I have a DPMS upper (16'' stainless steel M-4, not chromed lined) mounted on a RRA lower that I put together myself. The completed upper came with an advisory card, stating a "brake in period". Clean once each round for the first twenty rounds, then once every 10 rounds for the next 100 rounds. OK, no big deal.
Question? Why did I not have to go through all of this with my 20'' chrome lined barrel from Bushmaster? Is it the chrome linning? Or diffrent manufacturers? Or does it matter at all?
Just a guess, But I don't think it matters at all. I have 14 AR-15 (variants) rifles and I have never "broke one in". I could be completly wrong but I also have never had problems with any of mine afterwards.
I'm sure a few will agree and a few won't. But thats just me.
This is a huge debate in all rifles. This "break-in" has surfaced over the last several years. Some claim it helps and some claim it speeds barrel deterioration. (If you're a hard-core conspiracy-theorist you know that this was actually started by the barrel makers to speed up a barrel's life so the customer would have to buy a new one faster)
I've done it both ways and I can't tell a difference either way. Just go enjoy your rifle.
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I have always followed the recommendations of the manufacture when it comes to break in. What's it hurt by doing it? I mean even if it is found that it doesn't work it won't really hurt anything to follow the recommendations. That's my $.02 anyways.
It will make a huge difference if you have any burrs... The copper hangs up on these, and will build up and become almost impossible to get off. While I don't think you need to clean EVERY round starting off, I would absolutely clean after every 5-10 for the first few mags, especially if you're talking about a precision setup.
Chances are, you probably won't NEED to, especially if you have a good quality barrel, but it's not going to hurt anything.
And with a chrome lined, the lining is so hard that it's not going to make any difference what you do.
I have followed the DPMS recomandations, like stated earlier what's it gonna hurt. My guess, after giving it some further thought, is that it was probibly a recomendation from their legal department. But I did spend over $600.00 for the upper, small price to pay for a littel peice of minde. It could very well be an inside joke by "berrel-smiths". I am glad to know I am not the only one who questioned the wisdom of the whole thing.
All of the other things like sighting in,load development, tuning the action,and accustomizing yourself to a new firearm,can be done while you are "breaking in"a new barrel.If "spray and pray"is your style,or you just don't care about max accuracy,breakin is really not going to show any benefit.But I personally,as a rifleman have ran a borescope while "breakin"and have seen what few ever actually see,the smoothing of machine work and flaws in a bore.As I stated,the necessary things for a new rifle,(firearm period) can be accomplished during "breakin"so there is virtually no wasted effort or time.Altho barrel mfg,s and firearms mfg,s may vary in routines,they all specify something.The ones that lap their barrels reccomend the least because a good lap job eleminates about all flaws and machine marks.The only other thing is work hardening which takes place in any firearm,including handguns and shotguns.This too is a controversial topic.I believe the work hardening should be done with a very cool barrel while friends have advocated getting the barrel hot.The trouble with "hot"is "what is hot"? I can tell what is cold,but can't tell when a barrel is exactly the right temp to get the best work hardening.I would think the consistency in temp which I can control when cold is more important than a variable temp when hot.The one thing I have observed was my "breakin"system led to my barrels lasting as much as one and a half times as long as friends that used little or no "breakin".As stated,if you are going to use hot barrels,nothing is going to help much. ,,,sam.
Here's how I broke in my barrel...I fired about 300 rounds through it. After that, I figured it was good and "broken in", and then I gave her a decent cleaning.
At 100yds, the bull's eye is diving for cover. Apparently, my break-in procedure works just fine.
Here's how I broke in my barrel...I fired about 300 rounds through it. After that, I figured it was good and "broken in", and then I gave her a decent cleaning.
At 100yds, the bull's eye is diving for cover. Apparently, my break-in procedure works just fine.
Here's how I broke in my barrel...I fired about 300 rounds through it. After that, I figured it was good and "broken in", and then I gave her a decent cleaning.
At 100yds, the bull's eye is diving for cover. Apparently, my break-in procedure works just fine.
I don't know if barrel break-in is nessisary. I understand how smothing the machine marks might increase accuracy. I also agree with those that have weighed in on the topic stating that break-in proceedures speed up what will happen naturally as you fire a few hundred rounds through your gun. To each his own but unless I get into bench rest shooting I don't anticipate much barrel break-in in my future.
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(If you're a hard-core conspiracy-theorist you know that this was actually started by the barrel makers to speed up a barrel's life so the customer would have to buy a new one faster)
I talked to a few barrel makers about break in procedures. They all said the same thing. They had no break in procedures until the internet and gun boards. They indicated they more or less just made up something to satisfy all the inquiries. Just use common sense.
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I talked to a few barrel makers about break in procedures. They all said the same thing. They had no break in procedures until the internet and gun boards. They indicated they more or less just made up something to satisfy all the inquiries. Just use common sense.
Madcratebuilder is right. If you belong to the NRA, check out the Nov. 2009 issue of American Rifleman. See the article "A 'Clean' Barrel" on page 67, by John Barsness, Field Editor. All this obsessive barrel cleaning is mostly bunk, according to him. Regarding the barrel and rifle manufacturers, he says the same thing Madcratebuilder says, above.
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I talked to a few barrel makers about break in procedures. They all said the same thing. They had no break in procedures until the internet and gun boards. They indicated they more or less just made up something to satisfy all the inquiries. Just use common sense.
If they said that it is strange.Back in the late 50,s I bought my first custom barrel,a Douglas,and they had a reccomended breakin procedure.It was in the seventies when next I bought custom barrels from several barrel mfg,s and they all had a reccomended breakin procedure.This included Douglas,E.R.Shaw,McGovern,McGowen,Krieger,Hart,Pac-Nor,and others.We didn't have computers at that time,but all had a breakin procedure.I do not give a rats as* whether you use the reccomended procedure,but don't tell me they didn't have one until computers came along.I have only messed with these confusers for about five years,but I have many,many years of experience with custom barrels.Friends of mine had computers in the early 90,s when they were first getting popular and there was a little on the subject but not much.Virtually all of my dealings with custom barrel mfg,s was up front and personal,either by letter,phone,or at the shop. Some don't even reccomend max loads for a few rounds until they have a chance to work harden,which is one of the big reasons for custom barrels.As I stated,I don't care what you do,but please don't tell something that just isn't that way. ,,,sam.
Madcratebuilder is right. If you belong to the NRA, check out the Nov. 2009 issue of American Rifleman. See the article "A 'Clean' Barrel" on page 67, by John Barsness, Field Editor. All this obsessive barrel cleaning is mostly bunk, according to him. Regarding the barrel and rifle manufacturers, he says the same thing Madcratebuilder says, above.
For him,that may be true.For me it isn't the best procedure.I once read an article by a (I believe) Lane Pierce that stated that deviation of fps wasn't important in accuracy,that 125fps made no difference.I have read many things written by gun editors that just didn't work that way.I consider what they say as a guide (if it isn't too rediculous) for something I can try if I wish.The two biggest points to breakin are work hardening,and easy cleaning.I like the thought of both of those. ,,,sam.
If this is just a fun range toy, do what you want. If you want the best accuracy out of your barrel, do the break in. At most, it will cost you some time. Personally, I find that using a bore snake during the break in helps speed the process.
NRA Lifer. God bless our troops.
