"Breaking In" a Barrel?

[ALCOAR]

MY point is that I just really don't believe enough people esp. on the site have an AR/barrel that can consistently record sub moa groups...and I mean true honest groupings of 10rds. When I say sub moa, I mean .7-.8"..not 1-1.2". Besides Molon, Belmont, and myself.....I just have not seen anybody document enough true sub moa "precision sub forum material" groups in order for me to believe folks can understand that cleaning frequent on match grade SS barrels yields or doesnt yield increases in accuracy. This is because the increases in accuracy are only going to be seen by those who are operating at such a honed and small group size that it's easily detectable..i.e. shooter can much more easily see the gain in accuracy shooting .7" groups vs. .5" groups than they can see shooting 1.9" and 2.1" groups. If someone's barrel shoots 2moa, they might as well do the ole' clean whenever I think I need to....cause they are not gonna see small positive gains yielded by frequent cleaning very easily.

[Littlelebowski]

MY point is that I just really don't believe enough people esp. on the site have an AR/barrel that can consistently record sub moa groups...and I mean true honest groupings of 10rds. When I say sub moa, I mean .7-.8"..not 1-1.2". Besides Molon, Belmont, and myself.....I just have not seen anybody document enough true sub moa "precision sub forum material" groups in order for me to believe folks can understand that cleaning frequent on match grade SS barrels yields or doesnt yield increases in accuracy. This is because the increases in accuracy are only going to be seen by those who are operating at such a honed and small group size that it's easily detectable..i.e. shooter can much more easily see the gain in accuracy shooting .7" groups vs. .5" groups than they can see shooting 1.9" and 2.1" groups. If someone's barrel shoots 2moa, they might as well do the ole' clean whenever I think I need to....cause they are not gonna see small positive gains yielded by frequent cleaning very easily.

But you still haven't proven anything, have you?

[Iraqgunz]

I broke in my Noveske by loading up some magazines and shooting it. I didn't follow any "break in" procedures. I don't think I can honestly say that I noticed an accuracy issue.

But, I also don't get wrapped up in accuracy "minutia" because I think in the bigger scheme of things it's a non-issue for 90% of the population (my made up statistic).

[ALCOAR]

IG has a real important factor pegged and that's the simple fact that 90% (his math) 99% (my math) of folks cannot tell minutia gains in accuracy on their said AR's and it's not important, nor is it a factor for them. It takes a pure tack driver built to tack drive in order for all these "Precision Sub Forum" topics to have merit. Which brings me full circle about why it's easy to get a little loco in this forum.

[az doug]

Gail McMillan manufactures precision barrels and shoots benchrest. He does not believe in a break in period for a precision barrel. Below is a link to his thoughts.

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

Here is a link to McMillan discussing barrel break in with other members of Sniper Country.

http://www.snipercountry.com/Article...el_BreakIn.asp

[Littlelebowski]

Gail McMillan manufactures precision barrels and shoots benchrest.

He did. RIP.

[Littlelebowski]

IG has a real important factor pegged and that's the simple fact that 90% (his math) 99% (my math) of folks cannot tell minutia gains in accuracy on their said AR's and it's not important, nor is it a factor for them. It takes a pure tack driver built to tack drive in order for all these "Precision Sub Forum" topics to have merit. Which brings me full circle about why it's easy to get a little loco in this forum.

All you have to do is shoot for groups dirty and clean. Document it, take your time, apply the scientific method. Don't say "I think you can only reap the benefits of cleaning frequently/barel break in/etc by shooting very tiny groups," prove it. Right now you are hypothesizing with nothing to go on.

Or you could head on over to http://snipershide.com........

[Artos]

www.benchrest.com is where you want to be to look for real record keeping knowledge on cleaning bbl's...if the crusty ole snots will even share it with you.

like most forums, there will be lines drawn but most will tell you squeaky clean should be avoided & not necessary and regular bore cleaning for 'the application' must be consistant for the particular bbl to maintain her peak performance.

I have a pre-64 model 70 that gets scrubbed once a year and takes 10-12 shots to get the gator looking bore filled in and back into moa needs for hunting. I only clean that gun with a brush unless I feel like breaking her back in.

My borden / bryant 6br preferes moly bullets and jb every 50-60 before she opens up.

My new and stupid favorite 5.56 / 12.5 sbr is stuck at 1.25moa regardless what I do...most of the gents on benchrest.com will tell you every bbl is dialed into it's max on it's birth. I hrear of many guys re-crowning / chambering high dollar blanks only to be become hunting rigs because they could not get them to prove .250" @ 100yds.

You can ALSO ruin your bbl by improper cleaning methods and over cleaning has probably ruined more bbl's than it has helped.

Use a good bore guide like the lucas and watch your targets for the particular application.

my one and only screamer group shot with a 6ppc....first 4 shots were as fast as I could run the condition and then the fly showed up, told doc to check the group & whacked him with the same condition. My 5th shot 'back into the group' had a kentucky hold 1" different from where the first 4 went.

The flags changed and it took at least 1/2 dozen shots and more than 5 minutes on the sighters for me to 'trust' the 5th shot would fall back into my 1st 4.

Accuracy is subjective....pick your battle accordingly. Especially with a semi rifle.

I shot CHINGOS of .1" groups with 4 different full blown short range bolt rigs...that is using top notch equipment and wind flags and almost ALWAYS happened on the 5th shot. Don't pick the fly shit out of the pepper on accuracy as it is all subjective to her application.

I did benchrest for fun and relaxation...i cannot imagine going it with a timeline, moving backers and the stress of competition.

Attachment 8194

[Mute]

I've gone both the break-in and the just shoot it route on similar type rifles in the past. If break-in made any difference in either accuracy or easier cleaning, I did not see it in any way at all. I no longer break in any of my rifles and only clean barrels when accuracy starts to degrade. I still clean the chambers and bolts and such, but only because I like a clean gun, and they do seem more reliable (especially semi-automatics) when they are kept relatively clean.