Barrel Break In Newb Question

I,kinda use a break in procedure,which is fairly basic, I clean the new barrel with
plain liquid windex untill patches come out totally clean, this removes most machine oils. Then
I shoot aprox 10 rounds and give a simple cleaning with windex again,which also removes copper,
shoot 10 more times,clean again. after that I figure its broke in after just one box of ammo.
accuracy will probally continue to improve,just keep an eye out for copper fouling (rough bores
collect more copper than smooth ones) if you get a lot of copper after just 10 rounds the bore is still
not broken in yet.(you should get very little fouling after 10 rounds) some shooters go 100 rounds
or more without cleaning for copper,but run a clean (non copper solvent) patch every few rounds.
but,this is just my procedure. All of my rifles are really good shooters.

El Chorizo said:

I like to use the Tubb's final finish lapping bullets. If really smooths out the tooling marks and make the rifle clean much easier and foul even less.

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Rather than "fire lapping" which you have no control over, why not learn how to "hand lap". If you have the ability to melt a fishing sinker you can hand lap a bore and get a far better job with less risk of ruining a throat.

Get a cast iron lead ladle made by Lyman. Not expensive. Use a metal patch loop on the end of a cleaning rod. Insert the rod in the bore from the chamber end and extend it through the muzzle. Wrap the bottom of the patch look with some cotton based string (not polyester or nylon) to form a dam for the melted lead. Push the look back into the barrel using a tooth pick or such to make sure the string is packed tightly but leaving the "loop" exposed in the barrel. Pour the melted lead into the bore, stopping before it reaches the crown. When cool you can tap the end of the rod to remove your "lap" from the bore.

Cut some spiral grooves in the lap with a knife blade (I make mine at right angles to the rifling), apply some lapping compound to the lap, insert it in the bore from the chamber end, and work it back and forth in full length strokes. I start with a fine grit (300) and work down to even finer (600). When finished lapping and there are no "tight spots" in the bore, I finish with J-B Bore Bright which is a jewelers rouge like material. You will have to make several "laps" but just melt the lead off the patch loop and repeat.

Hand lapping is much more controlled and doesn't eat off one side of the rifling at the throat area.

There are numerous YouTube videos on Hand Lapping. The finest barrels made are hand lapped, not fire lapped.

rcowan said:

I learn something new every day on this site. I never heard of using shaving creme or Windex on a gun. Simple green yes.
Thanks
RC

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Anything you use in your home or shop to clean a dirty surface can be used to clean a rifle bore. If you need to remove any light copper fouling just use one with ammonia.

When I was a kid (I was actually a 'road guide' for the three wise men) we used to take a bowl of hot soapy water, immerse the muzzle of our military surplus rifles in it, then using a cleaning rod with patch stuck in it from the chamber end, pull the water up into the bore than push it back out. The wet patch worked just like a pump piston. I used either Tide laundry detergent (the old white granular stuff) or some Joy Dish soap liquid. This washed all the carbon and un-burned powder out of the bore and was an important step when using the old corrosive primed surplus ammo.

After the "bath" in soap and water, only then did we go to work with a patch and some bore cleaner (Hoppe's for me).

Like I said, look under the kitchen sink. Just about anything you use to clean kitchen surfaces can be used to clean out a bore and if it has ammonia in it the copper will go too.

Navionpilot said:

Unfortunately, I am the guy whose airplane model windows were covered in glue. I am not the guy to be melting and pouring lead!

But I wonder, what results would I get if i impregnated a cleaning patch with 300 (then 600) grit polishing compound, then pushed it through the bore a dozen times or so?

I have a 700P waiting for the IRS to give me my money back. Remington suggested the usual break in procedure.

Clean/oil every shot x 10.
Clean/oil every other shot x 5

This does make me think a pre polish might cut the high edges off before round one.

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The purpose of using a "lap" with the coarser grits is that it will follow the lands and grooves, only knocking down the sharp parts of each. If you use a patch with anything coarser than the J-B Bore Brite you run the risk of rounding the lands off and actually "grinding" them down.

If you are as "challenged" as you say, just get a small jar of J-B Bore Bright and follow the instructions. As I posted earlier, it's a compound made with a jeweler's rouge like substance that merely polishes. It's good stuff to have around for cleaning a bore that might have some carbon stuck in it or some copper in the throat area.

I know a local Bench Rest shooter that uses a jar of it a year while maintaining the throat area of his competition rifles.

The nice thing about the J-B Bore Bright is that it is made of particles that merely polish and don't become embedded in the barrel metal. When you're done polishing it cleans out easily with bore cleaner and patches.

I wouldn't hesitate to use it to "pre-polish" a brand new factory barrel. Would get you to your goal with fewer rounds.