New bbl break in for 223 112 Sav.

[KHornet]

Finally got the new bbl on the action, and it looks real good. I have never gone thru the process of barrel break in, but a shooting friend of mine is a firm believer in same (with jacketed bullets). His 50 shot routine
is: 1 shot, 1 round & clean, 5 times.
1 shot, 5 rounds, and clean 5 times
1 shot, 10 rds, and clean 2 times
50 rounds. I asked him if after his 50 rounds his 5 shot groups were better than the groups of his break in groups. He said it SEEMS like they did, for what ever that is worth.

Would appreciate the opinions of those who use a break in process, and those who just buy them and shoot them.

Paul

 

[Ben]

Paul,

Maybe I'm totally clueless, but I just bought a Howa , 6.5X55 mm.

It shot everything in one hole the 1st five rounds and hasn't changed since then.
I used no " break in " procedures on that barrel.

Others may find that their mileage varies.....................

Ben

 

[Josh]

I'm with Ben, sight it in and shoot. Most barrels will show peak accuracy after 100 rounds of jacketed, by then most minor machine marks have been smoothed out.

 

[quicksylver]

Only had one orportunity to break in a new barrel ..that was on an AR match gun..
Took it to it's first match..shot that match..1/2" groups about average..kept shooting it for the next 15 yrs..now 20 years later that barrel is shooting 3/4" groups..
guess I didn't break it in properly...

I have heard of that type of break in.. just don't know anyone who did it...ask the manufacturer ?

IMO cleaning is bad ..seen too many barrels ruined by improper cleaning...

 

[KHornet]

Tend to agree with you Dan. Have become a user of Boresnakes, as there is
no chance of rod wear on rifling.

Paul

 

[Longone]

IMO, it depends on the barrel maker. Better barrels that I have used require load tuning and go shoot. Part of the reason you pay a higher price is because of the attention the barrel makers pay to the inside dimensions and finish. A "premium" barrel will be hand lapped and ready to go, some barrel makers (usually high volume makers) will have a gray dull look to the bore as you look down them, JB is your friend with them.
Then you have the cut rifling VS. button, and CM VS. SS barrels, in the barrel world sometimes you get what you pay for.
And last but not least is the guy that cuts the chamber, if it isn't true to the bore, it will be an uphill battle that you won't win.

Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[Tony]

I like bore snakes but be careful. You can damage the crown with one. Make sure you pull it straight out. Over the past 30 years, most of my rifles have been custom jobs with barrels by Shilen, Hart, Schneider, Lilja, Pac-Nor, Douglas, etc. Shooting jacketed bullets my barrel break in routine was shoot one shot and patch out with a solvent containing a bit of ammonia such as Butch's Bore Shine. When the solvent soaked patch contained no powder fouling or carbon and did not turn blue from copper I was done. I do not recall ever taking more than 7 shots to complete break in of a match grade barrel, usually less.

 

[quicksylver]

Tend to agree with you Dan. Have become a user of Boresnakes, as there is
no chance of rod wear on rifling.

Paul

And those have their down side...ever see a well worn fishing rod tip eye?...nylon can cut metal ...bore snakes can wear a barrel on one side if not lifted straight out the barrel...crown gone..

 

[KHornet]

Well, for a number of reasons, mainly that that break in period is a boring process,
and I have never done it before, believe I will just shoot it as always. Will give the
Bore Snake some thought.

Paul

 

[Tony]

Paul,
If your methods work for you that's all that matters. Bore snakes are handy tools. All I urge is that one exercise caution when using one because damage to the barrel interior and the crown can occur.

 

[Intheshop]

Read a Ross Seyfreid article 30 years ago in Handloader magazine.He used bronze bore brushes,one cal. smaller than bore,with wraps of paper towels as bore mops.The best towels today are Viva brand,and they ain't cheap.Remington 40X,and JB work so easy with this method,and have way longer than bore snakes have been around.High quality Dewey rods,we make bore guides with cut off cases epoxied aluminum arrow shafts.

Another well respected shooter,David Tubb steered me through one of his articles;a "wet" bronze brush can not wear out a modern rifle bore.The rod might,wrong technique may,improper solvents could.....but say any of the mainstream solvents,and wet....the brush isn't.

Breaking in a brrl to me gets lost in semantics;I may clean after 5 rounds,for a cpl relays then change to 10,then change to whatever.But it is more about ME understanding how that particular barrel is gonna behave or foul.

I've been told repeatedly NOT to get a borescope,that you are going to really not like what you see inside factory barrels.Whatever?I still want one.Good luck with your new brrl.BW

 

[freebullet]

I tested break in on identical dpms barrels a few years back.

The first I followed their break in rec.
Shoot & clean each 25
Shoot 10 & clean for the next hundred.

The second was blasted ninja style.

Both shot moa or better at 100 afterwards.

Maybe it makes a difference on better barrels.

 

[gman]

I followed Bartlein Barrels recommendation on breaking in a new barrel. I did it because this was a custom build and I didn't want to take any chances. I will say that this barrel does not foul much at all and when cleaned it's an easy chore. The finish on a custom barrel's bore is just better. Not saying a factory rifle won't shoot well because I have some that do.

 

[KHornet]

Well, I shot it today with no break in process. It took 15 rds to get it on, as I had
taken the scope off (naturally). The first 5 Shot group went into .6" with 4 of the 5
going into .4". Then I let it cool for about 10-15 min and shot a 10 shot group that
went into .55", at 50 yds, and went home. It was cool, sunny, but windy, 15-20 with
gusts to over 30mph. Load was 40gr. Hor Vmax, over 24gr. of Rx 7. I am pleased
w/initial findings. Doubt I will ever go thru a break in process with a new barrel.

Paul

 

[Longone]

What twist barrel do you have?

 

[Intheshop]

And,how does it clean up?

 

[Ian]

Just keep checking for copper and carbon as you shoot it and KEEP it clean. If that means clean every other shot for a while, then do that until it smooths up. If it means every 100 rounds, then do that. When it can go a while without cleaning and still shoot well, it's "broken in".

Most of us have never really gotten a barrel clean, but we try. I don't like brushes and mostly quit using them since I discovered JB bore paste. Paste on a patch for carbon, ammonia (Butch's or your favorite snake oil), alternate until it "feels" clean and patches don't show any green whatsoever.

Copper and carbon layer like Damascus steel for the first few inches of barrel and if you don't keep it all cleared out then the bullet stops touching barrel steel...not going to break in any more.

I have no direct evidence that bore snakes affect crowns in a way that is negative, but I probably won't ever find out for sure because it just looks like a bad idea and I refuse to try it.

 

[fiver]

I'm at 478 rounds in my 'new' 6-H barrel.
it still will put 10 shots touching each other at 100 yds.
I know the round count because I just loaded all the empty PMC brass and that is how many there was.
it still hasn't had a brush/swab or any bore cleaner down it yet, I did wipe some oil in around the bolt last spring.
years back I done the shoot clean shoot clean thing on a Varmint /Target rifle.
I never got real good accuracy from the thing so I kind of gave up on it and it just sat there with a nice and shiny barrel for about 20 years until I decided to try some cast bullets in it.
I must have learned something about reloading in that time frame because it turned into a real good shooter.

 

[KHornet]

Barrel is 1-14. I will shoot it exclusively with 40gr. bullets or less (jacketed for Pdogs), and cast for paper.
I have never kept an actual count of rounds thru a barrel, but have a friend who does for all of his rifles.
I may just do that with this barrel as I have the actual count at this point, and a little notebook is easy
to maintain. Have an early Sav Axis 223 with a 1-9 bbl, that shoots from 40 to 62 gr. without problems
with either jacketed or cast.

Paul

 

[Longone]

14 is a great twist, if you really want to scare yourself find some custom bullets and work up a load for them. They will make production bullets look....well.... like production bullets. IMO, you should keep a record of the rounds fired, especially if you are going to shoot jacketed thru it as well. In my experience we considered a button barrel to be done @ about 3000 rounds, cut rifling (depending on cal.) could go to 5000 rounds. Kriegers usually went the longest, sometimes 6000 rounds in 223. Enjoy the heck out of it.