Not broken in properly

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If you clean your barrel after shooting any number of rounds on regular basis, are you in essence "breaking it in" ?

Is the only difference between that and going through one of those prescribed shoot one shot clean shoot again cycles, may be the amount of time it takes to break in the barrel?

If memory serves the old bushmaster co advised breaking in their barrels by shooting a lot (several hundred?) of rounds through it, before cleaning.

Didn't some old time custom barrel makers used to polish (lap) the inside of barrels?

Has anyone else noticed how quicker it may be clean some bores, after it gets used and cleaned multiple times?

Has anyone ever noticed some barrels are easy to clean right from the get go?
 
My opinion is worth exactly nothing BUT, I've seen accuracy go either way. One rifle is taken out and shot rattle bang from the get-go and the next is shot slowly with cleaning AND THERE'S NO WAY TO KNOW WHICH WILL SHOOT MORE ACCURATELY LATER.
I have extremely accurate barrels that I suspect were "not broken in properly" and a couple that I did the break in process with.
I do think barrels that start with the shoot/clean process are more likely to be smoother sooner. Whether this directly produces more accuracy is another opinion. That smoother = equals easier to clean is unquestionable.
The comments about Hathcock cleaning his sniper rifle is apples vs oranges since his work was in a very humid environment demanding significant cleaning and maintenance. Many times, I've cleaned after just one shot because everything was so wet. The "sniper" (works for coyotes too) rifle I keep outside usually gets one pass with a VERY lightly oiled pull-through after each shot.
 
My personal conspiracy theory is that so many weapons leave the factory with so much machining junk and unknown lubricants inside them the "break-in" serves the purpose of flushing all the crap out.
 
Even Browning has a break-in procedure on their website. And I know guys swear by it.
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Then those are the guys you should contact. However, break-in is like a first time meeting. You only get a single chance for a first time.

A huge part of the problem with barrel break-in is that no two "experts" or companies agree on how it should be done. None can or have documented what it actually does. None have shown the difference between what happens with correct or incorrect break-in. None can show how their procedures are better than anybody else's procedures.

More realistic culprits to your problem are that either you just got a bad barrel to start with or that you haven't found ammo that your rifle likes. Lastly, it could just be you. Has anybody else shot this rifle with a variety of types and weights of ammo?

As an example, I have a .308 rifle that shoots very well with several brands of 150 gr. ammo. 1" groups are not a big deal and any ammo that shoots worse than 1.5" is ammo I don't buy for it. With 165 gr. or heavier ammo, I have yet to find anything that will produce groups under 2" and usually groups are 3-4". Had I used heavier ammo to sight in the gun, I would think it was a crappy gun.
 
Break in refers to how moving parts interact with each other. That really just means wearing off rough spots. Many rebuilt engines are tight, bearing clearances ect... Piston rings need to shape themselves to the cylinder as well....
Some new machines will malfunction initially due to snags...

Some firearms, the actions will smooth out after 100-200 rds
I cannot see how a barrel regime can have any noticeable effect. I'm a highly technical person... This notion seems silly

I break in each bullet once lol

I rarely clean bores any more, not needed.... a patch once in a while. I clean actions and moving/mating surfaces regularly
 
All commercial factory and arsenal barrels are shot a couple times before they leave the shop floors. A proof shop in a factory has stupid, ignorant or dumb employees there if they don't clean the bore good before proof testing anyway. Otherwise, their data would be flawed. The barrel may be ringed if it's got any foriegn matter in it.

Those bores are cleaned after proofing; quite well, in my opinion.
 
I think we pretty much all agree that barrel break-in isn't the cause of poor accuracy in the OP's BAR. At one time I owned a BAR, in 270, and it shot great. What I don't know is what I'd have done if it shot poorly, other than clean the bore. So, I would clean the bore. Then I'd remove the scope and make sure that everything was snugged down tight. Then put the scope back on and check accuracy again. If accuracy was still poor, I'd replace the scope and try again.

I suspect that the scope is bad.
 
This is what Browning says about "break-in"
http://www.browning.com/customerservice/qna/detail.asp?id=112

In theory what you have just accomplished is the closing of the pores of the barrel metal which have been opened and exposed through the cutting and lapping procedures.

After following the procedure, your barrel's interior surface will be sealed and should shoot cleaner and develop less fouling for the rest of its shooting life.
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Reality is it makes no discernable difference in accuracy nor ease of cleaning
 
From what I have seen over the years, Browning knows very little about how to make a rifle accurate. If they did, their rifles would shoot better.
 
From what I have seen over the years, Browning knows very little about how to make a rifle accurate. If they did, their rifles would shoot better.
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When I was working in the gun shop, off the rack Brownings would outshoot anything we sold.
 
I have never seen accuracy to be consistent in Browning Rifles. No way "off the shelf" Brownings as a whole out shot "off the shelf" Savages, Sakos, CZ's, or Weatherbys. Their biggest problem is their actions are so far off square. Heat them up and they go crazy. Put the action and barrel in the lathe and you can make yourself a shooter, but not so great "off the shelf." Just my 2 cents.
 
I have never seen accuracy to be consistent in Browning Rifles. No way "off the shelf" Brownings as a whole out shot "off the shelf" Savages, Sakos, CZ's, or Weatherbys. Their biggest problem is their actions are so far off square. Heat them up and they go crazy. Put the action and barrel in the lathe and you can make yourself a shooter, but not so great "off the shelf." Just my 2 cents.
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Yeah, I hear that all the time

I also know what I saw

Which do you think I believe?
 
Snyper, what you claim may be true. We all don't know all the rifle makes and models you sold. Nor how all of them were tested for accuracy.
 
Snyper, what you claim may be true. We all don't know all the rifle makes and models you sold. Nor how all of them were tested for accuracy.
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We had Browning, Winchester, Remington, Ruger, HK, Marlin, Weatherby, Savage, H&R, Springfield, Mossberg and Colt in stock all the time, with at least one in most all styles and standard chamberings.

We could special order anything you wanted, including Class III items

We had various "assault" styles like Saiga, Steyr, Maddi, Norinco, etc, as well as an average of about 200 assorted used long guns

They were "tested for accuracy" by hundreds of shooters ranging from novices to long time hunters, professional snipers and competiton shooters

http://gunsunlimitednc.com/
 
Snyper, thanks for the make and model info.

Regarding all those shooters in various disciplines testing them, without the objectives, conditions, standards they adhered to shooting them, along with the results, I cannot pass judgement on your claim.

Meanwhile, when Browning rifles start winning the F-class matches outperforming the Savage ones, then I'll have meaningful data on Browning rifle performance in accuracy venues being the best.
 
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How about a little more help to the OP--I'm sure he's hoping for a bit more constructive advice than "you have an inherently crappy weapon" (true or not).:D
 
Meanwhile, when Browning rifles start winning the F-class matches outperforming the Savage ones, then I'll have meaningful data on Browning rifle performance in accuracy venues being the best.
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When Browning starts building that type of rifle, they will start winning

What is being discussed here is the typical rifles made for the general public, and mainly geared towards hunting.

Not all comparisons have to be about competition shooting only, and not all "meaningful data" comes from that alone.

I've often seen you claim the "most accurate" rifles are all built on Winchester actions, but I haven't seen the "meaningful data" to support that either.
 
How about a little more help to the OP
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The OP just needs to keep trying loads until he finds what the rifle prefers

It's a semi auto rifle not known for "high precision", and all we know about it is:

Now, it's not so accurate. It doesn't group well, and strings as it heats up.
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Not much there to work with ;)
 
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