New barrel break in

ravanelli

Well-Known Member
Hi SD
Just about to get new 223 rifle, probably Howa Varmint.
Howa recommend to follow their instructions regarding preparing the new barrel. I intend to do this but was curious as to opinions from you all whether it's actually required.
Rav
 
factory barrel yes-custom barrel to a degree.a lot of shooters dont "break" in a custom barrel i do just for peace of mind with around 15-20 shots depending on the amount of copper showing on patches.
 
Hi SD
Just about to get new 223 rifle, probably Howa Varmint.
Howa recommend to follow their instructions regarding preparing the new barrel. I intend to do this but was curious as to opinions from you all whether it's actually required.
Rav

Howa does not recommend break in of their rifles. Legacy Sports writes that. You can pick a Howa owners manual to bits and never find a speck of break-in advice:

Request Rejected

Truth is that the rifle is clamped in a vise at the factory and a handful of cartridges are fired through it as fast as the employee can so he can get to lunch. He swipes the barrel with an oily patch and your rifle is tossed into the box.

It's broke in already. Just shoot it.~Muir
 
FAO Muir........thanks for the quick reply. You are correct about Legacy. That's where I got my information.....
So just crack on and use it straight out the box???
Regards
Rav
 
FAO Muir........thanks for the quick reply. You are correct about Legacy. That's where I got my information.....
So just crack on and use it straight out the box???
Regards
Rav

Do whatever you feel appropriate, however I would say can following the legacy break-in procedure do any harm?
Other than in some opinions being a waste of time and ammo.
 
I bought a new Tikka 595. The advice I was given was to shoot a couple,pull a couple of patches through it,shoot a few more,pull a couple patches through it,shoot half dozen,pull a couple of patches it,shoot ten more patches,always pulling a dry patch through after.
As previous guy said,can't do any harm.
 
And it won't do any harm at all but just realize that the Virginal Bride treatment is wasted on the Bar Girl. It's nice but someone has been there already. There is no evidence that the 'shoot in' specified by Legacy is beneficial. That said. I do believe in a good cleaning with solvents before any shooting commences. Beyond that, in my opinion, just shoot. But it's your rifle and if it makes you feel better about the gun, do it. Just realize that HOWA does not specify a break-in.~Muir
 
My first rifle arrived four days before my 50th Birthday trip to South Africa. I had two previous trips using "camp rifles".

I too wondered about breaking in my "precious".

A certain Chuck Hawks replied to my email and I followed his advice.

"Hell, it's a hunting rifle, just go hunt and when it stops shooting straight then clean it"

Stan :)
 
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Hi SD
Just about to get new 223 rifle, probably Howa Varmint.
Howa recommend to follow their instructions regarding preparing the new barrel. I intend to do this but was curious as to opinions from you all whether it's actually required.
Rav


I'm far from being an expert on barrels, but unless your planning to shoot at the highest levels I don't think it will make a blind bit of difference to accuracy or barrel life whether you shoot it in or not.
I think the main thing is not to fire long strings without allowing cooling time between.

I'm now of the thinking that barrels are consumable items, when accuracy drops off replace it.
I've yet to replace one and heaven knows how many bullets have gone down my .222
 
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I think running in a barrel is not going to do anything - It's a piece of steel: It's a good one, or a bad one...

Now, should you take your time familiarizing yourself with your new rifle and taking the time to zero it without getting it too hot, sure.

Keep your rifle clean and maintained and don't worry about how often you run patches through it. I reckon its put in by the shooting industry to make us the punter buy more consumables...
 
I followed the instructions from the builder of my latest rifle,using a Lothar Walther barrel, shoot one clean one, for at least ten rounds, took an absolute age to get through the regime at the range, started at the 100 yard pit, & finished at the 300 yarder.... still I have satisfied the conditions.
 
Hmm, arrive home with new howa 308, run patch through barrel, mount scope, bore sight, fire 1 at target, adjust scope,fire again to verify,
,
rabbit apears at 100 yds, shoot rabbit, disappointing cant find enough rabbit to see point of impact, wow this gun shoots, job done..
If only twas this easy every time
 
There is no evidence that ['shooting] in' is beneficial.

Can I paraphrase you like this, M?

I've no absolute objection to using extra components and time to "break in" a barrel, but as I've never seen anyone attempt to do this as a controlled experiment, let alone prove that it makes a rifle shoot better, it seems to have more than a whiff of superstition about it.

Wildly speculating, I'd also guess that a cheap barrel would be more likely to benefit from conditioning in this way -if there is any benefit conferred on the barrel by the process at all- than a premium one, whose bore one would hope would be considerably more evenly finished from the start.

Has anyone come across a presentation of this issue in which the value attributed to breaking in doesn't depend entirely on the respect in which the word of its advocate is held?
 
There used to be a fairly detailed article on Border Barrels website re this. They advocated not only cleaning but fully decoppering using solvents between the first 7-10 shots. Of course BB is now (essentially) gone - but there is a man who very much did understand barrels and how to get the best from them.


I have shot in two new cut-rifled Border barrels and two new factory barrels - a Sako and a Howa. In each case it was very noticeable that after 2-3 shots the amount of copper coming out reduced greatly - and the custom barrels were no different in this to the factory. After that I have never taken any detectable copper from any of my barrels - not saying there isn't any, just not able to be seen. This is using Forest Bore Foam and leaving it in for 24 hours each time - so it takes me a full week to shoot each barrel in. I seldom clean any barrel so treated until it has had 50+ shots through it - even when cleaned the zero never varies.


My view - if you don't take the initial copper out then this will get tramped into the steel of the barrel, as the number of rounds builds the barrel will get gradually smoothed by each bullets passage.


You don't have to believe this - it makes me feel better!
 
And what happens if you don't?? Nothing.
They should learn how to cut their chambers better if the tool marks from the throating generates 'dust' that is deposited in their hand lapped barrel.

I built cast bullet bench rest rifles. By their logic, every barrel I made should have leaded.
They didn't.~Muir

What????? ..... you don't believe all this hocus pocus??? Unless someone can get the aforesaid Dr Kolbe on here to give us chapter and verse its all a bit speculative and down to personal experience.

It's Christmas - you believe in Santa don't you??

It makes me feel better - relax.

Now off to perforate some deer...
 
My barrels get run in the day I take them to the range to zero it in. That is it. It is the same for my personal rifles and work ones. I think that this run in procedure stuff is a load of manufacturers hype, what happens at the proof house ? At the end of the day it's your rifle, do to it whatever you feel happiest doing

Al
 
What????? ..... you don't believe all this hocus pocus??? Unless someone can get the aforesaid Dr Kolbe on here to give us chapter and verse its all a bit speculative and down to personal experience.

It's Christmas - you believe in Santa don't you??

It makes me feel better - relax.

Now off to perforate some deer...
Have fun!
:D
I just read a bit on another site where I gunsmith was using one of those same Kreiger barrels for a project. He showed the threading and chambering, mounted the barrel, and proceeded to shoot one hole groups from the git-go. He never mentioned 'running in" so maybe some smiths don't buy it??~Muir
 
I recently purchased a Winchester model 70 243WSSM.
I took it to the range fired 4 shots at 50yds to get the scope on, then back off to 100yds the next three shots were all over the place about a 3" group and without altering anything the next three shots were all within 1/2" I cant clean it now it might not shoot that good again.

So I did and it does
 
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