Long ago, we used to give them a mild lapp, but with the advancements in barrel making technology, they just seem to produce a better barrel. Some of the old ones you either lapped or you figured the first 200 shots were a waste of time. After that the rifles seemed to tune in.

When I get a new barrel, I degrease it with boiling hot water and soap, then I solvent it real good with a bore brush. After that I patch dry it, patch oil it, and let it cool. After the barrel cools, I dry patch theoil out of it, and just start shooting.

After you shoot it a few times, look at the patches from a traditional barrel or the sabots from the more modern ones.. Look for deformities in the patches/sabots. If the barrel seems ruff, then J-B Bore paste it. And scrub it real good.

Now I have a friend that always scrubs a new barrel with Comet cleanser. He puts Comet on a damp patch and scrubs that barrel. He claims the mild abrasive nature of Comet helps to smooth the barrel out faster.