Kimber barrel break in?

[Drummond]

Hi guys, I just got a .300 win mag Kimber Montana and I am curious about everyone's thoughts on breaking in barrels? I have never followed any recommendations on previous rifles but since i'm starting with a round count of 0 I figured I would at least hear out the pros and cons. I always let barrels cool between shots at the range but what about a specific first time procedure?

 

[100percent]

Shoot and Clean 5-10 rounds and forget it until accuracy diminishes!

 

[Sled]

maybe i'm lazy but i clean it when i get it and just shoot it until i feel like cleaning it. that is with factory barrels. i do bore scope from time to time though.

 

[WCB]

Clean out of the box and start shooting. Deep Clean barrel when accuracy goes to hell.

 

[MarcherLord]

Clean from factory and then have at it.

 

[menhaden_man]

Barrel Break-In Procedure | Nosler - Bullets, Brass, Ammunition & Rifles

www.nosler.com

There’s a long thread on here about this... lots of guys say don’t worry, others recommend it. I do a simpler version of what Nosler and others recommend. Even if it is a waste of time to some, I don’t mind the effort.

 

[JeffRaines]

I have had numerous accurate rifles and have yet to follow any kind of barrel break in procedure.

The rifles are test fired at the factory, when I get them I normally strip them down to bare metal with wipeout and patches and then I leave them until they let me know they need to be cleaned again... usually when accuracy falls off some it’s time to clean.

Id probably go to bare metal if I was switching between bullet types too - like say you were shooting monos and decide to switch to regular.

 

[Sled]

Id probably go to bare metal if I was switching between bullet types too - like say you were shooting monos and decide to switch to regular.

I'm curious as to your reason? I did this too for a while but have stopped when I started forgetting to do so. I haven't noticed any issues out of my mind range guns.

 

[deerhunter628]

Kimber recommends a certain barrel break in. At least they did with my Mountain Ascent. I would follow the manufactures recommendation.

 

[JeffRaines]

I'm curious as to your reason? I did this too for a while but have stopped when I started forgetting to do so. I haven't noticed any issues out of my mind range guns.

Im no expert but I’ve heard there can be excessive fouling with mono bullets.

I say heard, not experienced first hand.

 

[Sled]

Im no expert but I’ve heard there can be excessive fouling with mono bullets.

I say heard, not experienced first hand.

I did hear that when they came out but most, like barnes, are using relief cuts behind the ogive to reduce pressure and bearing surface (which should reduce fouling).

 

[Wapiti1]

All "breaking in" a barrel is doing is removing the machining burrs the chamber reamer made in the throat and leade of the chamber. Normal shooting will do this without any special procedures. That said, fouling in that region makes break in slower and not as uniform. A clean throat and lead wear evenly compared to a throat and lead with varying amounts of residue on them.

In practical terms, only benchrest guys and very skilled shooters can see the difference in their group size. But they care about tenths of an inch on a group that is .25" center to center.

Jeremy

 

[False_Cast]

Just shoot it.

 

[Kimber7man]

I’ve found that the Kimber barrels heat up so quickly that I’ve done the “shoot 3 and then clean“ routine on the Kimbers I’ve had, since I needed to let them cool down anyway.

 

[Warrior27]

Kimber recommends a certain barrel break in. At least they did with my Mountain Ascent. I would follow the manufactures recommendation.

This in my opinion.