August 26th 2023Saturday Films: Barrel Break In, Various Methods ReviewThe question of barrel break in is controversial. Some people advocate a long, elaborate cycle of shooting and cleaning, repeated repeatedly — one shot, two shots, and so on. It is claimed that this helps barrels foul less, and shoot more accurately. Others believe that a minimal break-in is sufficient, and that patching and sweeping after 10-15 rounds is sufficient. Others say that break-in is a waste of time and ammunition. You should just load, shoot and clean as normal. Remember that the break-in process for a factory barrel will be different from a hand-lapped barrel. This Editor found that his best custom barrels performed well right out of the box, without any special break-in other than wet patching at 5, 10, 15 rounds. Although I’ve seen some factory-made barrels that benefited from more elaborate break in rituals, what’s the best barrel breaking-in procedure? Eric Mayer, Varminter.com, decided to ask the experts. Eric interviewed representatives from three leading barrel manufacturers, including Krieger, Lothar Walther, and Shilen. He recorded their answers on this video. Mike Hinrichs, Krieger Barrels
Eric Mayer, of Varminter.com, says: “That’s a simple question [but] it doesn’t necessarily have a straightforward answer. Instead of repeating my own beliefs and practices on breaking in a new rifle, I decided to respond to this question a little differently. We asked three of the most popular and largest custom barrel makers what they would recommend to someone buying their barrels and why. We asked the question and let the cameras run!” Barrel Break-in – Initial Inspection and Cleaning This short video explains why you should always inspect your barrel and clean it before you send rounds through it. You may want to clean out any remnants from the production process such as lapping. Some factory barrels have even contained tiny metal fragments. Borescope a barrel to check for visible defects, such as lands with crooked edges. We’ve seen this on some cheaper barrels. Barrel Break-In – Ian Klemm’s Surprising observations Here’s a 10 minute Vortex Nation interview. Ian is a four-time F-TR National Champion and one of America’s top long-range shooters. In this video, Ian explains how he approaches barrel break-in. You may be surprised. Does barrel break-in even matter? Ian believes that the internet is wrong when they say “Yes”. The conventional wisdom says that it’s important. Ian believes you don’t have to waste a lot of time/ammo in order to get your barrel shooting extremely accurately. This is especially true for premium hand-lapped barrels. Barrel Break-In with Keith Glasscock Keith Glasscock, one of America’s best F-Class shooters, has placed second at the Nationals on multiple occasions. Keith Glasscock is a well-respected wind trainer with a popular YouTube channel called Winning in the Wind. Keith explains in this video how he breaks-in his match barrels. He begins by cleaning and bore-scoping his barrel. If he finds burrs, he can use JB Bore Paste and a patch with a worn brush to “give that throat some scrub” (see 1:30 mark). He used different strokes lengths to prevent putting “steps” in the throat. He goes to the range when he is satisfied. He fires five rounds and then cleans. He fires a lot of rounds before cleaning it again and starting load development (see 8:25). General Barrel Break In Procedures Recommended by Brownells Brownells’ Gun Techs Steve Ostrem & Caleb Savant take on a difficult topic: breaking in a barrel. What is barrel breaking-in? And WHY do it? The rifling on a newly machined barrel is full of microscopic burrs. Breaking-in is the process of putting a bullet down the bore in order to smoothen out rough spots. The goal is rounding down the sharp edges to prevent them from stripping copper away from a bullet while it travels through the bore. This leads to fouling, which leads a reduced accuracy and inconsistent grouping. In a very small way, you are actually lapping the barrel. The breaking-in procedure works best with barrels that have been cut-rifled or button-rifled. Cold-hammer-forged barrels with chrome-lining or nitrided surfaces, such as those found on AR-15s, may not benefit from the process. Pistol barrels don’t really need to be broken-in because larger bullets aren’t affected by small variations in the bore. George Gardner of G.A. says that break-in is better for a rifle in.17,.20 or.22 calibre than a rifle in.45 calibre. Precision Talks about Barrel Breaking-In G.A. George Gardner, Precision’s George Gardner, is a leader in the PRS/NRL industry. George Gardner makes the point in this video that not all barrels need the same amount break-in. George says that some barrels only require a very small amount of break-in while others benefit from an elaborate break-in procedure which helps reduce future copper or powder fouling. He calls it “seasoning” to make the barrel less foul. George’s recommended procedure (4:25) begins with a single shot, followed by three one-round rounds of cleaning. Then, three shots are followed by cleaning. Repeat the process if necessary. For cleaning George prefers nylon brushes (5:50 time-mark). George makes another very important point: You MUST swab and dry the chamber between cleaning cycles (5.30 time-mark).
Similar Posts Tags: Barrel Break In, Barrel Cleaning. Bore-Scope. Button Rifling. Cut Rifled Barrel. George Gardner. Ian Klemm. Keith Glasscock.
