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Barrel Break-In

Stix

.22LR
What exactly does a barrel break-in procedure expect to accomplish. De-burring maybe? I typically fire a 3 shot group, clean barrel with a dry bore snake ,and not let the barrel overheat on a new or older barrel. Can someone tell me what going thru an exact procedure of breaking in accomplishes?
 
The general idea and purpose of a barrel break-in proceedure is for proper lapping of the barrel to help reduce the amount of lead and copper that is scraped off the rounds as you shoot. The smoother the barrel, the better the consitency of your shot placement.

As far as proceedure goes, there are two schools of thought on the matter.

One is as you described, shoot-clean, shoot-clean. This method was adopted for and centered around precision shooting and bolt-gun barrels. By nature these barrels may only have a shooting life of 1,000-3,000 rounds, so every shot taken needs to count. Shooting habits and cadence are much different with these barrels as well, often requiring several minutes between shots to allow the barrel to properly cool. They aren't spec'd to handle shooting a couple hundred rounds in a single range trip like you would with an AR. AR-15 barrels are much more resillient with far greater life of up to 10,000 rounds depending on whether it's chrome lined, etc. Still proper and thorough cleaning practices will extend the life and help maintain consistency in any barrel.

The other method, generally for AR-15s and other semi-autos, is to just shoot the hell out of it and clean it afterward. Neither method has really been proven to be more effective than the other. I tend to just shoot the hell outta my ARs and give them a thorough cleaning afterward using a brush with powder solvent, then cleaning patches, then copper solvent, more patches, and finishing up with another run of powder solvent. Lead and copper will both weld themselves in your barrel over time. The key is cleaning the barrel down to bare metal in order to prevent any lead or copper from accumulating in the grooves and other recessed areas.

Bottom line for me: However you choose to break it in, CLEAN IT THOROUGHLY.
 
Lazy Eyed Sniper pretty much said it in a nutshell. When I do a barrel break-in, I'll first clean that barrel before I even fire off the first shot. This will get out any leftover metals left behind by the Manufacturer during the build process. Also lets me know that the barrel is clear of any obstructions. I'll now mount scope and do either a simple bore sight or a lazer bore sight to help with bullet alignment. When I get out to where I'm gonna shoot, I load 1(one) single round into magazine well and chamber round. This will be my rifle's test shot at a target. Not to see if I'm getting on paper, but for Myself and Rifle's Safety Check. If goes well, I'll reclean barrel and do a recheck on rifle to make sure all screws are still tight, bolt still works properly, and load only a couple rounds into magazine-well to check for consistant feed. I'll FIRE OF A SLOW 2 rounds, this time to see the bullets print on paper and adjust scope, and do a reclean and let barrel cool off for 20 to 30 minutes or more. I do this combination, of slowly shooting 2 times and cleaning thoroughly, until I'm through 20 shells. This also takes probably 8 hours or more to do. Now, I'm ready to try what loads the rifle likes. If by chance the rifle likes what you're already shooting, it makes it simpler, but if rifle is printing all over paper, then you need to experiment with other ammo brands and loads to find that right combination, or at least the best you can find in Factory loads for the tightest grouping, if you don't reload. However, also remember if you use cheaper, low-costing scope/rings on a high recoil rifle, and it just doesn't want to stay on target, it may not be the ammo you're shooting, but the equipment you're shooting with. If by chance I get/use a tube fed/ lever action or semi-auto rifle, I'll go through the same shoot/clean procecure, but I'll be looking at other possible problems with lever action binding up, shells not feeding properly from tube, or jams with semi-auto bolt.
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