WhoKnowsWho
Member
Just wondering what people did when they got their rifle.
AR-15 Barrel Break in Poll
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bogie
Member
With the average AR-15, breaking in a barrel won't mean anything. Don't even worry about it with a chrome barrel.
With a steel barrel, you may see a bit of ease in cleaning, but since most AR owners don't clean every 15-20 rounds, it won't matter anyway.
Just shoot it.
With a steel barrel, you may see a bit of ease in cleaning, but since most AR owners don't clean every 15-20 rounds, it won't matter anyway.
Just shoot it.
A chrome bore is harder than woodpecker lips, designed for full auto fire. Doubt you can "break" one in.
Gale MacMillan always said to just shoot it. I feel he knew what he was talking about. I have observed they shoot funny if you clean them too often, but what do I know?
Gale MacMillan always said to just shoot it. I feel he knew what he was talking about. I have observed they shoot funny if you clean them too often, but what do I know?
Peetmoss
Member
Unless you are a match shooter with a 1000yrd rifle who cares. The AR is suposed to be fun gun, that can also be used for tatical applications and varment hunting. I am not going to waste my time breaking in my AR. I want to have fun with it when I take her out not clean it ever dang shot.
Rob96
Member
Non chrome lined and didn't do the break in. Read what Gale stated about it and agreed. I can't imagine my DPMS being anymore accurate.
Steve Smith
Moderator Emeritus
Hell, THEY don't even break in their rifles! I don't break in my 600 yard ARs.
Just shoot it! Clean a little more often in the beginning...why not?
Art Eatman
Moderator In Memoriam
Thinking back to various bits and pieces of reading through a long, long time: The first shots will burnish a barrel. Same as piston rings in the cylinder of a car's motor. PHil Sharpe and others, back in the 1930s, mentioned lapping a barrel by using only lead bullets for some number of shots.
When McMillan spoke of the perfect barrel, he was including the idea that the diameter be uniform throughout its length, as well as having as polished a surface as possible. Note that the quality of machine tools is much higher now than in the 1930s--or at least such machine tools are available if one pays the cost.
The fact that a barrel "is easier to clean" means that burnishing did occur, making a smoother surface. That indicates a less-than-perfect barrel at the start, which is to be expected at the price of a Remchester, etc. Whether or not the barrel is more accurate than otherwise is problematic. I don't believe one could take two barrels from the same manufacturer and do a break-in on one and not the other and have a valid comparison test for accuracy. 100 of each, maybe. Maybe.
I've just seen too many 1/2 MOA groups from rifles of mine, my father's and my uncle's, going back before 1950, to have any worries about "break-in".
Art
When McMillan spoke of the perfect barrel, he was including the idea that the diameter be uniform throughout its length, as well as having as polished a surface as possible. Note that the quality of machine tools is much higher now than in the 1930s--or at least such machine tools are available if one pays the cost.
The fact that a barrel "is easier to clean" means that burnishing did occur, making a smoother surface. That indicates a less-than-perfect barrel at the start, which is to be expected at the price of a Remchester, etc. Whether or not the barrel is more accurate than otherwise is problematic. I don't believe one could take two barrels from the same manufacturer and do a break-in on one and not the other and have a valid comparison test for accuracy. 100 of each, maybe. Maybe.
I've just seen too many 1/2 MOA groups from rifles of mine, my father's and my uncle's, going back before 1950, to have any worries about "break-in".
Art
Double Naught Spy
Sus Venator
While I realize that breaking in or seasoning of a barrel may really matter in some of the ultra precision bench rest target guns where the competitors feel that the life of their barrels is no more than about 1000 rounds, breaking in or seasoning an AR barrel is not the same.
I have NEVER run into a person who could tell if a barrel had been broken in or seasoning properly versus one that had not. For guns like the AR, those are military guns. Have you ever seen a jarhead seasoning an M-16 barrel? Nope, probably not. Those few 10,000ths of an inch less accurate shots at 100 yards with an unbroken in barrel are inconsequential for combat, self defense, and basic hunting. Those tiny amounts do matter when you are measuring pattern sizes with calipers, however.
I have NEVER run into a person who could tell if a barrel had been broken in or seasoning properly versus one that had not. For guns like the AR, those are military guns. Have you ever seen a jarhead seasoning an M-16 barrel? Nope, probably not. Those few 10,000ths of an inch less accurate shots at 100 yards with an unbroken in barrel are inconsequential for combat, self defense, and basic hunting. Those tiny amounts do matter when you are measuring pattern sizes with calipers, however.
meathammer
Member
I did a break-in with my Armalite (chrome barrel). I followed their recommended break-in procedure. I had the time to do it, so I figured it couldn't hurt. Does it make a difference? Don't know.
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