Breaking in your rifle barrel


Q: Out at the range last week, I watched a guy breaking in a new barrel — at least that’s what he told me was doing. It looked like a lot of hard work to me.

He’d fire a shot and then run a brush dipped in solvent through the barrel followed by a couple of dry patches.

Then he’d fire a shot and repeat the process over and over again. Is it worthwhile going to all this trouble?

Joe Barnes

A: Hell no! These guys may think they’re breaking in their new rifle barrel, but all they are really doing is wasting time, powder and bullets.

The notion that a rifle barrel needs breaking in started with fanatical benchresters who hold to a theory that each bullet’s passage will polish any roughness out of the bore.

In my book, it is a worthless exercise and purely a waste of time.

Rifle loonies are definitely true believers, but very few of them are silly enough to believe that breaking in a barrel will make their .300 Win Mag sporter shoot like a .22-250 varminter.

And those who do are full of the stuff that makes roses grow.

 

 

 


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Nick Harvey

The late Nick Harvey (1931-2024) was one of the world's most experienced and knowledgeable gun writers, a true legend of the business. He wrote about firearms and hunting for about 70 years, published many books and uncounted articles, and travelled the world to hunt and shoot. His reloading manuals are highly sought after, and his knowledge of the subject was unmatched. He was Sporting Shooter's Technical Editor for almost 50 years. His work lives on here as part of his legacy to us all.

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