Have you done it? How do you do it? There are so many conflicting things out there...just curious how or if you do it with your new rifles...
^ that's a lot of breaking in. I cleaned mine, put 10 rounds thru it, cleaned it and figured it was ready. It's only a 30.06 so I don't plan on shooting at anything over 200 yards(and I'm only shotgun hunting in IL these days so no rifle hunting seen in my future for a while)
Tony, honestly with that gun... you're not going to notice much of a difference inside of 500 yards. Just make sure you clean it before you shoot it (so that none of the oils they use for storage are left in the barrel) and after you run some rounds through it. Breaking in barrels is typically for long range shooting or competition stuff. Out here, we sight everything in about 3" high at 100, that way you can hold on the animal all the way out to 300 and not worry about hod over or bullet drop.
Its not just an accuracy thing I belive. They say it will be easier to clean because the bore is sealed. It may or may not do much. But the way I look at it you are talking about 10-12 shots on a gun that will last you a lifetime. Why not do it. If Browning says it is a good idea that is good enough for me. What is the recommended procedure for breaking in a new barrel? - Browning Questions and Answers
I clean every gun before I shoot it because they often have solvents and gunk from the factory that isn't the best to leave in there. Once I do the initial cleaning, I attach the scope (if I plan on using one), site it in, and then take an additional 10-20 shots and then clean it again. Done.
I dont clean a rilfed barrel after I sight it in. I want the barrel to shoot exactly how my last shot was, and it was "dirty" for that last shot. I will clean it after I am done for the season however.
If you leave it dirty, the copper fouling and carbon deposits will not only damage the barrel but change the zero of your rifle. The dirtier the barrel gets the less consistent it will become. Why not zero it clean and leave it clean? Running a patch through the gun is pretty simple... IMO it is far more important than "breaking in the barrell"
Dubs with all due respect the tourney shooters I've speak with always shoot a couple shots to "dirty" the barrel before expecting a zero hit and before making any adjustments. Then at some point the bore becomes too dirty with fouling and accuracy suffers and it requires a cleaning again. Then repeat. Leaving a dirty barrel for months on end is a bad thing I agree. Before your rifle season re-check your zero and leave go through the season is how I was always taught. If my rifle will sit for a while I will clean it but then will need to check zero again anyway and then I leave the barrel dirty for the next week or so while I rifle hunt.
None taken Brad. I totally agree with dirtying the barrel for competition stuff, but in my experience 99.9% of hunters don't really operate that way. Most of them store the gun for a couple of months after it's zeroed. And clean it at the end of the season, if they get around to it. But since most hunters aren't trying to shoot 1000 yards, 1-2 shots of a "dirty" barrel won't affect the POI, especially at common hunting ranges. I've shot several hundred rounds per day at prairie dogs out of my 22-250 or my .223 without it making a difference from a clean bore in the morning to a dirty bore in the afternoon. I know that if I don't clean the gun after that, chances are I'll get busy it won't get cleaned for a while, that could very well just be me too. Most guys will shoot three shot groups at 100 when sighting in and I can't say that I've ever seen a noticeable difference between shot one and shot three because of the dirty barrel but I have seen it make the difference over the course of the season when the deposits and fouling have time to sit.
. The only thing about breaking in the barrel is to seal that bore so that bore minimizes copper and fouling collection. That would allow for more shots to be shot before accuracy suffers from fouling (in theory).
I'm no professional or tourney shooter but to clear up what I meant, I clean my rifles once a year (besides the initial cleaning when I first get it). The only guns I clean after every use are my pistols. I may shoot the rifle 10 times, I may shoot it 100 times, I clean it once a year to prevent fouling.
Yup. The whole "the only good bore guide is.............." gave it away for me. Yeah sure, only one company makes good bore guides. Suuuuuuuuuuuuuure. Its not like it is a complicated tool.
The process is correct, disregard the products. Factory rifle barrels benefit the most from a sensible break in, I say that compared to match grade and custom barrels. Why because they are much less polished ....
