New Rifle Break in- The Practical Way

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PunchinPaper

New member
Hi I have been searching for a do it all rifle
, and have finnally made my decision.
The rifle I have chose will be for hunting (Deer,Ferral hogs,& anything in between) ,and fun at the range!!
The rifle I have picked is a Savage 30-06 w/(accu-trigger)!!

The question I have is: What is the Best practical way to break in a new rifle?

I have read alot about different ways to break in a new barrel/rifle.
Things like cleaning after each shot and using certain cleaners to do so.
And stuff like-shooting a round every ten mins to keep the barrel stress down.
And so on and so fourth.
I am not going to be using this rifle in any benchrest comps or anything like that. I just want to know what will be the best for my new rifle.
I was thinking that I should shoot a few boxes of ammo out of it ,clean and enjoy. Until I stumbled up on all the talk about "break in process ".
 
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twins

New member
The above recommendations covered all we need to know about "break-in" (whatever that means) required.

But before your first shot, just make sure to clean the barrel/bolt/receiver once over to remove any debris/oil.

You have the right idea already on how to "break-in" a rifle.

I was thinking that I should shoot a few boxes of ammo out of it
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kd7sgm

New member
Do you really think that the first few dozen rounds you fire through a new barrel has anything to do with how the rifle will shoot for the remainder of its life? break in means polishing out machining imperfections however small polishing is a small amount of surface wear. The barrel of a rifle is hardened steel designed to last for thousands of rounds and not subject to the effects of a few dozen rounds. This is akin to thinking that the engine of a new car will be broken in after a few seconds of running.
 
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ohen cepel

New member
I think the break in thing is a bit of a myth.

You should clean the barrel well in case there are filings from the production process and heavy grease for preservation.

Then, some shooting and normal cleaning are in order.

Several companies guarantee their rifles to shoot 1MOA or less with the right ammo. Don't think they say anything about how you must break in the rifle in order to meet their guarantee.
 
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PawPaw

New member
I normally clean it first, then fire it. Half a dozen shots or twenty shots, then clean it again. I keep cleaning it until the sight-in before hunting season, then I leave it alone, as I might only fire five or six times before the end of the season.

Once you find a load you like, expect that Savage to show tighter groups after you've fired 200 rounds through it. My .30-06 Savage 110 is my go-to hunting rifle. If I don't know what the terrain will look like or the game might be, I grab the -06. It's a fine rifle and deserves to be shot.
 
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hooligan1

New member
I started a thread on this very subject a year or so ago. Mostly the fellas here told me to shoot it, then clean it then shoot it some more and clean it some more. But this is what I did,,,,,1st. I cleaned the rifle, thoroughly. 2nd. I took the manufactures advice and shot 1 shot and scrubbed the barrel, then ran a patch through it, I did this a total of ten shots. 3rd. After the first ten shots then I shot three round groups, and cleaned the barrel thoroughly between each 3-round group, (all the while, I'm sighting this rifle in;)) until the box of twenty shells were empty. 4th I opened the second box (as two boxes were required for this particular break-in) and shot this box as 5-round groups, cleaning the barrel thoroughly between each 5-round group. That was the typical Break in, for my Weatherby Vanguard. And on top of that it is sighted in to boot!!! and yes it did start to shoot tighter by the time it was through.:)
 
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TheBear

New member
The whole thing with breaking in barrels is a myth. just a waste of bullets and time. you can "break in" the action of a rifle to be more smooth but breaking in a barrel is just nonsense. Thats why in europe no one does it.
 
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Art Eatman

Staff in Memoriam
Dangfino. I was getting sub-MOA groups for almost fifty years before I ever even heard of "barrel break-in" in 1999, here on TFL.

Gale McMillan had an idea who started the deal, which grew and grew as young guys went to work for gun companies and spread the myth.
 
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ZeroJunk

New member
Gale McMillan himself explained why a barrel settles down and shoots better after a few hundred rounds. Some of us are never going to shoot out a barrel. So taking some time up front to iron out any burrs left by a dull throater can make a rifle shoot better quicker and the removal of picked up copper easier.
 
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timelinex

New member
And for that matter, cars these days don't need to be broken in either..... Almost all manufacturer's prebreak in most the parts. Just had my clutch redone, asked if I needed to do the 500mile break in and was delighted when they told me its already all done in the factory.
 
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jhgreasemonkey

New member
The rifle I have picked is a Savage 30-06 w/(accu-trigger)!!
Click to expand...
Good choice. I have the same rifle. Make sure there is no crud in the barrel and go shooting. I didn't break in the barrel on either of my savage 110's and it cleary didn't hurt anything because they are both sub moa. I've had other rifles that I bought new and didn't break in. They all shot fine. I don't buy the whole barrel break in procedure.
 
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LipCa

New member
I would have picked a lighter caliber for those animals and "fun" shooting at the range.
After 30 or 40 rounds of a 30-06 at the range, it won't be fun anymore.
A 243 would do great for those animals and be "fun" at the range.
After 50+ years of hunting, I use the "big" guns for elk(although I have killed elk with the 243) and the 243 for smaller(deer, etc)
Don't get me wrong, a 30-06 is an excellent caliber. I had one for many years.
Funny thing, when you shoot a rifle while hunting, you don't feel the recoil. Shoot it at the range, you feel every recoil.
 
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