BREAK-IN a Barel

[Rocky Raab]

It is not excessive at all.

Time consuming, yes; but not excessive.

As bullet velocities go up (and cartridge pressure right along with it), the problem of bullet jacket fouling gets worse and worse. A standard factory bore that's almost unfired is fairly rough inside. The first bullets through it will be ground down almost as if you fired them over a file. Unless you get that jacket material and powder fouling out of there between shots, it will likely be there forever - and that bore will be even rougher for all its life.

Proper break-in removes not only the bullet jacket material, but the even harder powder fouling AND acts to "lap" the minor roughness out of the bore. A barrel that's been properly broken in stays cleaner, cleans up easier, and might even shoot a bit faster.

As an aside, custom barrels like Krieger, Shilen and such are hand-lapped when those companies install them. They don't need a break-in because the hand lapping is even better than a shooting break-in.

The good news is that shooting break-in needs to be done only once.