Barrel Break-in

Hi All...........In the two years that I have been watching this forum I have never seen a post regarding this subject, so I thought I would throw it out there for discussion. Should a new barrel whether it be a Kart, KKM, Bar-Sto, or whatever brand be broken in or seasoned before starting to use it heavily for match use? If so, what is the proper procedure? Or are they ready to go right away? Maybe some of you gunsmiths out there would chime in on this subject. If there is a break-in system, I'm pretty sure there are a lot of newer and older shooters out there that get new match guns or have new barrels installed to replace old barrels in older match guns and do not know that they need to be broken in. Let the discussion begin............Paul

New pistol can be pretty tight I've always put 200-300 rounds through them, then clean and then another 10-20 rounds before I use it in a match.  This is more for function and self assurance than seasoning the barrel.  I always fire at least 10-20 rounds after every cleaning before a match, otherwise I may get 1-2 flyers in the first 10 rounds, not always, but I no longer risk it. 

We are talking about a 2-4 MOA hand gun here not a 1/8-1/4MOA rifle and there is debate on whether or not seasoning a rifle barrel is needed.  Custom rifle shops will tell you more of their barrels are ruined by improper/over cleaning than actually being "shot out".

- Dave
I'll put at least 500 rounds through a carry gun to make sure there are no function issues before I'll actually carry it.

I agree that there is nothing the shooter or smith can do to improve the micro finish of the barrel interior.. It's as good as it is ever going to get on day one.. A new bullseye gun should be able to function and  score 2700/2700 on its first day..

Thanks Dave and Jerry for the replies. That is what I was thinking but thought that I would throw it out there anyway........Paul

Perhaps a good question what is the best procedure to break in a good Wadgun to ensure good slide to frame fit and bushing tightness.

rich.tullo wrote:Perhaps a good question what is the best procedure to break in a good Wadgun to ensure good slide to frame fit and bushing tightness.

1. Oil it.

2. Shoot it.

Sorry to revive an old thread but I want to be sure of this. I want to get into Bullseye shooting (my main discipline is Highpower rifle) so I just picked up a Range Officer. I plan on only shooting wadcutters through it but given that I'll be using the factory barrel (as opposed to a nice, theoretically hand-lapped one) should I run some hardball through it and clean it first? If the concept of smoothing out the interior of the barrel has any merit shouldn't I need to do that in order to keep lead from scraping off/filling in the cracks in the bore?

Again, I'm just trying to be sure. Thanks everyone!

The concept of "breaking in" a barrel in rifle circles is relatively new.  It is also debatable how effective it is.  There is certainly anecdotal evidence on both sides.  Pistols and particularly Bullseye pistols are different cans of worms.  The barrel life of a pistol is measured in many thousands of rounds.  It is difficult to erode the throat of a pistol.  

The issue for autoloading pistols is more mechanical wear and tear.  Pistols are fitted mechanisms and the proper care and lubrication of these mechanisms will pay better dividends than barrel break in schemes.  There are many lubricants out there that are good and there was a thread recently on gun lubricants that had a chart comparing most of them.

Greetings,

Two comments.

One, when I finish a 32 WadCutter barrel I generally test it in a fixture at 50 yards. Usually, the first ten shots produce a 10-X group. This is a barrel that has gone though the transition of a rough blank to a finished product.

Two, the 22lr ammo manufacturers have changed their priming mixture in recent years. The mix is now somewhat erosive and the throats of 22 barrels are showing the effects. Pardini recently increased the hardness of their 22lr barrels to 40 HRC. I called PardiniUSA to find out why. They were the ones that told me about the priming mix having changed.

Of note, Eley, made in the UK, priming mix supposedly does not erode the barrels like the other manufacturers.

Cheers,

Dave

Lots of good info here on rim fire barrels.  http://www.rrdvegas.com/rimfire-cleaning.html

Breaking in a new barrel.  Isn't that called Practice.

GeorgeG wrote:Breaking in a new barrel.  Isn't that called Practice.