Does anyone here remember the break-in method that the late Skip Otto used to break in new barrels? I remember that he fired bullets down the new barrel that had a coating of 3-in-1 oil. That's is about all I remember about it. Please share if you know the particulars of his method. Thanks, James
Skip Otto's break-in method for new barrels ? ?
- Thread starter JDMock
- Start date
I remember it as ATF!
I printed off a bunch of his stuff about tuning with pennies and cups of water. And our threads about "bullets seated long for fireforming" (Skipper actually took me up on my testing challenge
)
I'll go look, maybe got lucky and saved the break-in stuff too...
I printed off a bunch of his stuff about tuning with pennies and cups of water. And our threads about "bullets seated long for fireforming" (Skipper actually took me up on my testing challenge
)I'll go look, maybe got lucky and saved the break-in stuff too...
antelopedundee
internet bum
Here's one from Nosler. Seems to be the benchmark for the industry as I recall from learning about it long ago.
https://www.nosler.com/blog/news-and-articles/2016/2/24/custom-rifle-barrel-break-in-procedure
I recall [but can't place] a cleaning procedure where the barrel was oiled afterwards with the logic being that an oiled barrel will take longer to foul.
Pete Wass
Well-known member
As I rercall
The Great One shoots em, if they shoot he keeps shootin em, if they don't, they go into the pile.
It probably doesn't hurt anything to go through the superscribed break in procedure but if one polished the lead of their barrel before they shoot it, likely they have done everything shooting 40 rounds does. I quit the break in process decades ago. I never saw any difference between doing it and not doing it.
Pete
The Great One shoots em, if they shoot he keeps shootin em, if they don't, they go into the pile.
It probably doesn't hurt anything to go through the superscribed break in procedure but if one polished the lead of their barrel before they shoot it, likely they have done everything shooting 40 rounds does. I quit the break in process decades ago. I never saw any difference between doing it and not doing it.
Pete
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mwezell
Mike Ezell
Lol! Ok, in a perfect world, I can see how his hob method MAY have some positive effect. In the world WE live in, everything has tolerances, including the claimed angle of said leade and the hobb itself. If the two match absolutely perfectly, I can see the potential for improvement of the finish on the leade.
BUT...how cam pushing a tapered mandrel into a leade that doesn't absolutely match it not create a mashed area in the leade rather than evenly smoothing it out? Somethin's gotta give and metal be displaced in some areas more than in others.
Granted, he's doing it in barrels that only see soft lead bullets but I fail to see how this can be worthwhile or even something that should be considered doing to a new chamber and barrel. Things get pretty hairy quickly when dealing with small angles and even very tiny differences between the two angles of the leade and the hob. All I can visualize is lands getting "mushed out in some areas, or a portion of the leade having some purty serious burrs on the edges of the lands.
I'm very open to learning more about this process and hope you or someone can convince me how the "hob" process does more benefit than harm.
Remember, the man does his work on a dirt floor shop. I believe matching the two angles "EXACTLY" WOULD BE OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE
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geo.ulrich
Member
What he said......
So I've never hobbed a leade..... (still like to lissen to Calfee, I just love a man who'll SAY WHAT HE THINKS..... I don't have to agree with him, just like to hear him say it. If more folks could clearly know what they tho.... ohhh, politics...) but I DO look at it with the Hawkeye and I have dragged a patch thru the cut basically "with my eyes closed" lissening for hangups before I HAD a Hawkeye.....
I cut my leade as a separate operation most of the time now but either road, I don't GET no burrs most gen'lish so I don't do anything but check 'em.... and check for copper when I shoot.
AND.... I check for the copper in the sunlight, with my eyeballs, at the muzzle, and if there ain't none that tells me the leade is clean too.