Breaking in barrel of new Tikka T3 Lite

All other posts are personnel opinion, which means nothing.
Doesn't that mean your posts mean nothing too?

One thing that I don't think anybody can argue with is that a barrel break in procedure won't cause any harm, so do it if ya feel like it.


Gale McMillan's opinion is it's a waste of time, and may even be harmful

http://www.6mmbr.com/GailMcMbreakin.html

As a barrel maker I have looked in thousands of new and used barrels with a bore scope and I will tell you that if every one followed the prescribed [one shot, one clean] break-in method, a very large number would do more harm than good.

As the physical properties of a barrel don't change because of the break-in procedures it means it's all hog wash
 
I did a break in procedure on one of my rifles and to tell the truth I could not see any difference when compared to any of my other rifles that I did not do it on in either accuracy or ease of cleaning. I've not done it to any since.
 
I shoot a Remington 700 LTR 308, When new I shot 30 rounds an cleaned every 3 rounds, then 20 rounds & cleaned every 5. When I had 4000+ down the Barrel, I had the rifle Blueprinted had a custom Rock Creek M24 5R barrel installed. Asked about barrel break in, They advised me to shoot 20 rounds slow fire, Not letting the barrel to heat up & thats it. It shoots 1/2" groups at 200 yards. I still clean after 20 rounds. Hope your rifle is a shooter, Good Luck with it, Be Safe Chris
 
Regarding snyper's comments and the quote of Gale McMillan, if the owner of a new barrel decides to go through the fairly simple break- in process of shooting a few rounds while cleaning frequently, who among us thinks there's a serious chance of them damaging the barrel? They'll be cleaning the barrel from time to time anyway, so a couple of extra cleanings isn't going to wreck steel.

Could a completely inept barrel cleaner damage a barrel....sure, I expect so. Is it likely? No.

So..break it in if you want to, or not. And clean as needed, but don't use sandpaper or barbed wire in the process and I think you'll be Ok.

But just in case sandpaper was a possibility in your cleaning regimen, switch to a coated rod with aluminum tips and plastic brushes, use Boretech Eliminator, and I think your barrel is safe.
 
Just one more post. # 2 is still the best.
Mr Mc Millian- States-It is a waste of time-Then he says-Clean your barrel after 5 shots-Hmm. His barrel's held world records , Key word is HIS. he also held world records. As for HIS barrels,Meaning someone else shooting them. I guess you would have to survey them to see if they break in barrels.
Also lets take into consideration- useing up to 10% of barrel life to sell more barrels, Ok that would mean that great grandpas rifle would only be good for 3 generations of deer hunting instead of 4. So the selling new and more barrels is kinda a BS story. Now lets look at Bench, and sharp shooters, Most replace their barrel after one year any how. I change out every year on mine.
Next- Hurting your barrel from cleaning it, If done right it does NO damage to your barrel at all,NONE.
I do it because I really believe it makes the Barrel easier to clean down the road. That is a good enough reason for me to spend a whole hr or so to do this procedure.

Barrels are their best when new and go down hill every shot after that-- Also not true-Most barrels take a hundred or more to settle down and start shooting best, Another 1/5 barrel life gone:eek:.

Maybe we should change it from-Barrel Break in to Barrel seasoning?:D Me- I follow a seasoning procedure, Once I am done with that I shoot as the rest of you do and clean when I get home if it be 10 rounds or 100 rounds or 200 rounds. I do stuff when reloading that some say makes no difference also, but I still do it.

So back to post # 2- If it tips your hat-do it, If it makes you cringe at the thought-Don't. It's the chicken or the egg-Each to their own.
 
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Well if it makes one feel more confident that they're getting the very best out of the barrel, it can't hurt. Confidence is King in rifle shootibg anyway right? ,,
 
Hooligan. Yes I guess so. This is going on western deer hunts with me. I'm not a bench shooter by nature but sure have enjoyed it since reloading. Just a light rifle for hunt and stalk. Bought a 257 weatherby many years ago. Didn't know about packing grease or breaking barrels in. Cleaned it with one hot moving bullet right out of the box. Gun always done ok for me for years. I do clean thorough after every trip to the range. Just wonder if weatherby would have grouped better if I hadn't shot the lube out of it.
 
The first thing I'd do is to throw away the Boresnake, then clean the bore from the breech with a good rod, good bore cleaner, then a dry patch.

Go shoot it, but don't let the barrel get so hot you can't keep your hand on it.

Take it home and carefully clean it from the breech end again. The crown is the most sensitive and important part of the bore. Treat it like is were gold; it is to a barrel's accuracy and all too easily damaged by poor cleaning methods, etc.
 
The first thing I'd do is to throw away the Boresnake,

Peoples hatred for the boresnake always surprises me. When used correctly I've always found them to be very handy.
 
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Bought a one piece carbon cleaning rod and cleaned once after every shot for twenty and then once after every five. Started tightening up a little. Used the rest of accubonds I had to shoot and clean first twenty. These are groups with the benchmark and reloader 15 powder after it settled in a little. Never let it get hot. Shot the old 22 while it cooled off. I am not too happy with the groups but still going to work on some more loads. Varget didn't do to good in the Remington so I didn't load any with it today. Looks like smaller charge of reloader 15 done the best..
 
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What's the max on the Reloader 15? Alliant powder doesn't give a lot of info. This barrel is an 11 twist so I started with the 165 gr. Not sure if I should jump to 180s again.
 
What kind of bullet are you using 4 runner. I've been shooting 165 and 168 nosler bt. I sure would like to find some Sierra game kings. No luck on line. Found 7 mag but no BTSP in 308.
 
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Peoples hatred for the boresnake always surprises me. When used correctly I've always found them to be very handy.
No one "hates" them
They are fine for limited uses.
They are just not a replacement for a good rod
 
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