Hey, I was poking around google and found an ultimate accuracy web site with their version of proper barrel break in!!
What do you think????? Every thing after this is from that web site!!
"Every experienced shooter will have his/her own favourite way of cleaning a barrel. I wouldn't disagree with anyone who doesn't follow my regime - if it works for you, stick with it but if you don't have a method, this one works. Any of the proprietory cleaners are suitable - Hoppes, Butch's, VMS, KG etc. Personally, I like Butch's but always like to add add a small amount of oil,Kroil) otherwise the barrel's almost too squeaky-clean!
Most rifles will go 20 - 25 rounds without cleaning before accuracy visibly falls off. The more accurate your rifle, the sooner you will notice the effects of fouling. Benchrest shooters are probably the most avid barrel-cleaners. Most of us will clean after every match - i.e. after about 10-12 rounds or at least after every two matches.
Here's my method:
1. Always use a bore guide. Use proper size jags, bronze-brushes and pre-cut patches as supplied by Proshot or Sinclair. The old Parker Hale style jags, brushes and 4x2 are not best suitable for modern match barrels.
2. Push a couple of loose-fitting wet patches through the bore to remove the loose powder-fouling.
3. Next use a bronze bore-brush - one stroke for every round fired. Put a little cleaning fluid on the brush if you like. Don't attempt to reverse the brush in the bore and be careful when pulling-back against the crown.
4. Push out the crud with a couple of dry patches followed by a wet patch.
5. Continue with a wet patch/dry patch routine until the patches come out clean - usually after half a dozen.
6. If your bore-cleaner is also a copper-solvent, you may notice a light blue tinge on the patches. If so, I would recommend a clean with a good copper-solvent - like Sweets.
7. Apply the Sweets librally on a loose-fitting patch.
8. Amonia-based copper-solvents need air to work on the copper in your bore so agitate with a nylon brush and leave for ten minutes.
9. Some copper-solvents can be harmful if left too long, so after ten minutes push through a tight-fitting patch to remove the solution and clean thoroughly with the wet patch/dry patch routine.
10. If there is a lot of blue on the patch - repeat steps 7,8 & 9.
11. Don't forget to clean the chamber and especially the neck-area. You can do this with a home-made tool - a piece of dowel with a slot in the end. Wrap with kitchen roll to the required thickness and apply a small amount of cleaning fluid. Dry chamber thoroughly with clean tissue. Pass a couple of wet/dry patches through the bore as inevitably fluid, crud or tissue will have found its way into the rifling.
Running in a new barrel:
This is another process which must be done properly if ultimate accuracy is to be extracted from your barrel. The internal finish of a match barrel will be very good and this part requires little running-in. The part we are running-in is the leade - where the chamber reamer cuts into the rifling and leaves minute machining marks, which look like the edge of a file under a bore-scope. The first bullet up your barrel will have minute fragments of copper scraped-off by the rough leade. Bullet number two will spread these fragments of copper throughout your barrel. They can be very difficult to remove from the virgin rifling. Here's what we do:
1. Shoot the first bullet then push a couple of wet/dry patches through the bore to remove the fouling and copper fragments.
2. Dry the bore and repeat - until you have fired at least five rounds - ten preferably. No need to use the bore-brush at this stage but if you can see copper in the bore at the muzzle-end, this needs to be removed with a good copper-solvent like Sweets. It can sometimes take a good hour to shoot these first five rounds and de-copper the barrel.
3. You can then go to five-shot strings, cleaning thoroughly - including brushing - as detailed above, after each string. Fire four strings. Check for signs of copper and 'Sweets' as above if necessary.
4. We can then go to ten-shot strings - again cleaning thoroughly after each one.
5. After 50 or 60 rounds, the leade will be fairly smooth and you can use the rifle in competition but don't expect the barrel to give its absolute best until about 200 rounds have been fired.
This running-in procedure can be used with factory barrels but the finish of the rifling in a mass-produced barrel is inferior to a match barrel. It will take much longer to run-in the rifling - maybe as much as 1200 rounds - before the barrel stops 'coppering' and gives its best accuracy.
