Guest lucky_erickson Posted November 28, 2005 Report Share Posted November 28, 2005 Just wondering your opinions on barrel break in. Any advice is welcome. Bought a new 22.250 Rem 700 VS w/26in barrel topped with a VX III 4.5-14. Just haven't had time to get it out yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKYhunter Posted November 28, 2005 Report Share Posted November 28, 2005 Re: Barrel Break In Some say there's no need for a break in and some say that it helps to fill in tiny holes or marks left from the barrel boring process. When I bought a browning A-bolt I shot twenty rounds through it with plain old winchester power point bullets. After each shot I cleaned with copper solvent. I had read on a web-site, shortmags.org, that this was the proper procedure for breaking in a new gun/barrel. I don't know if this helped or not as I had no before or after for comparison, however the gun shot very well and was very easy to clean. I certainly do not see how this could hurt in any way. Maybe AJ will comment on this. He certainly has a very good amount of knowledge about guns/shooting and his advice is always on the money! Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKYhunter Posted November 28, 2005 Report Share Posted November 28, 2005 Re: Barrel Break In BTW I forgot to explain that your supposed to use a copper jacketed bullet for this procedure and not a bullet which would have a coating like lubalox such as the winchester fail safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted November 29, 2005 Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 Re: Barrel Break In I have done it both ways, broken in and just shot the gun. I have not really seen a difference. Some guns need a couple boxes of ammo through the bore before they settle down. I have seen this with guns that were broken in and with guns that were just cleaned and shot. I have never seen it make a gun shoot better. It's supposed to make a gun clean easier. IMO, its snake oil. Nowdays, I just shoot them and clean after a few 5 shot groups or when the accuracy goes away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thayer Posted November 29, 2005 Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 Re: Barrel Break In This is the barrel break-in procedure that I have used for over 20 years now and so far, absolutely NONE of my barrels copper foul... Equipment list, this is what I use and recommend: Dewey Nylon Coated cleaning rod... Bore Guide... A whole bunch of patches... Nylon brushes only! NO BRASS! NO STAINLESS! NO BRONZE! A 50/50 mix of Shooters Choice and Kroil... Heavy brass jag. Use the pointed ones and not the slotted ones... 1 - bottle BORE COTE... Start with a major scrubbing using your nylon brush and Shooters Choice/Kroil mix. Brush/wipe/brush/wipe/brush/wipe until the barrel absolutely squeeky clean and then dry it out REAL GOOD! Coat a patch with Bore Cote and push it through the barrel but do not draw it back through. remove the patch when it exits the muzzle... Now, let the Bore Cote sit in the barrel for 5-minutes and then push three tight fitting "dry" patches through the bore and remove them from the jag when they exit the muzzle. Do not pull any patches at all back through the bore during the break-in process. You wanted my procedure for this, so don't argue ... Fire one shot down the bore, dry brush 5-times and push one patch down the bore to remove the loose residue and then push a wet patch of Bore Cote down the bore and let it sit for 5-minutes. At the end of those 5-minutes, push 3-patches "dry" down the bore and remove them when they exit the muzzle... Now fire two shots. Dry brush 10 times. Push a dry patch bown the bore and out the muzzle and remove the patch. Push a wet patch down the bore coated with Bore Cote and let it sit in the bore for 5-minutes. Push three dry patches down the bore but remember to NOT pull them back through... Shoot 3-shots now, dry brush 15 times, push a dry patch down the bore, coat the bore with Bore Cote for 5-minutes and then push 3 dry patches down the bore... Shoot 4-shots down the bore, dry brush 20 times, push a dry patch down the bore, now a wet one with Bore Cote and let it sit in the barrel for 5-minutes and then push 3 dry patches through the bore... Now shoot 5-shot in a row, dry brush 25 times, push a dry patch down the bore and then a wet one coated with Bore Cote. Wait 5-minutes and then push 3 dry patches through the bore... Now shoot just one shot this time and start the whole process all over again until you have fired at least a total of 100 rounds. If you are fireforming for a wildcat cartridge, you are usually going to be shooting at least 100 rounds anyways and this makes good use of those fireform loads... If you are shooting a stainless steel barrel, run several patches coated with the Shooters Choice/Kroil mix through the bore and then brush the bore with your nylon brushes. After a good 5-10 minute work out cleaning the bore, push several clean and dry patches through the bore and then recoat the bore with the "mix" and keet the bore "wet". Not messy drippy wet but not dry either. Keep the bore wet until you get ready to shoot again and then dry it out good before you fire any rounds through it. You should be able to fire no less than 50 rounds before you have to clean the bore with your nylon brush and "mix", unless the bore is in really bad shape and in that case, it needs to be "lapped" first... If your barrel is a blued chrome-moly barrel, coat the inside of the bore with the Bore Cote and follow everything else said for the stainless barrel... I'm looking at a couple of barrels that have been shot just over 100 times since their last cleaning and they are absolutelt spotless! No copper and yet they are still squeeky clean ... This is from his little spot on Mike Bellm's website. David does some excellent work on Encores and NEF's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogdoc Posted November 29, 2005 Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 Re: Barrel Break In darn Thayer--that's a lot of work there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper Posted November 29, 2005 Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 Re: Barrel Break In Huh...your supposed to clean the inside of the barrels? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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