M&P10 barrel questions

[malph]

I'll start off by saying I'm a rifle newbie. Been shoot pistols pretty seriously for a long time but I'm a novice with those rifle things.

Is the M&P 10 barrel melonite treated? Do melonite treated barrels need to be broken in like a traditional non-treated barrel? If so, what would be the recommended break-in procedure be for a M&P 10 barrel?

Thanks in advance for any advice received.

 

[Richard Hoops]

My understanding is yes they are melonite treated.As far as break in I just shoot mine.

 

[red dragon]

Yes they're melonite treated, S&W just calls it a corrosion resistant finish now. As far as break in goes, i recommend giving it a good cleaning when you first get it to remove all the factory oil. Light coat of oil on everything except the bcg,this typically gets a medium coat.Then go shoot. There's no recommend break in for the barrel that I know of. Mine has shot like a champ since day one,zero malfunctions and very accurate. I usually clean it ever 200rds or once a month.

 

[malph]

Thanks Red Dragon for the helpful comments. One more question...with the twist rate of the M&P10 barrel, what would be the likely bullet weight the gun would favor.

Thanks in advance.

 

[MistWolf]

Each barrel is a law unto itself. You'll just have to try different bullets until you find something the rifle likes.

From what I've seen, the 1:10 does fine with bullets about the length of a 150 gr spitzer boat tail

 

[Autococker07]

Forget about the break in..... modern barrels do not need it (break in is still used on match barrels, but many think it is overrated). BUT... try to keep the barrel very clean... slag or machining debris in there can ruin your day quickly... after the first 20-30 round outing, any unknown remnants of reaming, or trash that was in there is long gone.

Your 1/10 twist will be good for 150-200 grains, but being a shorter barrel, I would keep them under 180.... If I am not mistaken, that barrel is chrome lined also, which will make it much tougher than plain carbon steel (this also affects accuraccy, but only to a tiny degree).

As MistWolf said, your rifle will have factory loads that it prefers.... buy lots of varied ammo, and figure out from a rested position which runs best.... If you reload, or plan to, you will adjust the specifics to "tune" the round to the gun, and then voila!

Enjoy your M&P 10.... these really look nice, and I hope to try one out someday!

 

[MistWolf]

The barrels of the M&P-10 are not chrome lined

 

[malph]

Thanks for educating me guys. It's appreciated.

 

[sgtsandman]

From my reading, the 168 grain Jacketed Hollow Point Boat Tail (JHPBT), seems to be the favored round for carbine length barrels. That is for when you wish to "reach out and touch someone" at ranges around 800 yards. Of course, you will need more than a bullet to accurately hit at such ranges but that is the opinions I've read on various police and gun sites.

For everyday shooting, at say 100 yards, ball ammo around 150 grains will do fine and you can get it pretty cheap as far as .308/7.62 NATO rounds go. They tend to range around 147 grains for NATO and 149 grains for PMC and about $20 (give or take) for a 20 round box. Buying in bulk is cheaper. That is just my two cents on the matter.

Like stated above, each firearm tends to prefer certain brands and certain bullet weights. The only way to find out is to experiment.