do you "break in" a new rifle barrell?

[elhefe]

Just picked up a new Savage 25-06 and was doing some looking at breaking in the barrell and procedures. Some people swear by it, some say it doesn't need to happen at all, and there are options in between those. What say you, and if you say "yes", how do you do it?

[DeerGeek]

Here's my formula:

Break-in Cleaning (First 100 shots with new Centerfire rifle)

(Before 1st shot: Insert correct bore guide and wet a patch with Butch’s Bore Shine (BBS). Two Dry patches and patch with drop of Kroil. Ready for Shot #1)

1. Shoot
2. Wait 5 min for cool down after each shot
3. Run a wet patch through bore with Butch’s Bore Shine (BBS)
4. Let sit for 1 minute.
5. Repeat. Run BBS soaked patch down bore.
6. Dry patch
7. Small drop of Kroil

[DeerGeek]

Forgot to mention:

-Clean after every round for the first 20 rounds

-Then after every 5 rounds for the next 80 rounds

-At 100 rounds your barrel will be properly broken in and will shoot as good as it can (got to regular cleaning schedule of every 20 shots)

-Clean rifle before storing (after every use).

[Mayhem]

i just shoot and i make sure i clean my barrel real good before season.

[Jethro]

I used to do the whole barrel break in thing untill I had a conversation with Mike Bryant last summer, after he built my last rifle. He made a very strong case for no break in, and so I don't do it anymore. With the quality of rifles he builds and the level of competition he shoots at, I see no reason to contradict him. I have decided that for me it makes no real difference, and just wastes alot of time and components.

[panhandlehunter]

No break in here.

[LeanMachine]

Unless you are shooting at a very high level of competition i think it is a waste of time. Might even be a waste of time then.

[Peacock]

No break in for me

[Coach W]

I do. Just spent about 7 hours at our range saturday breaking one in.
1 shot, clean Repeat (10 times)
5 round group, clean repeat (10 times)
(2) 5 round groups, clean Repeat (5 times)

110 rounds in total took for freaking ever!

On my larger magnums I break it in to different trips to the range so its not as long and my shoulder wont hurt!

Some people do others dont.

My feelings on it are: Im gonna have the gun for a lifetime, why not do everything I can to make it a better shooter? A little time invested now may be the difference later.

[txcountryboy86]

nope....

[Concho Man]

Did on both my rifles on a much smaller scale.

- 5 shots w/ cleaning after each
- 6 shots w/ cleaning after every 3
- sighted in with remainder of box and then cleaned one more time

Do I know if it made a difference? Not sure. Maybe if I had something to compare to. If it only adds piece of mind, I'll spend the $18 on cheap shells and continue doing so when I purchase new rifles.

[texag93]

Sorta........I will clean barrel before firing. Shoot 5 rounds and clean, shoot 5 rounds and clean. This is usually done while getting the zero down. Once I have put 10 rounds through it, I will clean it spotless and then fire 3 rounds to "refoul" the barrel. If its zeroed with no more adjustments needed, I will run a bore brush down the barrel followed by a clean patch to remove powder fowling. I now know that it will hit dead on the next time I pull the trigger.

[bubinga]

Yes, every time. I use a method I got from Speedy Gonzales.

[kyle1974]

nope....

I have a hard time thinking I'm polishing a barrel with brass bullets and a cotton swab.

a barrel will ether shoot, or it won't shoot. Running solvents and swabs down the barrel isn't going to change screwed up rifling.

I keep the guns clean, but I don't overclean either. for shooting rifles, I clean when the accuracy starts to fall off. for my deer rifles, I usually clean the bore before deer season and don't clean it with solvents until deer season is over.

[MikeyG]

I cleaned after every shot for the first 10 rounds, did a 5 minute cool down between shots. I clean my gun after every outing.