Do Not Break in your Barrel

[swadiver]

I actually polish the throat a bit after i chamber a barrel. super quick and easy.. Walt Berger shared a little trick with me long ago about barrel brake in. Before i fire my first round i wet the bore slightly with a little Kroil. fire a shot over the kroil a couple times and all will be well. I havent seen any of my barrel copper foul much past a few rounds in a very long time. If i see no copper after the first shot or two then im done with the hole idea anyway. There is a lot of malarkey on the net, dont get sucked in!!! Lee Lee Gardner Precision

thank you, Lee! BTW, i got the 6BR barrel today, i am going to take it out tuesday and will shoot it as you recommend

 

[rogn]

WASG, when a barrel is cut there is a high level of precision in this operation, but with variances in hardness or any other minute variable the lands cut may vary in width a few -tenths and or they may not be absolutely parallel. So after a few bullets(200?) shuttle up the bore ,they are PRECISELY fitted to the lands and groves, they may bring the parallel nature of the lands into spec. The diameter of the grooves may be more uniform as well. At that point perhaps the more uniform barrel produces abit higher velocity .

 

[shoot4fun]

I'm in the Joe Sal camp on this one. I always put the JB Bore Cleaner (sometimes even a bit of the JB Bore-Brite) on a patch over a nylon brush and polish out just the leade. Copper bill up on new hand-lapped barrels is almost always right there and I am 99% successful in eliminating it with this trick. Never worry about break-in after that.

 

[butchlambert]

WASG, when a barrel is cut there is a high level of precision in this operation, but with variances in hardness or any other minute variable the lands cut may vary in width a few -tenths and or they may not be absolutely parallel. So after a few bullets(200?) shuttle up the bore ,they are PRECISELY fitted to the lands and groves, they may bring the parallel nature of the lands into spec. The diameter of the grooves may be more uniform as well. At that point perhaps the more uniform barrel produces abit higher velocity .

Chuckle chuckle, you're kidding I'm sure. I just checked. This is the 218th thread on breaking in a barrel. Seems nobody read the other threads or dismiss all that has been posted.

 

[swd]

Chuckle chuckle, you're kidding I'm sure. I just checked. This is the 218th thread on breaking in a barrel. Seems nobody read the other threads or dismiss all that has been posted.

Butch who wants to go back and read 218 threads. It takes all the fun out of it LOL.

 

[dmoran]

Like a Broughton?

Mike -
The only Broughton I have was made when Harold still had the reins, that came on a used rifle purchase.
Donovan

 

[Ggmac]

It is /was a sales tactic . Let's buy a set of new tires ( for your grocery getter ) now burn off 10 percent of the tread , it's broken in !
Maybe a bad comparison , but tires are like barrels to me , they wear out , you replace them .
Engines you break in , lots of metal to metal , it's better than it was 50 yrs ago , but barrels , I clean , lube ( I never shoot a dry barrel ) and shoot .

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Mike -
The only Broughton I have was made when Harold still had the reins, that came on a used rifle purchase.
Donovan

The reason I asked, is that the land profile of their barrels are intentionally as you described, with beveled edges.
Are Broughtons more or less likely to speed up vs other makes, in anyone's opinion or experience?

I really have not seen barrels speed up as described so I'm asking to learn. I don't really see any of the reasons mentioned making much sense so help me to understand. Also, I hear that some do and some don't. I have to wonder why that is as well.

Off the top of my head, I wonder if it's more likely to happen when jumping or jamming, too. The most plausible explanation I can think of would be in this area. Bullet starting pressures is what I'm thinking and makes the most sense to me, as I can see those changing as the throat burnishes in, then it should level off for a while.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Ok, I will tell you everything I (think) I know about the subject. I have experimented with all types the throat preps. Steel wool, scotch brite, iosso/jb, lapping compound ( same as I use to lap barrels). What I found was, none of it would repeat. There was no connection between if and or how much a barrel would copper and how the throat was prepped. I would steel wool one and no copper, the next time it would copper, exc. Now I leave them as reamed and see as many that never copper from day one as any of the polishing methods. To me this tells a story. If what I did to the throat does not effect if or how much copper a barrel will produce then maybe its not just the throat the breaks in like is so commonly repeated on the internet. Of course this assumes you cut a smooth throat to begin with. I do believe a lapped barrel breaks in. Just because something is lapped does not mean thats the end of it. I think Br shooters keep some of the best records and still to this day, barrels are breaking in and speeding up. How much and when seems to be different with manufactures. I do not think breaking in a barrel does anything for you other than easy cleaning earlier in its life. The barrels will still break in with normal shooting, it will just take a few range trips. I think the whole thing is a non issue and its given way too much attention. But most barrels do break in and speed up. This applies only to match barrels and long for caliber bullets as thats my main experience. I dont know if ppc shooters experience this as thats not my world. So, when Im asked about it by a customer I say, just shoot it and clean it at least every 50 rounds. Thats what I do. However some of the best still go through the hassle so if it makes you feel good do it.

 

[wedgy]

How old is the article the OP posted ?

 

[cdparker]

I got this off of the Bartlein site.
http://bartleinbarrels.com/break-in-and-cleaning/

Somewhere there is an answer. You may not agree, but the answer is there. It might not even be correct. If it is on the internet, it's got to be true. It's your choice if you wish to believe it.
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[Someoldguy]

I just ordered a borescope today, so I can actually view what is going on in the barrels of my rifles. Now I can drive myself further and faster down the road to insanity. Ain't it grand?

 

[Raythemanroe]

I have an opinion also.. I guess after it is all said and done, It makes me feel better to clean that puppy.. That is about it for the theory of it..

Joe's idea or example to me can't hurt, just to make sure so small piece/pieces of junk doesn't booger up a good job at the Smith's.. I don't know if I would saw at it and take .006 off the bore.. If a little smoothing/cleaning is gonna ease your mind.


Ray

 

[mongo chicago]

How old is the article the OP posted ?

I don't remember when I came across this. I am thinking late 90s. That is when I was doing Highpower rifle competition. But it could have been several years later. I try and save things I find interesting.

 

[Shynloco]

.......
......If it is on the internet, it's got to be true.....
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Now that has to be the most hilarious response I've seen on this blog...well ever! Thx for the gut splitter.

Alex

 

[hogpatrol]

I just ordered a borescope today, so I can actually view what is going on in the barrels of my rifles. Now I can drive myself further and faster down the road to insanity. Ain't it grand?

Unless they are new, all your barrels are now crap and will need to be replaced. Doesn't make any difference if they shoot well or not. What you'll see will be enough to keep you awake at night.

 

[Brians356]

Unless they are new, all your barrels are now crap and will need to be replaced. Doesn't make any difference if they shoot well or not. What you'll see will be enough to keep you awake at night.

Uh, brand new barrels don't get an exemption, sad to say. Many of the scariest looking barrels will be new ones.
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[Brians356]

Alex I maybe all wet but, BEFORE I fire a single shot I use my bore scope to look at the lead to see how bad the machine marks are. Then I have a rod with a crank handle that I use along with a brush and patch along with JB bore cleaner and try to polish anything out that looks ruff. I have done this for years and my copper build up is about nil.
Get the machine marks out and they won't tear the jacket off the bullet. I know there are going to be people say your wearing out the throat, but what do you think your doing with the bullet!

JB Bore Cleaner on a hand turned patch will remove machine marks? Wow. How long does that typically take?
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[TRA]

I think you should look at barrels just as you do bullets, brass and powders, in that there are no two alike. From lot to lot, heat to heat, things vary. We would like to believe because it's made out of...."GOOD"... stuff, that it's going to be perfect everytime, and it won't be. The material, the process, the tooling all changes over time. Same goes for lapping. You either have to be able to adapt to each barrel individually or pick a method and live with it or just wait it out.

I've seen in the CNC world where someone mixes up the direction of the sawn material and drives the operator nuts trying to hold tolerance. Trust me, steel can be sometimes as bad as machining wood, it's full of surprises.

 

[Joe Salt]

JB Bore Cleaner on a hand turned patch will remove machine marks? Wow. How long does that typically take?
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brians356 Barrels after chambering done by a good smith will not have big chunks in the lands they are tiny. All I do is smooth them out a little before I fire a single shot. Works for me, if you don't agree then skip this page. I suppose when you get your new barrel you just go out and shoot it just the way it is. So my question to you is how long do you take to clean a barrel, just till the patches come clean. And if you don't clean with the use of a bore scope, you should! A few think we are lying about what we do, I don't!
Oh and try dragging your brush back an fourth though the bore and see how long it takes to make it oblong.

Joe Salt