Running-in a new barrel

[Watcher]

Forgive me if this has been covered elsewhere but I can't find it. My target rifle is off having a new, stainless steel, barrel fitted. When I get it back I'm anxious to do the right things with regards to running it in. A search on Google gave me everything from do nothing to scrubbing out after every round. I'd welcome your advice.

TIA

Watcher

[Stuck]

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[Geordie bloke]

Depending on who you talk to, it is either do the one shot and clean for five rounds, then do about three shots and clean and then shoot five/ten then clean. Or according to some top end American f class / benchrest shooters, just shoot as many as you want and clean at the end of the day.
A new barrel will have tooling marks which are like little files on the lands, and every bullet will have a little bit of copper removed as it passes. Each subsequent bullet will flatten the marks and eventually the lands will be nice and smooth. The one shot and clean method, is supposedly make it easier to remove copper in stages as opposed to the 'shoot it all day and clean' which will obviously need a damn good clean as it will have a lot of copper up it.
Basically if you want to spend hours doing the one shot and clean etc, which is mind numbingly boring and I usually lose the will to live, then go ahead.
I have done the one shot and clean with one barrel and after about 15 to 20 rounds the barrel is 'broken in' and very little copper is evident. I have also shot a barrel in with just shooting five rounds and then cleaning and repeating that for 20 rounds. It takes slightly longer to remove copper but the end result is the same. So the choice is yours and if you ask ten people you will get ten differing answers. Have fun but take something to read while the copper remover/solvent does it's thing.

[Blu]

I use David Tubbs compound lapping bullets and they do a great job, best part is, for a new barrel it's 5 shots and clean for a total of 15 rounds. That's it done and dusted, cleaning is a breeze afterwards.

Blu

[Dannywayoflife]

Gil McMillan had some interesting idea on this!

[Dangermouse]

I understand that seceral rifle manufacturers are now saying that there is no need to shoot in their factory barrels.
At the other end of the scale I read one barrel manufacturers instructions which involved shooting one round a day and clean for the first few rounds. I live 20 mins from the range and still can not immagine doin that.

I have 2 new barrels coming in the spring and will be losely folowing geordie blokes routine. When i see the number of patches required reduce I know I can start shooting longer strings. What impresses me is the people who manage to complete load development whilst doing this.

DM

[Jackmanuk]

i just put 100 rounds through nice and quick and then a good clean and see where were at

[rox]

Most cut match barrels are lapped to remove the tooling marks from the bore, but that still leaves the leade which can need running-in to deal with the finish left by the chamering/throating tooling. The process described by Krieger can be completed in an hour or two if you have access to a suitable facility, whereas the Border barrels process does indeed take a week. The important thing to note is that it is all about copper (assuming you use jacketed bullets), and removing copper is a chemical process that takes time (and an effective copper solvent).

Below are links to the Krieger and Border articles:

http://www.kriegerbarrels.com/Break_In_ ... wp2558.htm
http://web.archive.org/web/201003041944 ... oot-in.htm

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[The Gun Pimp]

Some factory barrels don't need much running in but a custom-fit match barrel will.

If you have a borescope you can monitor the process. After about twenty rounds, the leade/throat will have lost its sharpness - the tooling marks will still be visible but they will not strip off much copper. To completely remove the tooling marks will take about 80 rounds but I'm happy to shoot in competition after around 25 rounds.

If you follow the tedious 'one shot one clean' method, (I do) you will hopefully keep the copper at bay - if you shoot 20 shots right off you could (seriously) spend a whole week with a copper solvent trying to get the copper out! Unfortunately, without a borescope, it's difficult to monitor. If you leave copper in there, it will pick up more copper and you will never get the best out of the barrel.

Most secondhand rifles I get to look at, are atrociously coppered-up. No one likes cleaning - most neglect it. Borescopes are not cheap but cheaper than a new barrel!

[GazMorris]

I use whatever process the manufacturer recommends (see Rox's Krieger link for a typical approach) and I generally get through it in a morning.

Does it make any real difference? I don't know and opinions are divided, but as a new match barrel is somewhere north of £600 these days I'll follow the process so that if I get a duffer, I can hand it back and say with hand on heart that I followed the manufacturer's running-in processes.

Gaz