Barrel Breakin- Use moly bullets or go Naked ??or Don't Bother ???

M

miele

Guest
Hey Guys-
Awaiting the arrival of my model 10 conversion in 308 with a new
stainless Benchmark(which I was told is lapped) 26 inch barrel (new trigger,bedded,SSS plate etc):D
I usually do a 1 shot and clean until I can't stand it anymore then every
3,12,20 shots.:eek:
Since this barrel is suppose to be super duper lapped match grade do I:
Take that puppy out and shoot some groups ??
Break in with extensive cleaning with regular "naked" bullets??
Break in with cleaning and Moly Plated bullets,Just like I have been
shooting for years in my other 308 factory barrel ??
Have to keep my mind busy while waiting for the little brown truck
to arrive :D:D
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I shoot molied in my Border & Kreiger .30 barrels & I break in with molied pills. I have a bunch of 220 SMKs I prefer not to use in anger any more & with them, cleaning after each shot, I usually get the job done in 4 or 5 rounds. The argument I'm most comfortable with is that in a custom barrel, the process is desirable to clean any minute dags off the throating/lede that will about inevitably occur irrespective of the skill of the gunsmith & thus avoid really plating up the bore if those earlier & heavier consequential deposits get out of hand.

If a barrel needs shooting to lap out the bore, I don't accept that it is a viable precision tool.
 
I only use moly in my 20BR, but I broke in the barrel with naked bullets. I break in all my Shilens with the 1-shot and clean routine, but it usually only takes about 6 shots to get the job done. Since I'm usually sighting in a scope and/or using starting loads to check for pressure during this process anyway, I don't consider this a waste of my time or extra wear and tear on the barrel.
 
Do you guys think using naked bullets is the way to go when
breaking in a new barrel ??
Or if I will be using moly bullets for the rest of the barrel life,breaking
in with moly bulltes is the way to go :confused:
This is probably a "nit picking " question but your opinions and
theorys are very helpful when it is a hard problem to decide on.
I know the moly bullet debate will go on forever but never heard
mentioning of barrel break in using moly or not .
Thanks
John
 
Miele

Even if you go wrong, you'll still be right. Most rifles I build these days have a popular but "un-lapped" barrel. Okay, that'd be Douglas. I do a "shoot-n-clean" for 20 rounds with naked bullets, just because someone who knew more about these things than I...(almost anyone), suggested the method with any barrel that was not lapped. After the break-in, I use moly bullets.

In all honesty, it's really not that big a deal to "process" the new barrel break-in. If it helps, great, if it's a waste of time, so what? - you didn't hurt anything and you still got to shoot. Enjoy every pull of the trigger.

Have fun.
 
Generally the moly believers will break in nekkid and then switch to moly and never look back.

Or at least that's how it was 2-3yrs ago, the decade of The Last Moly War, maybe an archive search will help you.

I've tried moly 4 different ways, right now I use it occasionally. For instance I have a 30 Krieger with only 450rds thru it, I was using 112BIB's and ran out. I happened to have several hundred 118BIB's that were moly'd, I switched. A hunnerd rounds later I switched back.


There is no such thing as getting "too nit-picky" around accuracy. I've bought barrels specifically for moly and they've never seen a naked bullet after break-in. I'm anal about stuff until I've proved to MY OWN satisfaction whether or not something works..........


I no longer break in and I no longer fear nor love moly, it's just not a thing for me. Other issues have excluded or occluded these two :D


Sorry to be of no help whatsoever :)



LOL


al
 
No not use moly to break in. Moly is a lub. It will take much longer.

Break in with bare bullet. I start with short copper bullet with low velocity. Shoot one and clean w JB Bore Paste & Kroil. I use tight patch 25 strokes with the JB.

With a premium barrel after ten shots it should be very smooth. Then I go to 3 or 5 between cleaning.

Usually within 20 shots the bore scope will show little to no copper after five shots.

I tend to shoot 50 shots or more bare before I switch to moly.

Why Moly? It does not improve accuracy. It does lub the barrel. I seem to get longer barrel life with moly than without moly. I can shoot more rounds between cleaning. Mostly I think a bullet with additional slick is better over the long run. All do not agree with this.
 
Barrel break in

Your choice and your decision; I don't break in barrels anymore with the one shot break in process. With match grade barrels, I may shoot a group of five and clean for a total of twenty rounds. After twenty rounds, I'll always clean but I start shooting groups. I see no legitimate reason to go through the excrutiating one shot, clean ordeal. I use a Hawkeye borescope and have seen no observable difference in the one shot method vs. shooting five and cleaning.
Chino69
 
The little brown truck arrived yesterday !!

Got the rifle back yesterday with the Benchmark Barrel,Savage sharp
shooter trigger,Bedded.SSS lug etc :D
So I run some wet patches with Butches and found out the rifle has
already been test fired !?! Really not a problem,probably a good thing
for the smith to make sure everything is OK:rolleyes:
I cleaned it out real good with Butches and JB got out to the range with
30 mile winds and rain.beach umbrella then did the shoot and clean thing
3 times.Bore sited the rifle at 100 yards 1 st shot was 8 inches to the left
cranked in to zero (cleaned again)2nd shot right in bullseye (cleaned again)
3rd shot extremely close to shot #2 (cleaned again) Now I am wet cold
definate hypothermia ....Shot #4 put the rifle away gear all wet , I hiked
down to the 100 yard target which was all soggy and the last shot cut right
into #3 measure .505 ctc(last 3 shots) :D:D From then on I really don't remember much except driving
home with a really big (smile that is !!) Cleaned with Butches and JB !!
I might just quit the shoot and clean thing or may just start load developemnet and
shoot this puppy ??
Thanks for all the Help Guys !!
PS I did use molycoated bullets for "break in" thats all I had loaded up,ready to go !!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Quality barrels will spoil ya!

505 ctc(last 3 shots) From then on I really don't remember much except driving
home with a really big (smile that is !!) Cleaned with Butches and JB !!
I might just quit the shoot and clean thing or may just start load developemnet and
shoot this puppy ??

Honestly it's not the barrel bore your breaking-in on a custom high-end barrel but the throat.
Even the sharpest "freshest" reamer will leave fine burrs on the downward side of the lands in the throat. This induces little fine copper streaks down
the bore... Not to worry, this is normal. Should go away after anywhere between 10-30 rounds. These burrs have to be burned away (shot out).
Just shoot and clean after 10-20 rounds. Clean through. Repeat.

Wether coated or non coated bullets. Develop load and SMILE with .30cal Bug holes!:) After somr time getting your bench technique solid and repeatable, reading wind flags... .505 groups will seem BIG...!;)

Have fun and enjoy!
cale
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top