rifle barrel break-in?

[daveomatic]

Looking for some opinions from those in the know re. this..

I'm getting my first brand-new centerfire rifle, and am wondering about a barrel break-in/seasoning procedure, and how important, if at all, it is to do. I'm not looking to shoot bench-rest competition, just would like to do what's best to give the longest barrel life and best accuracy. Opinions heard so far range from total bs to absolute requirement.

The rifle in question is a CZ 527 .223 w/ a 24" 1:9 heavy barrel. The barrel is hammer forged and from what I've read, the bore is finish lapped at the factory. Not sure how the chamber is formed or cut/finished.

So what say you?

thanks,
Dave

 

[jdlii]

Be prepared for many different opinions.

I have participated in high power competition for over thirty years. My method is to fire two to three five shot groups, cleaning after each shot. The next phase is to shoot three to four five shot groups, cleaning after each five shot group.

Butch's Bore Shine and Rem Clean or J.B's Bore Paste are the products I use. You may want to visit the web sites of some of the top barrel makers and read their recommendations, they are worth the time. Kreiger, Obermeyer and Hart all have good information.

 

[Rule3]

Yes, NO, Maybe, Sometimes, moon phase, what day is it?

No

Total BS

That being said I did a semi break in on the only new rifle I bought a Savage Varmint 223


http://smith-wessonforum.com/reloading/178547-guns-magazine-stop-madness-breaking-barrel.html

 

[venomballistics]

Browning recommended running a solvent soaked patch down the bore between the first 10 shots IIRC then once every 5 till ya burned up 40 or 50 rounds.
what i cant tell you is why. its either procedurally valid or it is a means to reduce support calls asking the same annoying question every business day.

 

[Joe in SC]

I would do a minimum break-in and then check to see if it was still copper fouling. Here's what I would do:

Fire a single shot and clean with a good copper cleaner such as Butch's or Shooters Choice (2 wet patches followed by 5 wet brush cycles then 2 more wet and a dry patch). Do this 5 times.

Shoot a 3 shot group and clean as above. Do this a couple of times.

Shoot a couple 5 shot groups. Using only wet patches, push the carbon and powder fouling out of the bbl. If you have an appro. sized, clean mop, saturate the bore with the copper cleaner and let her set for 15 minutes ( No longer than 15 minutes ever with a copper cleaner containing ammonia because it can damage, etch the surface of the bbl.bore) . If you have no mop just use a couple of very wet patches. The idea is to completely wet the bore with the copper cleaner. After 15 mins. run a damp patch down the bore and examine the patch for a bluish green color. Any hint of color means the bbl. has copper fouled. Also any visual signs of copper at the last inch or so looking in the muzzle means the same. If copper is present repeat the five single shots cleaning after each shot.

In my opinion this will certainly make the bbl. easier to clean in the future. There is no doubt that most good quality bbls. will shoot more accurately when there is no copper fouling present in the bore.

A couple of things to be aware of. The copper cleaners will eat bore the bore brush for breakfast. I keep a small flip top bottle of mineral spirits in my cleaning kit to rinse the brush with. A bronze or brass patch jag is very close to bullet jacket material in composition and will give a false reading of copper when used to push a wet patch through the bore. I get around this by using a cheap plastic pistol jag to push the wet patch when checking for copper. When using a copper cleaner always neutralize it when finished by wetting the bore with Hoppes No 9 or another ammonia free bore cleaner. Gun oil will do a pretty good job of neutralizing the cleaner, also.

 

[ErnieDeBord]

Right or Wrong.......I clean after each shot for 20 rounds. I am also fireforming brass & fine tuning my scope @ the same time. I think it makes a diff in the longrun.

 

[sceva]

I am in the Break In is a good idea camp. After spending a good amount of money for a match grade barrel and having it fit and chambered breaking it is is a small outlay in time and effort that MAY pay off big in less fouling and possibly better accuracy etc down the road. They way I look at it is : Id does no harm and might help so why not do it. The two above posts do a gooid job of how so I won't add except to say the actual cleaner used is probably of little consequence so use whet ever cleaners you prefer. I am partial to Mercury Quicksilver outboard motor cleaner (carbon solvent) followed by Shooters choice. with Sweet's 7.62 solvent used if I see copper streaks.

 

[yaktamer]

Not to hijack the thread, but is there any need to break in the barrel on a .22, for example, a 10/22?

 

[ErnieDeBord]

I break-in any new barrel........Even a 22 rimfire.........I use ( as a lot of bench-rests do) a product called "lock-ezz" i use it everytime on a clean center-fire barrel IT DOES HELP. put a drop on a patch , push it down the bore then repeat with dry patch then yer ready to go.....I never EVER clean without a bore-guide and a 1 piece cleanin rod

 

[jack the toad]

I am in no way an expert but do have an opinion (and have been wrong before). I tend to agree with the following;
How to Break-in a Barrel

 

[chief38]

All I have ever done to "break-in" a barrel on a new gun is to shoot it. That's it. I've got plenty of rifles and have never had any accuracy issues - in fact my CZ 453 is the most accurate rifle I own. It will make one hole - 5 shot groups time after time at 100 feet.


Chief38

 

[Gunslinger808]

Clean it, then shoot it.
That's all the break in I've ever done.

 

[Rule3]

I just hope the manufacturers that provide test targets with their new rifles have broken them in first

 

[forresth]

I have never heard or any scientific testing that shows there is any method better than just go shoot it.

 

[GregG]

I can tell you guys that every barrel I've ever had would copper foul badly on the first 6 or 7 shots. No one has ever been able to prove to me that shooting over copper fouling is a good thing.

I clean the barell well, then fire one shot. I use a good powder solvent first, then follow it up with Sweets. The first patch after a few minutes of Sweets in the bore tells the tale. Bright blue, and it needs more breaking in. I'll keep applying Sweets, let it sit for a couple of minutes, and patch out until the copper is gone, then fire another shot.

I do the one shot and clean until the barrel stops picking up tons of copper, then shoot a five shot group and clean, looking to see how much blue is on the Sweet's patches.

A good hand lapped barrel will stop copper fouling bad after about 6 or 7 shots in my experience, then it's ok to start shooting groups. It's not a big deal to do it right.

 

[A10]

I am not a competition shooter. I've both broken in barrels and not broken them in. I think the broken in ones clean better, but I've not noticed a difference in accuracy. Of course, most of my guns are capable of far greater accuracy than I can manage!

 

[jkc]

Not to hijack the thread, but is there any need to break in the barrel on a .22, for example, a 10/22?

No.

Accuracy Speaks high power guru Derek Martin says his match grade AR barrels are sufficiently broken in after the burr from drilling the gas port has been shot away... I "broke in" an expensive Wilson Combat AR barrel using the shoot/clean incremental procedure, but suspect it had no significant effect on ultimate performance of the barrel...

 

[S&WOkie]

I just shoot the heck out of mine.

Guns are tools, not babies.

 

[daveomatic]

Thanks fellers, for all the replies (and article link), clear as mud now

If the CZ cf's are like their rimfires, they fire a 5 shot test string and include the target, so there's the first session already done for ya. It's certainly easy enough for me to bring it along to the range and just fire off a few rounds at a time and then clean it at home before the next session, I'm not gonna mess w/ that operation on the firing line that's for sure.

As for copper cleaner, I use KG-12. Ay chihuahua is that stuff good, far better than anything else I've ever used, and non-ammonia to boot. A few passes and the bore is totally clear.

Thanks again for all the insight!

Dave

 

[ErnieDeBord]

I enjoy breakin in a new barrel & I enjoy handloadin. To me is part of Precision rifle shooting. I shoot "Bench-Rest". When I got to the "line" I can very soon see what guns have been properly "Broke-In" and maintained. It show on the scores and the apperence of the firearm. Someone posted there 22 rimfire shoots em all in a hole @ 100 feet. My bench 22 rimfire does that a 100 yards. AND yes I baby all of my firearms even my Daisy "Red Ryder". I love all firearms and shooting.......Regards Ernie P.S. Wish I could afford a new barrel to break-in LOL