooting for score?

This whole "breaking in your rifle barrel" thing seems ridiculous to me.

Whenever I buy a new gun, be it a handgun or rifle, I first clean it to remove any possible factory grease, lightly lube and then proceed to shoot the damn thing.

When I'm done shooting, that evening I clean and lightly oil my guns and put them away.

Maybe I'm missing something, but my firearms function as designed, are accurate and reliable.

quote:

Originally posted by mod29:

Maybe I'm missing something, but my firearms function as designed, are accurate and reliable.

Your definition of accuracy may be different than what someone like Nikon or Fritz may be.

If you’re only shooting deer, and your rifle works for you-it’s good, but there’s guys who shoot a lot of small targets where one round outside of the 10 ring can cause a loss.

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:
Or, is there a reason to use the good stuff you're likely to be shooting for score?

I think a case could be made for either way. The primary function is to remove tooling marks and other imperfections in the throat, which just about any bullet should be able to do.

I use the ammo I expect to use down the road, as I use the break in process to develop the zero.

The quickest break in I've experienced is with a Bartlein BB steel 6 Creedmoor -- done in 5 rounds. My gunsmith said the BB steel is noticeably harder than regular stainless, but with a new & sharp reamer it produced almost no tooling marks when he cut the chamber. No noticeable copper on the patches and carbon fouling almost went to zero after 3 or 4 rounds.

quote:

Originally posted by mod29:
This whole "breaking in your rifle barrel" thing seems ridiculous to me.
Maybe I'm missing something, but my firearms function as designed, are accurate and reliable.

With a bolt action rifle it's more about removing tooling marks in the barrel's throat. For high volume shooters, as the barrel wears out, then accuracy & cleaning come into play. For gun owners who don't shoot out barrels and don't strive for great accuracy during the last portion of a barrel's life, then break in makes little difference.

The almost inevitable imperfections caused by chambering the barrel can produce problems down the road. First is copper fouling, then heavy carbon fouling, then uneven fire cracking in the throat.

Not a big deal for a hunting rifle that may never see more than a few hundred rounds. Not a big deal for an AR15 that may never see more than a thousand rounds.