Barrel break-in question

[bichettereds]

First post! Actually just joined, but I've read and gotten alot from this site the past several months. LOTS to read but I love it!

A friend of mine had a good question and I figured there would be no better place to find the answer than here. Wasnt sure if it should be posted here, the reloading section or the small stuff section so I just went with the main.

Anyway, on with the quesiton...

My buddy just got a new Remington 700 in .223 and wanted to know if he could break in the barrel using a subsonic load (Hogdon Clays @ 1060 fps and a 55gr FMJ bullet). Its pretty miserable here in OH and he is able to shoot in his basement using 5 gallon bucket full of sand for a bullet trap. I know hes done it before, so thats not the question. He was just wondering if the reduced loads break in his barrel the same as using normal .223 loads, or does he need the high pressure? Have any of you guys tried this?

It sure would make things more convenient, not having to deal with the weather and all the cease-fires at the range.

Thanks in advance for any replies, and its great to be apart of such a great website!

Brian

 

[NateHaler]

barrel break-in as a topic has been flogged to death. On this and so many other shooting forums. And depending on your viewpoint, it's a complete waste of time, or might have some (difficult, if not impossible, to prove) benefit. The scenario you describe strikes me as the former rather than the latter. It's one thing to fire reduced loads (with cream-of-wheat, for example) to fire-form brass. But that's not barrel break-in.

If it's really more about cabin fever, then I recommend an air rifle and shooting from standing, kneeling, sitting, and prone, and learning about how to maintain sight picture through the break, breath control, etc.

Just my opinion, and worth what it costs. 8)

 

[1shot]

OK, since there are always two sides to every coin, I will start by saying that I think that NateHaler offers some excellent suggestions. On the other side, I’m one of those guys that believes in barrel break-in, but I try and accomplish several things at the same time. I will outline my break-in procedure and give you the reasoning behind it.
1. I fire 5 single shots, cleaning between each shot. When I do this, it is always through a chronograph and I only change one component at a time. This is especially important if I’ve not shot this cartridge previously, or made a change in the barrel twist. I’m simply trying to see what certain thresholds are and what powder the barrel likes. I almost always use Russian primers, so that is my constant with the exception of just a few cartridges I’ve worked with.
2. After the first five shots I have hopefully gained enough useful data and I then use that information to fire five three shot groups changing only the powder charge, bullet seating depth and/or neck tension. Sometimes the bullet its self, but always cleaning after each group. Normally I know what bullet and primer is going to be used, but I get fooled on occasion.
3. By the time I’ve fired 20 shots, I’ve gained a lot of data, never over heated the barrel and it’s time to go to work fine-tuning the load.
I hope this is of some use to you, if not it cost as much as NateHaler’s. ;D
Lloyd

 

[fdshuster]

Brian: Not getting into the issue of breaking in a new barrel or not, that's something left up to the individual to decide. Some believe in it others do not.

But the idea of breaking in a barrel is to fire jacketed bullets down the bore, each one being fired thru a perfectly clean bore, so the bullet jacket makes complete contact with the steel surface of the bore, and not copper and carbon fouling.The contact between the bullet & the bore surface is said to burnish or smooth out machine & tool marks left in the barrel by the manufacturer.

Start with one shot, clean & note the color of the cleaning patch. If it has a lot of "blue" it's an indication that the barrel is copper fouled. A good, fast acting copper solvent is then used to remove all the copper. Unlike carbon fouling, when the patches come out white, the bore will be free (or free enough) of copper.

Fire another & clean. If it shows less "blue", then after cleaning, fire 3 shots & clean. As the amount of copper shown decreases, increase the number of shots fired before cleaning.

Trying to do this in the middle of Winter in Ohio would not be fun, so your friend may have a good idea if he can do it safely out of the weather. He certainly would not damage the barrel if he wants to give it a try.

 

[rvn1968]

I agree with FDS except make that you are NOT useing a copper or bronze brush,go with quality nylon. FWIW Tom

 

[1shot]

fdshuster and rvn1968 both give very sound advice. I also look for copper fouling as well as how the patch runs down the bore. Learning all the tricks of the trade is a never ending experience. Some of us just take longer than others.
Lloyd

 

[LHSmith]

IMHO....Factory bbl. no break-in- just shoot it. BTW I favor a premium bronze brush over a nylon one ...even in $350 custom barrels that get cleaned every 20 rounds.

 

[bichettereds]

Thanks for all the great information guys. Ive read alot about barrel break-ins and I know my friend has as well. I guess the choice of subject title may have been alittle misconceiving. The real question was... do you guys think that using subsonic loads will be just as effective (assuming you alreading subscribe to the "theory" of breaking a barrel in) as using full power loads.

That was his only concern, since thats what he'll be limited to shooting in his basement if he wants to stay married. ;D

 

[Charlie-NY]

I would be concerned about potential health issues from firing in-doors w/o proper ventilation.

 

[fdshuster]

Brian: I failed to address the low velocity part of your question, and while no authority on the subject, I'd think the velocity would not matter. The copper to steel contact is the main issue.

All barrels are different, be they factory or custom hand-lapped, so they all have their needs. I have custom hand-lapped barrels that copper fouled heavily & others, by the same manufacturer that were copper free after the second or third shot was fired.

And then I have factory barrels that produce smaller & smaller 5 shot groups (Rem. 700 chambered in 222), as the barrels load up with copper fouling. Remove all the copper & the groups open up.

All this is verified with my borescope. I'm not guessing at the true condition of the bores.

 

[K22]

Even though several custom barrel makers recommend it, the value of elaborate barrel breakin procedures is debatable since it can neither be proven or disproven. Therefore I don't believe it matters whether you use sub velocity load or full velocity loads if you choose to go through the process.

I've never used these tedious procedures and never had a rifle suffer as a consequence that I could determine. The few rifles I had that exhibited accuracy problems were solved by addressing either a bedding issue, scope issue, or finding a suitable bullet / powder / seating depth combination.

In my opinion, using the proper cleaning equipment and procedures is vastly more important to avoid damaging the barrel and the crown.

 

[mac86951]

In my opinion, using the proper cleaning equipment and procedures is vastly more important to avoid damaging the barrel and the crown.

There you go, its been said already! Careful Cleaning! Just as posted above, each manufacturer/smith will have different opinions on how to break-in a barrel.

If you truly feel the need to do this, I'd recommend the Accuracy Systems Inc. Method
modified to your tastes. For those who want the short summary, Hoppe's Bore Snake is used to nearly eliminate the throat/crown damage, at some frequency of increasing shot numbers until copper fouling is minimized. JB compound can be used on a rougher barrel like one you might get from Factory if lots of copper is present,

Personally, I can do a better job cleaning with a brush and patches than with a Bore Snake, but they are handy tools for a quick clean, or if you don't have a rod-guide.

Then, you'll find that there are many match shooters who just clean after 20 rounds and call it broken in.