Breaking in a Barrel?

Forget about the break in gimmick. Shoot your new rifle and clean it well at the end of the day. Enjoy life.
 
To heck with the can- this is great. This is what a forum like TFL is all about! We've surpassed 20 posts on this and nobody has insulted anybody yet, lots of good ideas, none particularily bad, good exchange of info, and all is well.
 
http://www.shilen.com/faq.html#question10
Shilen, Inc. introduced a break-in procedure mostly because customers seemed to think that we should have one. By and large, we don't think breaking-in a new barrel is a big deal.
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I don't think Hart is big on break in either.

Those barrels for benchrest separate winners from losers by .001" of group size.

Any .5"group I get is a good group.
 
So I have been reading and talking to folk...

It would seem by my considered opinion that a lot of the break in and lapping, and a lot of the information discussed here is for Competition, and Snipers. As with anything there are many different degrees of shooters starting with some guy at the range just wanting to be able to take out a burglar, and the extreme IE sniper. I think the average lay person need not be concerned with breaking in, lapping, or any of the higher level necessities of this conversation. I mean how many people really shoot over 600 yards anyway? That said, I can absolutely see the need if you are in the higher echelon, however if you are not, its just a waste of time. If you're just someone wanting a range of 2-300 yards then shoot your gun and clean thoroughly. A lot of the conversations I have heard ( not here) involve a lot of conjecture and hypothesizing, but lack actual fact to support either argument. No where have I found metallurgists chiming in, nor mathematicians or physics experts. The basic rule of argument is state your opinion then support it with fact. In this case I have yet to see either side do it. Everything is opinion which while valid, doesn't convince me.
 
I side with Gale McMillan on this one, the man, and the company built or has built rifles for how many top level shooters and military / LE, not to mention the fact Gale had bore scoped how many thousands of barrels?

This counts for a ton in my book.
 
If the manufacture says break it in, break it in.If the manufacture says not necessary, then don't. I figure the one who makes the product knows more about it than I do
 
barrel break in

Sir;
I do not "break in" a barrel - just clean with Hoppes and JB compound!
Every single time you fire a bullet down a barrel a few molecules of steel are lost - barrels will smooth out most machine marks and if they're longitudinal, who cares!

Harry B.
 
I can only speak from experience using ER Shaw barrels brand new. The first build I did, I broke the barrel in. The rifle shoots .5moa consistantly. Every build I've done since, I haven't broken in the barrel. They all shoot under 1moa consistantly, with most holding right at .5moa. I don't think fire-lapping is really worth the trouble for barrel break in unless you get a hack job. Otherwise, It's not difficult to punch the bore between shots for 5-10 rounds. I feel like the barrel I took the time to break in does resist copper fouling a touch better, but it's so minute it could very well be in my head.

My take? You MIGHT make a cheaper grade barrel a little more forgiving to clean if you follow a small break in process. You won't hurt the darn thing by just shooting it and cleaning it when you get home, though.
 
Breaking in barrels = voodoo.
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Since my chambered barrels for Panda action run at least $400 each, I want every advantage I can get.

The benchrest guys seem to agree, but I guess you think all the steps they take to put 5 shots into a barely larger than caliber hole at 100 yards are voodoo also.
 
I never met Gale McMillan but I know his sons Rock & Kelly. Kelly said the same thing when I asked him about breaking in a rifle he just built for me. He said a good barrel needs no break in, just shoot it. He's right. The 270 Winchester he built shot a 3 round group of 3/8 inch right out of the box!

Tomorrow morning I'm heading down to his shop to pick up another rifle to take on my Arizona mule deer & elk hunts this year. I guarentee I will NOT attempt to break in the rifle! His rifles are all test fired still in the "white" prior to final finishing to fine tune them. Larry, his test shooter has one great job, don't you think?
 
It seems like everyone who does not believe in barrel break-in quotes Gale MacMillan, and those who believe in break-in quote Dan Lilja. Not to belittle or lionize either of these men (their work speaks for itself), but (like most people) they expressed an opinion about what goes on inside a barrel when a rifle is fired. Dale MacMillan said just shooting it would accomplish the break-in, while Dan Lilja says that break-in should be done carefully. Both men have an impressive record of accomplishments, yet they disagree even on this small particular. It is impossible for both to be right, yet it is common when people disagree that both are wrong. This is about the 10th thread like this I have seen in the past year or two. I doubt that we will settle it by reading and regurgitating other people's opinions.
 
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