eldeguello

I always just shot mine also. I didn' t know there was a mandatory break-in procedure either, because up until about three years ago, I never heard of such a thing, and I' ve read about every book written by Keith, Page, Larry Brown, Ned Roberts, Harvey Donaldson, P.O. Ackley, Roy Dunlap, C.S. Landis, etc. It is possible that this procedure originated when the younger folks with non-corrosive, smokeless ammo, etc., got the impression they didn' t have to clean at all, so fouling built up and their accuracy suffered. When I lived in New Mexico, there were a lot of local hunters who never cleaned their guns AT ALL, and due to the low humidity, never had a problem with rusting. They' d all fire a shot or two every year to see if their zero had shiofted. If their groups were " minute of Mulie" , they were happy!!

Of course I have never owned a true target rifle or a benchrest gun, so would not bet that some kind of break-in might not help such a weapon. However, I DO have one 6mm/.284 with a Douglas Premium grade medium weight rifle which will fire five shots through one ragged hole @ 100 yards. This barrel has never been through a formal breakin ritual, unless done by Douglas before they shipped it. I also have a couple of Ruger No. 1' s that are a little better than 1-minute shooters, and they haven' t been " broken it" either. However, I dO clean my rifles after each range session. or hunt, if they have been fired.