Reaching somewhere around the 3000round mark, the new 617, for the first time stacked 20 in a tight pattern for me....

Do handguns get better with a break in period... Or, is it shooters getting better with practiced pistols?

Yes. The gun will "settle in" to a certain degree, but the shooter too will "settle in" as well. The more I practice, the better my gun shoots... or so it seems on the target!

Froggie

Rarely do I shoot these pistols...but, today is the day

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I think the guns settle in a bit, but perhaps more so, the shooter settling in with the gun. Glad things are working out well with it.

I've noticed that 617s can take a while to really start shooting well on several occasions. First time I noticed it was in the late '90s with a newly acquired 8 3/8" no dash that didn't shoot as well as my well broken in 4" barreled 617. After a few thousand rounds the longer tubed revolver started to do better than it's short barreled mate. Both have continued to be good performers over the last 20 years or so! (Depending on the ammo: some lots, brands, or variations of .22s just don't do well for precision work.)

IMHO, ITS A COMBINATION OF THE TWO. THE BEARING SURFACES OF THE ACTION WILL WEAR AGAINST EACH OTHER, RESULTING IN A SMOOTHER FEELING TRIGGER, AND THE SHOOTER WILL GET BETTER IN CONTROLLING THAT PARTICULAR REVOLVER......

IT ALL RESULTS IN TIGHTER GROUPS.......

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'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

On a revolver the trigger gets smoother after many thousands of rounds. Much different than a semi auto breaking in.

I think it has more to do with you getting a feel for the gun than anything else.

Break-in periods are more about getting smooth, reliable function than precision.

Regardless of the amount of experience you have with shooting, there will always be a period of learning how to shoot a new gun efficiently, because most of the time guns have their own unique weight, trigger pull, recoil, point of aim/impact, etc. Even between 2 examples of the same gun there are bound to be minor differences which you have to adapt to over the previous gun you fired.

That and barrel bores tend to get smoother as more rounds are fired.

Under the right magnification those smooth lands and grooves have edges that remind you of cross cut saws.

In the old days bench rest shooters lapped the bore and you can still buy lapping rounds or bullets for the roll your own crowd.

Stands to reason softer bullets would achieve the same result but just take more time/rounds.

3,000 rounds puts you and that gun on an intimate basis rather than drag out something twice a year and then wonder why you can't hit with it.

Practice is advantageous only when you practice good habits. Practice well and be a good shooter: practice poorly and be a poor shooter.

Just my 1/50th of a bucks worth.

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On the whistle draw and fire 6

My guns have pretty much stayed the same, but the more I shoot, the better that I get at my aim.

I have noticed the more I shoot my newer 627-8 the smoother it gets on trigger pull. It has become a very sweet gun to shoot after only around 2000 rounds thru it. I plan on enjoying this 357 for many years to come.