Author Topic: "required break in procedure", (Read 613 times)

deredhead · « **on:** February 02, 2004, 11:40:38 AM »

New to posting on this form...There's alot of good adviced here...Thanks Guys. I read and heard mention about barrel break-in. I've always gotten to the range to sightin and get used to a new rifle, but there's actually a breakin period on these barrels???

-Don

Bullseye · « **Reply #1 on:** February 02, 2004, 02:36:36 PM »

Some say yes, I say no. Went and broke in my 223 barrel Sunday. Shot about 35 shots, 1/2" or better groups at 50 using factory ammo. Brought it home when I was finished and cleaned it.

deredhead · « **Reply #2 on:** February 02, 2004, 03:11:53 PM »

I believe I read this on page 13 or 14 on this form....Something about breaking in your barrel before starting to fire reloaded ammo. I've order the SST Encore frame and was planning on the 270 cal barrel...I have competion dies for '06 and with these guns being light I decided the 270 would be my second choice the limsaver recoil pad...

DannoBoone · « **Reply #3 on:** February 02, 2004, 03:21:50 PM »

It just depends on the barrel you get. Many are good and some are bad
(must just depend on who was running the equipment at the time yours may
have been made). Clean the barrel, shoot a fouling shot, and then go for a
group. If you get a good one, then you have a good barrel. Of course,
different bullet/load combinations can factor in any rifle, as you probably
already know if you have a competition die set. If you CANNOT get it to
group well with anything, you can still use the break-in procedure of
handlapping the barrel.

Other factors can also play into bad groups, such as the forearm not
fitting the barrel well. Personally, I got clear out of this headache by
getting a hanger bar and forearm from VVCG.

deredhead · « **Reply #4 on:** February 02, 2004, 03:33:42 PM »

Thanks DannoBoone...

deredhead · « **Reply #5 on:** February 03, 2004, 02:59:47 AM »

Question: How do I break-in a new barrel?

Answer: New barrels should be cleaned with CopperMelt before the first firing (they will have been proof-tested at the barrel manufacturer, and thats good.) We recommend all barrels (new and old) go through this barrel break-in procedure. The results are worth it. We have witnessed many barrels shooting groups less than 15% of the original extreme spread - very, very tight groups indeed!

Thoroughly clean the bore with CopperMelt following our recommended cleaning procedure, and be sure to get the barrel completely clean (a CopperMelt-damp patch will show no traces of blue, black, or gray - not even a hint of it - after 20 back-and-forth strokes the full length of the bore).

Work a dry patch through the bore to clean up any CopperMelt residue

Fire one shot using a flat-base copper-jacketed bullet of the heaviest weight for that calibre and with as blunt a nose as possible. What you want is as long a bullet as you can get that is nearly a cylinder shape, therefore providing maximum contact area between the bore and the bullet. The extra contact area provides greater lapping action of the bullet in the bore, and therefore a more complete job in smoothing out the machining and tooling imperfections inside the bore.

Thoroughly clean the bore with CopperMelt following our recommended cleaning procedure again, and be sure to get it completely clean. Follow this with a dry patch to remove any CopperMelt residue. This should require only 1 or two wet patches and less than two minutes, start to finish.

Fire one shot using the same type of bullet described previously

Repeat the two preceding steps until you have fired a mimimum of 20 bullets through the bore. Repeating this procedure to 40 shots is highly recommended, and repeating this procedure up to 100 shots is very, very good for the bore of your new barrel. We do this with all of our new barrels to 100 shots, thoroughly cleaning with CopperMelt between each shot, and our barrels have very, very smooth bores and shoot very tiny groups with minimal fouling.
After this break-in procedure, we thoroughly clean the bore with CopperMelt after every 10 to 20 shots, occasionally extending this number out to 30, 40, or even 50 shots, and we have experienced outstanding barrel life with phenomenal accuracy.

deredhead · « **Reply #6 on:** February 03, 2004, 03:04:53 AM »

I decided to do alittle research on barrel breakin...the post listed above was from a web page I went to...I know I was confused on this matter.

-Don

5Redman8 · « **Reply #7 on:** February 03, 2004, 03:57:05 AM »

I break in all my barrels before I shoot. JB Bore paste hand lapped repeatedly for about 30-50 full length strokes. Then I clean after every shot for 10-15, after that I clean after every three shots for 9 shots, then after every five until cleaning is a breeze. This seems like a lot of work but not really.

I get a barrel, clean it with JB. I load some pressure checks(2gr under max, 1gr under max, and then max looking for pressure signs) in different powders and bullet combos. I clean after every check for 10-15 rounds depend on how thorough I am feeling. Then I clean after a set of 3 checks for the next 3 sets(9 total shots). By the end of break-in and pressure checks, general sighting-in, I have all my brass firefromed to the chamber and ready for true accuracy tests with fireformed reloads.

Fireformed not only applies to wildcat cartridges but also standard chamberings. I hope this helps and that I did not insult with the explanatins of terms.

Kyle
kylewholcomb@yahoo.com