Kreiger barrel break-in

J

jaybic

Guest
Hey all,

The gun smith called and said that Kreiger had shipped my new .308 barrel and my newly tuned up Rem 700 will be done soon. My question is this.

Is it necessary to do any sort of barrel bread-in on a hand-lapped barrel like this? I am kinda hoping to be able to skip the....shoot...clean...shoot...clean thing and get right to load testing.

I have understood(mistakenly perhaps) that a break-in is to fire-polish away reamer marks and various barrel burs and imperfections in factory barrels, yes?

Does this still apply to the new super-duper high falutin wonder tube that I am having installed?

Thanks for any advice in advance. I just dont want to mess up a brand new barrel.

Thanks again,

Jaybic
 
Barrel break in

Jay,
For peace of mind I would follow Kreiger's recommended break in as it sounds like this is your first custom barrel. This way you won't be second guessing yourself.

There are many different methods of breaking barrels in. For years, I followed the one shot clean method religiously. I started to do some research and bought a Hawkeye borescope to aid in my cleaning as well as monitor throat erosion, wear, etc. The last several custom barrels did not get the one shot clean method I used previously. I would shoot a group of five and then clean for a total of four cycles or twenty rounds. After that I started shooting twenty rounds followed by cleaning. The borescope determined my regimen. I have Kreigers, Harts, and Pac Nor barrels and have monitored the break in process for my own satisfaction and education. I have found no benefit to the one shot clean process vs. my method.

I'm not recommending you follow my method, just giving you my experience. If you follow Kreiger's method, you won't go wrong. I'm just too damned eager to start shooting a new barrel.
Chino69
 
Chino,

Thanks for the advice. You hit it on the head. This is my first custom barrel and while it is/will be on a printed and completely gone thru 700 action, I have read it said here enough times to know that its not benchrest caliber accurate but I would like to make sure I do this correctly and not mess up an expensive barrel. I want to wring all I can out if it, so if its shoot, clean...ect so be it.

Will Kreiger include instructions with the barrel of any sort?

Thanks,

jaybic
 
Go to Kreiger's website. I don't think they come with the barrels, mine didn't. I clean a new barrel and then start shooting it. A good lapped barrel should be fine from the get go.
Butch
 
I clean the barrel when I first receieve it and then I shoot away....This was with my Krieger. I don't buy into break-in as a bore rod in the barrel that many times up front can't be good.
 
Read the Kreiger article on break in and follow their instructions. (on their web site)
 
Just did but thanks anyway. I do appreciate all the tips. I am getting pretty anxious as this is my first semi/custom type gun and it shot very well as a 22-250 which it used to be. I am expecting great things(probably too much) from it as a .308 and I just found a competition range about 40 miles away and I might try to shoot some 600 yard F-class with it, just to see how it/I do. Otherwise, it was just designed to be my windy day/long range coyote whacker.

My goal is to be able to keep 5 bullets under a quarter at 100 yards and I will be happy. Any better and its just extra to me.

Anyone with any long-range coyote loads in .308, I would appreciate hearing your opinions also.

Thanks,

Jamie
 
With a .308 be happy if you keep them in the .300's... it kicks...

If you decide to "break-in" the barrel don't consider those shots wasted... get it on paper and check load pressures and accuracy with them until you try for a group with a particular load...
 
Well,

I kinda been hoping to avoid asking the dumb question of the day but I honestly dont know for sure what you guys mean when you say "in the .300s"

I think that means .3 thousands over the bulllet diameter of .308 so would that mean I shot a group of .608 which is just over 1/2 inch? I read all the posts and see fellas shooting in the .2s and .019...ect and I just dont quite catch on as to how big or small that really is.

As I understand it, groups are measured from the farthest apart two bullet holes(This is me shooting, there will be none of this "one raggedy hole" stuff ....I think I just picked on myself?). Anyway, then subtract the bullet diameter and that is your group size, yes?

Purely fictional but here goes.

Farthest two holes in 5 shot group. .500
Subtract bullet diameter -.308
Group size is +.192

Is this correct? Would this mean that the rifle is shooting in the "high 1s"?

Again, I apologize for the question but I am trying not to make a liar/idiot out of myself next time I get into a conversation and tell some fella I just sent two .308 bullets thru a hole that measures .224 and find out the embarassing way that he is waaaayyy smarter about this than me.

Thanks everyone,

Jamie
 
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1st thing when you get it, clean the barrel real good with a solvent. Load up your start load and head to the range. Fire 1 and clean till there is no trace of copper. Fire 1 and clean again real good. Now start shooting 3 rounds for group. If it's hole for hole, than your done with the break in and start working up the load. I have done this with all my kreigers and they worked out fine. I have one right now chambered in 6.5 x 284 and I'm thinking of rebarreling it, but it just won't die. The barrel was 30" long and shot like a house on fire at matches. 1,876 rounds, i cut 3" out of the throat and rechambered it. last summer when i thought that the barrel was just about done because of the rounds thru it (1,389) on a set back barrel, i was at a match in N.C and had 4 shots measure .406 and 1 pulled out at 600yds. Normally i don't shoot that gun much because i gave it to my boy as a starter gun for 600yd matches. All this summer the gun is shooting great. Kreiger is an outstanding barrel and the way i break it in, i don't see why i would have to do the drawn out procedure. My other barrels have produced the same type of accuracy.
 
Group size is measured center to center on the farthest two shots in the group. If the bullets cut into each other for that infamous "one hole group", then you have to carefully measure the outside two farthest holes and subtract one bullet diameter to get the group size. Your quarter inch group with a .308 Win would measure .558" on the outside. Target paper and the way it reacts to a bullet's passage can make measuring the group very difficult at times. That is the reason you have target measuring committees in benchrest and plug gauges for the bullseye game. It ain't as easy as it first appears.
 
Barrels can't count. Avoid heat. Clean it when you first get it and then as needed. (that means at the end of a session or when accuracy falls off) A few passes with some JB paste won't hurt for your first few cleanings. Not a whole lot of way kewl voodoo to it. ;)
 
I have read Krieger's method for breakin in the past. Lately, from John himself, he says you don't need to break in a barrel of his. What he does say is you need to break in the throat area after chambering because that is where the cutting was done to cause the roughness.
 
Jaybic,
If you have never shot a 308 win from a bench, your in for a surprise. It kicks ALOT more than a 22-250. Normally on this site, when people are talking about really small groups, they are coming from a 6ppc or 22ppc variant. Totally different ballgame with these rounds.

For general measuring, measure from the outside of the two farthest bullets and subtract .308 If you want to be more precise, measure a single bullet hole and then subtract that amount. You'll find that the hole in the paper is usually a little smaller than the bullet diameter.

Hovis
 
Throat break in

Jkob said:
I have read Krieger's method for breakin in the past. Lately, from John himself, he says you don't need to break in a barrel of his. What he does say is you need to break in the throat area after chambering because that is where the cutting was done to cause the roughness.
Click to expand...

I agree with the above and that is why I abandoned the one shot, clean method. If you examine the throat area of a chamber using a borescope, you'll see tiny circumferential marks left by the reamer. The best reamers and gunsmiths cannot get away from this tiny marks. Eventually, through the shooting and cleaning process, these marks will be worn away. This will take place after approx. 200 +/- rds. have been through the barrel.
Chino69
 
Hey fellas,

I used to shoot an old 30.06 moded 742 remington. That was over 20 years ago as a kid, and it being an autoloader( and horribly inaccurate as I recall)probably does not give me a clue as to what I am in for, but that is the entire sum of my .30 caliber experience. I really have no idea what to expect off a bench with a bolt gun in .308.

I assume it cant recoil any harder that a 12 gauge full of slugs or my muzzleloader with 150 grains of pyrodex can it? Oh well,

Anyway, thanks again to you all for the advice,

Jamie
 
I'm assuming this gun will be fairly heavy. My 8 yr. old son shoots my Savage .308 tactical with no complaints.
 
what does the gun weigh...

if it is over 10lb it wont be tooo uncomfortable to shoot and if it has a break...it is very tame.....OBTW...I used to shoot 10 or so and clean every shot....any more I clean every shot till the gun is zeroed.((usually 3 0r 4 shots)) then shoot a cupla 3 shot groups to check load and zero...then some 5 shot groups (cleaning between groups...) after 20 shots I just pour the coal to it!!!!!!....gunpowder that is....Roger
 
Its a Rem 700 vs with a 26in number 5 contour barrel, 6x18 VX II scope so it must go about 10lbs I would think. Never really weighed it so I am not sure bu nothing too crazy.
 
The real idea is to....

When breaking in a new custom barrel the real idea is not to let the barrel get hot and not to let it copper foul to a point that it requires a lot of effort to get all the copper out.

One shot and clean, two shots and clean, five shots and clean is whatever is working.

The instructions are a guideline.

As stated by others working up a load at the same time, should or is a good idea.

Not certain what you will use this rifle for; however .308's perform well with 165's or 168's depending if its game or targets.

I prefer Lapua brass, Varget, GM210M primers and Sierra bullets with a light jam and those amazing Lee Collets Dies. This combo works wonders in several of my .308's.

I never shoot more than two shots with the same amount of powder. As explained to me "If two shots aren't any good then another will not help" I pick the weight of bullet I want to shoot then work up to the desired velocity and then fine tune for accuracy.

Best wishes
 
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