Breaking in a barrel?

UtahShooter

UtahShooter

Active member
So here it is. I have purchased an ar-15 with less than a hundred rounds through it but am unsure if the previous owner really did the correct cleaning method. Is there anything that I can do? Or is the barrel screwed as the guy at my local range says?
 
I doubt VERY seriously that there is anything wrong with the barrel if it's got less than 100rnds through her. Clean her real good and let'r run.


Chupa
 
every manufacturer has a different set of guidelines for breaking in a barrel. even if he shot 100rds though and never cleaned it a bit. I doubt anything would be wrong with it.
If it shoots good, it's because you cleaned it right and you're one heck of a marksman.
thumbup.gif

If it shoots poorly, its because that jack wagon didn't know how to break it in right. What a doofas.
angry.gif
 
oh yeah I have another gun with 330 rounds through it and he asked if the guy I bought it from if he did the proper break in I said no and that I was looking at getting rid of it to trade for another and he said just for that matter he would have not even bought it.
 
you said two different things there. that confuses me. If he never cleaned it its ok then if he did not break it in properly he is a jack wagon. by the way love the jack wagon reference. such a funny commercial.
 
I was more just saying that if he only shot 100rd through it it likely wont matter when it comes to hunting accuracy.
If he never cleaned it, he likely DIDNT break it in properly in the first place.

Example. The people that built my rifle suggested to pull a bore snake with JB bore paste through the barrel after each 3 shots, Then pull a clean bore snake through. Do this for each three shot group the first 100 rounds.

If I decided that was too much work, and only pulled the snakes after every 10 rounds, or every 25 rounds. It likely won't make much difference with hunting accuracy...BUT, the manufacturer wont honor a 1/2 moa accuracy guarantee if I don't follow that procedure. (how they can tell, I have no idea)

Other manufacturers may say that's a terrible way to break in a barrel, some might say to just clean it good after 100 rounds.

It really depends on who's gun it is. If it was only a 1-2 MOA gun from the beginning, how you break it in probably won't ever change that for the better or worse.

 
Last edited:
so a little more digging. rra ss says that there is no break in process. this is what they said. "The barrels are already lapped so there is no break-in required." what is lapped?
 
Originally Posted By: UtahShooterso a little more digging. rra ss says that there is no break in process. this is what they said. "The barrels are already lapped so there is no break-in required." what is lapped?

Here's a good read for ya. Should lay it all out. Shooting Times - Lapping A Rifle
Getting a lapped barrel sometimes costs more but it really just saves the shooter time and eventually money.
 
ok so I just read over the link. very good. I am happy if the barrel is lapped then! Maybe this and the 2 stage trigger that they come with is the reason for a 3/4" out of the box accuracy guarantee?
 
100 rounds? a ruined barrel? Are you kidding me? The rifle is just getting settled in...All this shooting and cleaning break-in stuff is crap...just go shoot the [beeep] thing and clean it when you get home...unless you're one of those who believes that cleaning is over-rated...then shoot until your groups open up and then give it a good scrubbing....

Bottom line: Do all the voodoo you want if it makes you feel better, but I've got a number of sub-moa rifles that never came remotely close to a "break-in" procedure...

 
Last edited:
My custom guns I do do break in. Shoot 1 clean for first five and then after every five shoots after that. Production gun. You are going to get what you get. If it shoots above moa thats what you got cleaning or no cleaning.
I had a buddy with a RRA AR never cleaned it. No telling how many shots. I bought the gun it shot + moa cleand on it for 2 days still shoot the same.
 
LOL.."breaking" in a barrel.
Barrel Break in is a theory..and really a good debate..
The way i look at it..if it gives you a warm fuzzy..go for it!
But more often than not people can ruin a barrel with a cleaning rod before their barrel is "broke" in.
• 99.9% of shooters don’t have access to a quality bore scope to view the interior surface of their barrels.
• Without a bore scope to view the interior surface of your barrel what exactly are you trying to fix by a shoot and clean process?
• If there are burrs or machine marks from the machining process in the chamber, throat or barrel where are they located?
• Do the machine marks run parallel or perpendicular to the barrel finish?
• If there are high points and low points inside the barrel again where are they located?
• Does shooting and cleaning between rounds correct/fix all barrel imperfections if they exist? If yes how?
• Without a bore scope again you have no idea what the actual condition of the interior barrel surface
• So far if you don’t have honest solid answers to these first few questions and you’ve been performing a barrel break-in process you’re working off a SWAG (scientific wild [beeep] guess)
• Pushing a cotton patch with solvent or a bronze brush down the barrel will do what to remove a 416 stainless steel or chromemoly metal burr or machine marks?
• Last time I checked, 416 SS or CM is much harder than a cotton patch or bronze brush and is most likely impenetrable by most bore solvents.
• Yes it will remove copper fouling caught by the metal burr, but how will it remove the metal burr?
• How many shots will it take to remove the burr or imperfection and how will you know when the barrel issues have been corrected? Is it always x-amount of shots?
Here is the best theory i found..
Barrel Theory
 
Last edited:
Well said buddy
thumbup.gif




Originally Posted By: Jayhawker27100 rounds? a ruined barrel? Are you kidding me? The rifle is just getting settled in...All this shooting and cleaning break-in stuff is crap...just go shoot the [beeep] thing and clean it when you get home...unless you're one of those who believes that cleaning is over-rated...then shoot until your groups open up and then give it a good scrubbing....

Bottom line: Do all the voodoo you want if it makes you feel better, but I've got a number of sub-moa rifles that never came remotely close to a "break-in" procedure...

 
great read. Here is what the guy at the range is quoted by me as saying. "the copper will get into the pores if you dont clean it every shot for the first 20. you want the carbon to build up in there not the copper."
 
Originally Posted By: UtahShooter"the copper will get into the pores if you dont clean it every shot for the first 20. you want the carbon to build up in there not the copper."

Sweet Jesus....Some people must lay awake at night figuring out how to complicate life...
thumbdown.gif
 


Write your reply...
Back
Top