Is breaking in a modern rifle barrel really needed? >>

Gotta RRA Fred Eichler Series LAR-15 coming.
I dont really wanna spend a full day at the range cleaning the thing, Is barrel break in an important detail?

- specifics -

As for Eichler Series barrels, well, here’s where things get kinda interesting. The medium-heavy 16-inch barrel is bead-blasted stainless steel and is cryogenically treated. Cryogenic treatment is something of a hot topic among accuracy-freak rifle shooters these days, and the claims made and positions taken on both sides are nearly as extreme as those of the warring parties in the never-ending gas-piston versus direct-gas-impingement argument.

Proponents of cryogenic processing observe that all barrels are produced by boring and machining, which causes stress in the microstructure of the metal, and that different types of forgings and castings cool at internally differential rates, also inducing residual stress. Heat treating also leaves residual stress. This hidden stress is what causes an individual barrel to bend or warp as it heats up from firing, resulting in “random” stringing, walking, or wandering of your shots. This is one reason why good three-shot rifle groups are easier to get than good five-shot groups. A barrel may seem to shoot well but not as well as it could for as long as it should.

Cryogenic treatment is the process of deep freezing a barrel to around -300 degrees and keeping it there for a predetermined time with periodic thermal cycling to relieve residual stress from the barrel material and permanently stabilize its grain structure at the molecular level. The one-time cryogenic process claims to relieve this stress, provide more consistent groups, less friction, heat and wear for improved barrel life and easier cleaning—and about 50 to 60 fps increased velocity.



Read more: http://www.rifleshootermag.com/rifle...#ixzz3OHvsEc8w

TIA

You'll like that rifle. Congrats!

As far as RRA is concerned, I believe that they specifically state in their owner's manual that barrel break-in is not needed. They may hand lap their barrels. Not certain... it has been too long. I would have to dig and find my manual.

The serious benchrest guys I shoot with take it quite seriously, but most think it pointless for normal sporting arms. Of course, my opinion is worth what you paid for it.

I'm not sure about it. I broke in the barrel on my latest purchase, which is a first for me. It's also built more for precision shooting than my other rifles. I did it for two reasons. One, it won't hurt and might help, so why not. Two, I'm uncertain of the rifles quality (long story), so I'm following the manufacturer's procedure to ensure that I've done my part if it comes up short on the accuracy claims. I haven't sighted it in yet to see. Of course, I won't know if it helped, since I have no comparison. All I can say is that the bore did clean easier as the process progressed, which is in line with their claims. This may be something I continue to do, as a result.

Really JG,

my two cents.....On my RR predator pursuit I did no break-in, just cleaned it really good afterwards.

Save the shoot 3 clean, repeat deal for a true custom barrel while developing loads.

Great rifle by the way, should get you.75" MOA easy. Mine did, wish I'd a kept it ....

again

do break it in

I used to do benchrest and I can really tell

I'm in.

Unless you have what it takes to professionally lap (sp) your barrel then do a break in. It's an investment in your investment.

I always break mine in. I load up some rounds and go shoot it. Ones it starts shooting like crap I clean it....

Walter

X2

I had killed over 100 deer by 1989 with a used 30-30 and a used .243 BLR. I had never even heard of breaking in a gun until I bought a new Rem .270 and a freind of mine I shared a reloading setup with recommended breaking in a barrel. We broke that mountain rifle in and it shot just as good as the other rifles I had. That season we also killed over 200 head shot deer with his 22-250 ( 100,000 acre ranch) that had never been properly broken in and bought at a pawn shop.


In conclusion I will always break in a barrel butt I don't think it does anything but make you feel better about your weapon.

Some barrels get more good out of a break-in than others. - All get some good out of it, but it varies according to the manufacturing process used to make the barrel.

People who do not break in a barrel have no way of knowing how much better it might have been if broken in properly.

I agree to disagree.... What does shooting three rounds and cleaning then repeating that do to "break in a barrel"?

Walter

When you did bench rest what could you really tell?

Walter

It polishes out the high spots, as opposed to creating new high spots with carbon and copper build-up.

If pie-plate accuracy will do the job for you, then there's no reason to bother. If accuracy is important enough to go to a bit of trouble for though, well that's a different story.

Match shooters who are after the smallest groups possible tend to use a barrel break-in procedure. Guys with a thutty-thutty who will be shooting deer at under 100 yards seldom bother. Somewhere in-between is a happy medium.

And, as noted before, some barrels will respond better to a proper break-in than others, but all derive some benefit from it.

If it's not important to you why then by all means, don't bother with it. Most hunters get by just fine without going through a proper barrel break-in. It's really more something for the accuracy fanatics.

When you say it pushes out the high spots, what is it? I never did a break in on my rifle. The group above was shot at 250 yards with rounds 10,11,12,13,14 through the gun. I have a little over 200 rounds through the gun to date and it will get its first cleaning tomorrow. Accuracy is why I built this rifle and I still don't believe in break in and the gun shoots.

Walter

Brad, this is a topic that has been cussed and discussed for years. Experts and wanna be experts have pretty well agreed to disagree. I believe in doing it but don't consider myself an expert on anything.

I've been to precision shooting matches and found that some even clean between 5 shot groups and some don't.

This is a blond/brunette and Ford/Chevy question.

Very true. Some men will argue over anything, just for the sake of it.

Thanks for all the replies.
I'd hoped technology had come far enough along to perhaps offer up a more definitive answer.
It makes sense that its still personal perspective.

Read again. I said it polishes out the high spots.

I own a bore-scope and have watched this process many times.

If you don't want to break in your barrels, be my guest. - I have no problem with that.

My bad, but that still never answered the question. What is it? And what high spots?

Walter

The throat area is the only thing that could help from any break in. If you aren't running a good bore guide with proper equipment then skip the process and just shoot.

OK .....But.......how do I clean my gun???

I don't think most people, like Walter and myself, have built enough long range rifles to really know how much difference it makes. However I have known some seriously dedicated long range shooters who know a lot more than I do that swear by it so I do because I trust their knowledge and experience.

I have never built any rifles and don't pretend I know how to, not inferring that is what you mean either. I leave all that work to my gunsmith. As far as breaking in a barrel it is very subjective like most things. When talking about match barrels and a good gunsmith the only thing that might need broken in is the chamber, like said above. There was a very long thread on this over on snipershide and it was about like this one some people do some people don't. Them main problem is having real data that shows either way. There was one post on there from frank where he bought two identical trg 22. And broken one barrel in and didn't the other. Both shot them same is the short story.


Here is the thread on snipershide and it is a good read.

Walter

All right. Had enough.

Clean the crap out of the new barrel. Machining fluid, and steel chips. Put 20-30 rounds through it to foul it. Then do load work up or test various mass produced ammunition. Once you like how it shoots, keep shooting it until it starts shooting well, then remove carbon and go again.

This has worked for me on button rifled and cut rifled equally well.

love this,

I tend to agree with this. Here is what I see and we built 100+ rifles this year. I hand lapp everything so take that into consideration..

Shoot every gun bout 5- 10 times, get a general feel for how rifle will shoot Clean it really good
Take it out shoot another 5-10 and test the group, make sure I am happy with it.
Give it a solid cleaning but nothing crazy. (ship if its not mine personal gun)
If personal gun take out shoot a fouler and verify zero.
Shoot the gun till groups widen,
give it a mild cleaning to get out carbon, hardly every have much copper fouling
Shoot it over and over and over till groups annoy my or hunting season is over.
I am a firm believer there is a short "seasoning" process to all barrels and barrels do need to be cleaned from time to time but if its rocking don't screw with it.

kballen@3rivers.net, "rifle-accuracy-reports.com" is interesting read. as mentioned, if you don't have bore guided & do it correctly, don't bother just go shoot

Lucas Bore guide for sure