New barrel break in
 

Gentleman, I have a question for you all, I recently bought a Tika 243 and I am going to go out shooting some time this week. I have read about different types of ways to break abarrel in. My Father told me that there are special bullets you can buy that will break the barrel in but they are expensive. Others have told me to go slow and clean the barrel evey third shot. What are your thoughts on this? I have gained a great deal of knowledge from this website so any help would be more than welcome.
Thx. Sauer06

RE: New barrel break in
 

JMHO But I think the main thing is to make sure that the barrel is super clean before taking the first shot.Tooling burrs and metal shavings in the bore could cause damage if forced down the barrel with a bullet .Then break in with the method of choice.

RE: New barrel break in
 

I think your dad's probably talking about the abrasive bullets that are supposed to lap the bore when you fire them. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't put sandpaper on a jag and scrub my bore with it, let alone fire a sandpaper coated bullet down the bore at 3000+ fps. Doesn't seem like a smart idea to me.

As for break in, there are a dozen different RIGOROUS break-in regimens that I've heard people swear by, and I've tried some of them and never seen any improvement in results worth the extreme effort (IMO). I've heard of guys that scrub the bore spotless after every shot for the first 25-50 shots. That's a lot of work, and I think that it defeats the purpose with a factory bore.

As said above, clean the bore before you shoot it, taking care to remove all oil as well. Then what I do is just a light cleaning every 3 shots for about the first 20-30. By light I mean no scrubbing with a bore brush. Just a good multipurpose bore solvent (I like Birchwood Casey's Bore Scrubber) on a patch, run it through to wet the bore, let soak for a few minutes (3-5), then run clean patches until dry. What you're trying to do it get the powder fowling and EXCESS copper fouling out. If it's a factory bbl the bore will be pretty rough, the copper wash fills and smoothes these areas as you shoot. You want to put down just enough copper to fill the rough spots and no more, and you don't want to fill them with powder deposits, hence the cleaning process. If you overdo the cleaning and strip out all the copper, you're back to square one with a rough bore that will tend to fowl quickly. If you do it right, the barrel will build up just the right balance of copper and will shoot well and still stay consistantly clean shot to shot. I've seen small improvements in both accuracy and consistency using this approach (1/4 to 1/2" improvement in group size at 100 yards), but the biggest thing is that you won't build up tons of copper fowling later on.

RE: New barrel break in
 

This subject is as broad as the plains and as deep as the oceans.

Gale McMillan..... In his opinion, no break in necessary... I tend to agree with this.

Other barrel manufacturers will tell of some kind of elaborate break in procedure... from wearing a blue hat and counting backwards to kissing a frog between shots...

If the shoot... swab... shoot meathod makes your heart go pitter patter then that is the thing to do...
I have used both meathods with no discernable characteristics between the two, take a veiw over to [link]http://www.6mmbr.com/index.html[/link] and see what some of the table top guys recommend.

I clean well before the opening session at the range, then depending on how events unfold, I might clean every so often, or I might clean every so many boxes of ammo shot.

I'll run a patch down the tube after the first few shots just to see how the bore is fouling... if it's bad, then we'll do the dance, till the fouling slows, if not then we just shoot.

The barrel needs time to 'smooth out' inside, and will foul accordingly... untill all the tooling marks are smoothed over you don't need to clean every few rounds.

Also... if you want to get the very last drop of fouling out of that barrel, and, I wouldn't know why, then get yourself an Outters 'Foulout'... works great.

I would stay away from using anything abrasive in your barrel... this is best left to the pros. Just because a well known shooter is 'selling' a product does not mean it is the best for your particular application.

Driftrider has summed it up pretty well....

Remember, most barrels shoot their best with 'some' fouling present.:)

RE: New barrel break in
 

Like has been stated there are a number of varying opinions on barrel break in. I personally don't suscribe to any particular method. I clean the bore thoroughly and oil, when I hit the range the first thing I do is to run a wet patch and allow to sit about 1 minute to remove excess oil and follow up with 2-3 dry patches. Then I'll fire a three shot group, clean the bore and judge from there. Usually at that point I fire 2 shots adjust the scope and clean every 6-8 rds until the scope is sighted in. After that then I'll clean every ten rds during load development. When I get home from the range session then I do a thorough cleaning. By the time I have a decent load developed the bore is broken in.

RE: New barrel break in
 

The reason McMillian don't recommend breaking in barrels is he's talking about top quality barrels. Naturally the rifle factory cannot afford to use top tier barrels. Tooling marks or burrs are not removed in most factory barrels before shipping. Hand lapping removes all these tool marks (cut rifling-rare nowadays) and burrs. All premium barrel makers hand lap the barrel as a final process. That means with a factory barrel, it highly likely needs breaking in to remove all the burrs & burmish the bore. Breaking a barrel in does the same thing as hand lapping. I break all the barrels in on factory guns.

The exact method you use is much less important than the fact you're breaking it in vs not. I clean it between every shot for the 1st 10-20 shots,depending on how rough it looks through a bore scope. Then clean between every 3 shots for another 21 rounds, then you're done. To those naysayers that don't believe in breaking in ANY barrel-I ask them to look at the inside of a barrel with a borescope at 400x-600x, THEN tell me it ain't necessary-especially on a budget rifle.

RE: New barrel break in
 

Some folks swear by David Tubbs Final Finish, but I've never used it. I clean after every shot for the first 10, then I clean between 5 until 50 then quit. Make sure to not let the barrel heat up also.

RE: New barrel break in
 

My break in process is very close to the above 2 posts.
- First 10 shots I clean between each shot
- Next 9 shots I shoot 3groups of 3 and clean after every group
- Next20 shots I shoot4 groups of 5 and clean after every group

Then I evaluate the bore condition as described above and if required will clean after every 5 shot group until the surfacebecomes satisfactory.

RE: New barrel break in
 

Our ancestors often urinated into the bore of a new rifle to ward off evil spirits, who spoiled athe ball's flight.

"Breaking in" the barrel of a modern rifle is in the same category of witchcraft.

The great barrel maker Harry Pope once commented that more barrels have been ruined with a cleaning rod than any other way. This is still true! Take it easy on the scrubbing business.

RE: New barrel break in
 

Thx for all the help guys, I will not be useing those abrasive bullets but I will clean it after every other round for the first 10 or 20 rounds.

RE: New barrel break in
 

Just be careful and don't over clean like stated before...

RE: New barrel break in
 

I'm sold... I'm just gonna' pee in my barrels from now on... this explains why I can't hit the broad side of a barn, those darn evil spirits setting on my bullets whilst in flight... a good hosing with pee pee should do it!

I really liked that story eldequello-:D

RE: New barrel break in
 

Savage Arms website has a barrel break in procedure listed you can print out. There are different philosphies on this. I break in all my new rifles. If I buy a used rifle, the first thing I do is clean the bore good with JB compound.
What breaking in does is removes all the minor defects in the bore, minute burrs etc. that can trap fouling - resulting in poor accuracy down the road as this fouling builds up.
Breaking in a new barrel will not make the rifle shoot any better. But it definately will make it easier to clean.
I tell everyone - Its your hard earned money that bought the rifle, so do what you think is best. BTW - the Tikka is a nice rifle and should shoot good for you.

RE: New barrel break in
 

Like others I have tried different "break in" procedures and honestly never found much difference. The first thing I do is clean the firearm completely before firing, this includes a very light lap of the boreof a factory barrel with JB. On the range no need for stacked groups, 3 shots max but I prefer the first range session to shoot 1 or maybe 2 then let it come to ambient before shooting again. Since your first range session is about sighting in and getting use to the new tool, there is little need to concern yourself at this point about groups or finding the right load IMO. AMy intial range session is often 10-12 shots. I then fully clean the bore, including copper cleaning and another light pass of JB's if I think it needs it. My second range session pretty much mirrors range session one, keep the heat down by going slow. Another full cleaning and now I start looking at potential s for accuracy and loads. I have cleaned my rifles after every range session for years and no problems of excess copper fouling, I found I don't need to brush it as often as leaving it for a few.A bore guide &1 piece coated or carbon fibre rod are essentials IMO.