SS barrel break-in procedure

[RUDY850]

I'm going to be getting a AR varmint upper that has a stainless steel barrel

Was just wondering if there is a special way for breaking it in.



This is how I would normally do it

Fire one shot, then clean the barrel. Do 5 times
Fire three shots, then clean the barrel.
Fire five shots, then clean the barrel

[yukon375]

http://www.6mmbr.com/GailMcMbreakin.htmlthis one should be good for a few pages, lol. i used to break in new barrels, now i just shoot em.

[Legion_Prime]

Step 1: go to range
Step 2: insert loaded magazine
Step 3: with rifle pointed downrange take weapon off 'SAFE'
Step 4: center your sight picture on a target (NOT the carrier, this makes RO's cranky)

Presto, your barrel is now broken in! Feel free to pull the trigger.

[Shadow Heart]

http://www.6mmbr.com/GailMcMbreakin.htmlthis one should be good for a few pages, lol. i used to break in new barrels, now i just shoot em.

Very interesting read, Someone had asked that in the Spikes Tactical Forums, and reflects exactly what your link stated, i have also come across the following stating a "break in Period" , and even the local guy had some variance of a break in. (I do not recall exactly what it was), but i am sure it reflects something in the middle of what the OP read and what i posted.

Being someone who has worked with metal, the link posted by yukon357, then to have the info previously stated by a manufacturer reflect what was said in the link, makes sense at least to me, that recommended break in periods on barrels are total BS, and nothing more than a way to ruin a barrel (shorten its life time), by using heavy brushes, cleaners, rubbing compound, making you have to purchase a new barrel shorter than expected.

[arrrrgh15]

I was told by the gentlemen from Kansas City Mo that built my rifle to just shoot it like I stole it. I only clean it after every few hundred rounds.

[Xpertz]

I NEVER use a brass or steel brush on my barrel unless I have shot lead. Then I use a piece of a Chore boy copper scrub brush.
For barrels with jacketed rounds only, all you need to do is swab it with some Hoppes No 9 or the equivalent. Copper jackets fill in the microscopic imperfections in a bore and a brush just cleans them out. Try what I do and you will see that your bore just gets better and better.

This is also the policy of some big name barrel makers. Scheumann for one.

[Legion_Prime]

How big are these 'microscopic imperfections' that a brush's bristle is small enough to dislodge anything filling them in? Won't a bullet traveling through the bore in excess of the speed of sound do something similar in a somewhat more violent manner? I am also curious as to how a barrel's bore (assuming you are firing bullets through it) will ever do anything other than degrade through wear from the friction and mechanical action of the bullet, the burning propellant behind it and the entailing residue.

[saleen322]

Bad cleaning practices will trump any advantage that a break-in may deliver. However, on break in, opinions do vary.
http://www.rifle-accuracy-reports.co...-break-in.html
http://www.kriegerbarrels.com/Break_...246-wp2558.htm
http://www.chuckhawks.com/rifle_barrel.htm
http://www.varminthunters.com/tech/breakin.html
http://www.shilen.com/faq.html#question10
http://www.riflebarrels.com/support/...aintenance.htm

[yukon375]

the problem with barrel break in is that no one can prove it does anything(although after so many cleanings, the copper seems to not stick so much).improper cleaning will for sure harm your barrel.

[Xpertz]

How big are these 'microscopic imperfections' that a brush's bristle is small enough to dislodge anything filling them in? Won't a bullet traveling through the bore in excess of the speed of sound do something similar in a somewhat more violent manner? I am also curious as to how a barrel's bore (assuming you are firing bullets through it) will ever do anything other than degrade through wear from the friction and mechanical action of the bullet, the burning propellant behind it and the entailing residue.

Excerpt from Scheumanns. Undoubtedly one of the best barrel makers in the business:

My Personal Practice has become to never clean the bore of my barrels. I do use a brass rod
to scrape the deposits out of the chamber. But, I've learned to leave the bore alone and it very
slowly becomes shinier and cleaner all by itself. Years ago I occasionally scrubbed the bore with
a brass bore brush. But, doing so always seemed to cause the bore to revert to a dirtier look with
more shooting, so I eventually stopped ever putting anything down the bore except bullets