Barrel break in?

[Blaster229]

I am expecting the birth of my new Ruger Gunsite Scout .308 next week.
Not having owned a rifle in MANY, MANY years, I wonder if there is some sort of protocol for a "break in" procedure when first shooting her?

Thanks,

Mike

 

[Drew1340]

I was told shoot one round pull a bore snake through and repeat for about the first ten or so rounds.. and dont go rapid fire for a about a box or so... I know its a bolt action but sometimes it is just fun to let lead fly...

 

[Mason-Dixon Baseball]

Run a snake through the barrel before shooting, and it can't hurt to do what Drew says too...

 

[davsco]

rules and suggestions are all over the place on this.

other than spending time, i don't think it hurts to clean the rifle more often rather than less.

i will generally fire one and clean and repeat for first 10 shots, then clean every 5 shots and at 100 done with the break in process.

I run a bore solvent-soaked patch thru the barrel a couple of times and let it sit for maybe 5 minutes, then run a bronze bore brush thru a handful of times, then run thru patches til they come out clean.

 

[Blaster229]

Thanks!!

 

[Ganegrei]

My new rifle procedure is:

1. Run bore snake through barrel.
2. Fire first shot, make sure nothing was shaken loose.
3. Fire second shot, miss target, curse.
4. Fire many more shots until I realize that I cant even tell if the barrel is being properly broken in because even brand new, it is still more accurate then me.

 

[Forager]

Clean the gunk out, and shoot it. It's not a benchrest rifle. Just shoot it.

 

[wilcam47]

Clean the gunk out, and shoot it. It's not a benchrest rifle. Just shoot it.

 

[Jimbob2.0]

Ive heard for modern non precision rifles that the old break in procedures really are not needed. That said I typically will fire a few shots, clean, then fire a few shots clean and then go from there.

 

[Blaster229]

I didn't think it was much rocket science to it.

 

[smokey]

Forget the bore snake. If you draw it out the muzzle at any angle other than straight, it can egg out bore at the crown. Get a can of wipeout and bottle of accelerator. Get a 1 piece rod of decent quality and a jag to run patches with. Get a bore guide for the rod.

Next, shoot 5 rnds or so...then run patch with accelerator down bore and follow with foam. Wait 20-30 minutes then run a dry patch. Be amazed at how blue it is. Continue that until the patches arent very blue after 5 shots, then increase the interval to 10. ...then 20....then u should b good.

It'll wear some chatter marks smooth. If you're shooting over top of fouling, you're not really smoothing anything. If the bore is chrome lined, ure not doing much so just shoot it n don't worry about a break in.

 

[takoma]

What are the chances that you really damage the bore at the crown w/ improper bore snake handling?

If this is the case, I'll stop using my BS...

 

[smokey]

What are the chances that you really damage the bore at the crown w/ improper bore snake handling?

If this is the case, I'll stop using my BS...

keep it clean and not as much. Pull it straight out and not off to the side and not as much. Cimbedded carbon in a rope being repeatedly dragged over one side of the crown and not the other....ehhh

Wipe out is so good and easy, I wouldnt really think of using anything else. The bore guide n solid rod are just general good practices

 

[Mason-Dixon Baseball]

What are the chances that you really damage the bore at the crown w/ improper bore snake handling?

If this is the case, I'll stop using my BS...

Get a muzzle guide for the end of the barrel to pull the snake through and you'll never have a problem....

 

[Screwtop.243]

Forget the bore snake. If you draw it out the muzzle at any angle other than straight, it can egg out bore at the crown. Get a can of wipeout and bottle of accelerator. Get a 1 piece rod of decent quality and a jag to run patches with. Get a bore guide for the rod.

Next, shoot 5 rnds or so...then run patch with accelerator down bore and follow with foam. Wait 20-30 minutes then run a dry patch. Be amazed at how blue it is. Continue that until the patches arent very blue after 5 shots, then increase the interval to 10. ...then 20....then u should b good.

It'll wear some chatter marks smooth. If you're shooting over top of fouling, you're not really smoothing anything. If the bore is chrome lined, ure not doing much so just shoot it n don't worry about a break in.

Geeeze!! Now I'm freaked out. I use bore snakes at the range quite a bit and never dreamed they would damage the crown. I always use bore guides in the breach when cleaning at home with my teflon coated Dewey rods, but didn't know the bore snake could do any damage when used to remove fouling between sets of groups during range sessions.

With regard to the rest of your post, I've read about similar methods of break-in. Seems reasonable to me.

 

[Lex Armarum]

Here's renowned barrel maker Gale McMillan's take on barrel break-in:

http://www.6mmbr.com/gailmcmbreakin.html

http://www.snipercountry.com/Articles/Barrel_BreakIn.asp

He seems to think that there is dubious benefit from the ritual. Truth be told, break-in is all about conditioning the bore. I believe it is Noveske (although I could have the manufacturer wrong) who says, shoot the gun at least 250 rnds before cleaning.

 

[midcountyg]

Break in is about smoothing and conditioning the bore. The last thing you want is carbon fouling left in the imperfections during this time. I recommend one stroke of a brush dipped in powder solvent, then patch clean after each shot for at least the first ten. Then same, but one stroke with brush for each shot, firing five shots at a time for the next fifty. I say use powder solvent, not copper solvent, because you want to allow some copper to stay in any low imperfections. Always clean from the breech, with a bore guide if possible. I prefer a Dewey rod, as it has a protective coating to avoid scratching the bore. Results may vary, but a good barrel should do well with this. There are other procedures I like for real precision barrels.

 

[Blaster229]

This is for a ruger scout rifle that I'm going to use a scout scope to shoot paper at maybe 300, if that. Otherwise deer from iron sights or a red dot out to 200. Maybe. I am going to beat the shit out of this thing in and out of truck, on a picnic table. I've treated haligan tools more gentle.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using Tapatalk

 

[lx1x]

http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=36638&highlight=barrel+break-in

second post by our guru mr. eshell..

 

[Screwtop.243]

http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=36638&highlight=barrel+break-in

second post by our guru mr. eshell..

Thanks for pointing this out. With a custom rifle on the way, Mr. EShell's contribution is rather thought provoking (and may save me a lot of time to boot!).