New Pistol Barrel Break In

[usmarine0352_2005]

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A group of us are going to the police academy in two weeks and just received our brand new pistols.


I was wondering if there is a break in process for the barrel that is important. I searched this website and didn't find anything and searched the web and heard two answers. 1.) Fire shots, and clean after each shot, etc. 2.) No break in necessary.



1.) What do you guys think about pistol barrel break in?


2.) Also, what are good cleaning brands for the bore and for the pistol itself.



This is something I've heard:

Stainless Chrome moly Barrels
- Fire one shot, then clean your barrel. (Repeat this step 5 to 25 times.)
- Fire three shots, then clean your barrel. (Repeat this step 1 or 2 times.)
- Fire five shots, then clean your barrel and you're done.


Stainless Steel Barrels
- Fire one shot, then clean your barrel. (Repeat this step 5 times.)
- Fire three shots, then clean your barrel.
- Fire five shots, then clean your barrel and you're done.


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[average_shooter]

I generally check there's no obstructions, clean it as I normally would to get out any factory oil/grease, lubricate where necessary and blast away.

I understand barrel break-in is much more common on high-end competition rifles requiring great accuracy at extreme ranges.

For pistols to be used at defensive distances I don't think it would be a problem to just clean them and shoot them. But on the other hand, I can't see how it would hurt anything to do either of the techniques you've outlined in you post there. Whatever you feel comfortable with.

Also, as far as cleaning, I've recently started using boresnakes. They seem to work pretty well. For cleaning the rest of the pistol I sometimes use "Pro-Shot" stuff, which again seems to work alright. I got a big bottle for cheap years ago, so it works for me. Otherwise Outers or Hoppes or any of the more prevalent cleaners would work equally well for pistols as they do for any other firearms.

 

[usmarine0352_2005]

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What solvent/cleaning oil do you use?


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[Sommerled]

Never heard of breaking in the barrel of a handgun except for high end target .22's. Perhaps you mean breaking in the entire gun itself.

As a future LEO, you, of course need an entirely reliable firearm. The mating parts of a handgun need a few shots sometimes to work together reliably, especially on a very tight gun. Sort of like a new engine.

On autoloaders, my Kimber instruction manual states on page 23:

"Our firearms are hand fitted to tight tolerances. For proper break-in of the firearm shoot 400-500 founds of Quality Factory Ball (230gr FMJ) ammunition, cleaning and lubricating the gun every 100-150 rounds."

Good luck in your career!

Sommerled

 

[-v-]

I've never broken-in the barrels of any of my handguns. Just use and clean as normal.

As for cleaner/lubricant, I use Breakfree-CLP. Seems to do a good enough job of getting rid of gunk, and keeping the action silky.

 

[Old Fuff]

The make and model of whatever pistol wasn't mentioned, but it's unlikely that it is some variant of the 1911 Colt.

True service pistols do not need to be broken in - neither the barrel or the pistol. Unlike today's 1911 pistols they are not big-boy toys.

Be sure the pistol is clean and lightly (repeat: lightly) oiled. Go shoot it. When finished feild-strip and clean it. Repeat as necessary. If you were in the USMC you know the drill.

 

[grumpycoconut]

My Handgun Break In Routine:

#1 Bring hand gun home from store
#2 Field strip, bore snake barrel, wipe clean, apply a few drops of CLP to the bits that rub
#3 Take hand gun and 500 - 1000 rds to the range and let fly
#4 Field strip and clean

Seriously though. You are going to the academy and that hog leg is a tool, not a holy relic. Carpenters don't agonize about breaking in their hammers, Cops shouldn't have to fuss over their handguns. It is not some safe queen that you must only touch with white cotton gloves. Maintain it well, but don't be afraid to ride it hard and put it up wet on occasion. With the academy you have the perfect excuse to run your gun as hard as you can. Run it dirty and dry every so often. If its gonna break, let it break on the range where it doesn't matter. After the academy is over get an armorer to detail strip it and give it a good look. Personally I've never gone to work carrying any new gun that didn't have at least 1000 problem free rounds through it with minimal cleaning. If you've got a prospective duty gun that can't keep working no matter how you treat it, you have picked the wrong gun.

Good luck with the academy.

 

[jorb]

Clear it, clean it, shoot it , clear it and clean it again. Good shooting to ya.

 

[Old Fuff]

Do anybody believe there is a police department in this country that feels the need to put 1000 rounds through any of their issue pistols before it's decided that the piece is reliable???

Does Uncle Sam do this with each M-9 Beretta before it shipped out to one of the sand boxes??

Or that during any of our wars and so-called police actions between 1911 and 1982 each and every 1911 or 1911A1 .45 pistol had to log 1000 trouble-free rounds before it would be trusted???

I admit that some current 1911 style guns are pretty bad, but I highy doubt that Glock, SIG, Beretta, H&K, Smith & Wesson (their M&P line) are this bad off??

I sure don't hope so...

 

[grumpycoconut]

Old Fuff,
Most police guns (post academy) go into service with a very low round count. More often than not, running the gun through 1 qualification course (30-50) rounds is deemed sufficient. I've always done 500-1000 rounds because I seldom use a company gun, I like to shoot alot and, most importantly, because I can.

 

[kingpin008]

+1 to the commenters above. Unless you've been issued Hammerli target pistols or some ridiculously high-end 1911, your gun is not going to need any babying. Spend the time and ammo you would have used breaking it in getting comfortable and proficient with it.

Good luck in your future career!

 

[beatcop]

There is no break in.

They will teach you how to perform operator level maintenace in your training & may issue you a cleaning kit. At a minimum, cleaning supplies will be on hand.

You will fire thousands of rounds during your boot camp, enjoy.

 

[Old Fuff]

I've always done 500-1000 rounds because I seldom use a company gun, I like to shoot alot and, most importantly, because I can.

That's fine, but most law enforcement departments and agencies require they're members (especially rookies) to use what they issue. It's one thing to shoot because you like to and can, and altogether a different matter to imply that it is necessary to go through a 500 to 1000 round count just to be sure the pistol is reliable. There may be exceptions, but I don't think that many officers that are new to the force get paid enough so they can afford to blast away 1000 rounds to test the issued sidearm at today’s ammunition costs, and it's unlikely the agency they are working for will do it. Telling an inexperienced officer to do what you do, when they likely can't, will most likely serve to undercut their confidence in the weapon, and this isn't productive - nor is it necessary.

 

[Macmac]

To me, it means New Gun! Inspect the bore visually first, then clean the bore and visually inspect the gun again.

I have seen bits of milling still adheared to the bores before. Shooting a round with one of these chips, will likey marr the bore forever.

After that just shoot and clean the gun. Any time I shoot any gun I clean it that same day, no matter what. Before I shoot any gun at a range I wipe the bore first, to make sure there is no bore obstruction.

Which oils and lubes depends on weather, and what kind of enviroment the gun is used in.

Obviously a hot dry sandy, and dusty place, will be far different from -50 below 0. Use what ever oils and lubes are intended to be used in such places, depending on what ever gun you have.

 

[Hunter700]

Also when cleaning one needs to be careful about what types of solvents are used. On my first handgun(glock) the grip is plastic. You need a solvent that won't eat it away. I wouldn't reccomend hoppes #9

 

[slabuda]

Just like shampoo


Clean, Shoot, repeat...

Unless its some Olympic target pistol it wont matter. You need minute of bad guy or hand sized groups at typical SD ranges. So just shoot the crap out of it.

For solvent, CLP, Hoppes, Shooters choice....they are all about the same....

 

[jonmerritt]

post is a year old

 

[merlinfire]

I would say, shoot a box or two through it to make sure it doesn't *need* breaking in. Some guns do, some don't. If it's jamming one or two times per magazine or something, you need to figure out what the problem is and maybe break it in or polish the feed ramp.

You don't have to run 1k rounds through it, just run it until it stops jamming.

 

[Sam1911]

post is a year old

Yes. I'd imagine he's got it all "broken in" by now.