Break in new gun

[offthepaper]

I've have a few hanguns that I bought used at different gun shows, but never purchased a brand new one. I often hear/read about how important it is to properly "break-in" a new handgun.
What is the best method of breaking in a new auto, and what would the consequences be of not performing the break in procedure?
Does a new revolver also require a break in procedure before being given general use?

 

[HSMITH]

The best thing you can do is clean it normally just in case there is any debris left from the manufacturing process, lube as specified in the manual, and shoot it from that point on like a used gun you bought at the gunshow. Just shoot it, clean, lube and shoot some more.

99.99% of new revolvers will benefit greatly from a lot of dry fire, stroke it through double action without disturbing the sights until you can't keep them anywhere near steady, then do another couple hundred 'shots' to get the muscle strength and tone for good shooting. Do this for a couple weeks, adding up to at least 5000 dry fire 'shots'. It will help your shooting and the smoothness of the gun. Beats the heck out of spring kits that compromise reliability.......

 

[pauli]

the best way to break in a gun is to shoot it. a lot.

 

[Shipwreck]

I am the opposite - I never buy used.

Unless it is a 1911, U probably will have no issues w/ break in - Just take the new gun home, disassemble it - clean it, and then re lube it - do all that BEFORE U fire it the first time. Some companies use packing grease, and some may not have enough lube to fire w/o the cleaning 1st.

I ALWAYS clean a gun before firing the 1st time.

Only exception - a Glock - leave that gold colored grease on the gun - it is actually a good lubricant and is supposed to help break the gun in. Anyway, I just use a toothbrush to thros a little more oil on the frame rails and the barrel, and then go shoot that.

 

[AirForceShooter]

Shoot it like you're trying to break it.

AFS

 

[Alerion]

Count me in as one of the "clean and lube it before you shoot it the first time" crowd. I've actually seen that mentioned in a couple of owner's manuals.

As far as "what would the consequences be of not performing the break in procedure?" The biggest consequence would probably be having the gun turn out to be a lemon the first time you needed it. I will not carry any gun that I haven't fired at least 200 rounds through. And that's a bare minimum. The biggest concern is to establish confidence in the gun. If I'm going to carry a gun I don't expect to see any problems in that first 200 rounds otherwise the initial the round count is going to go way up. I have one gun that had FTFs in the first 2-3 magazines. Then the problem stopped and it's never happened again but I probably ran 500+ rounds through that gun before I carried it.

OTOH, I have guns that are nice to shoot on the range, but fail once in a while, that I will never use as a carry weapon. Of course a lot of the guns I've bought I never intended to carry.

Tom

 

[Alerion]

BTW, true story;

I asked a friend if I could shoot on his property out in the country. He agreed and came out with me to shoot his pistol, which turned out to be a Jennings. <insert collective moan here>

As we were walking a considerable distance back to his woods. He was on a constant diatribe about how people pay way too much for guns. He'd bought two Jennings' for $75 each (the other was for his wife), they were both 100% reliable, and had never let him down. Yadda, Yadda, Yadda...

So we got out to the woods, set out some assorted targets and a computer, (That's a different story!) pulled out an AR-15 and proceeded to start blowing things up. After a while we decided to switch over to handguns so he pulls out his mighty Jennings, sights on the target, and....click! Jacks another round in, tries again and...click! After about five more attempts he tries using some of my ammo and...click...click...click! Turns out he and his wife have been carrying these things for a couple of years and had never attempted to fire either one. He was also kind of surprised that I totally refused to even try to fire his gun. I told him I'm too fond of my hand to try shooting a Jennings with it.

Anyway, both Jennings, still unfired (although his wife's never tried), wound up being bent up in a vice and tossed into a pond on his property. His wife now carries a S&W J-frame and he carries a Bersa which meets almost all of his reasons for buying a Jennings except it actually works. BTW, we did a 200 round break in on the Bersa, without a hiccup, a couple of days after he got it!

Tom

 

[Black Majik]

Breaking in a new pistol means to just lube it as you usually would and to shoot the bejeezus as you normally would also.

I don't see why people make such a big deal of the breakin' period. No special care or pampering needed.

 

[MSgt B]

I'll chime in with shipwreck

My 1911 is the first auto that I've had to "break in". I just finished firing 900 rounds through it last weekend (over a couple months). It was the first time it had fired 100 rounds without a jam.
Very frustrating. According to 1911Tuner, this is a more recent development in firearms manufacturing. It was not always "the norm" to have a break in period on handguns, even 1911's.

Broken or not, I love my 1911.

 

[gudel]

I broke in my SA 1911 by sending it back to SA. It came back, but it shot high. I decided to let someone else break in that gun instead.

 

[PinnedAndRecessed]

I've have a few hanguns that I bought used

That sounds pretty gross, to me. Did you buy just the rope or did you buy the people who've been hung?

Anyway, I don't think I'd want one in my living room.