Breaking in a new barrel & increasing accuracy?

Question

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Please answer any of the questions (at your convenience). Thanks!


Q1: What is your suggestion on "breaking in" a new barrel?

I recently purchased a Windham (Bushmaster) 5.56 MPC. I have read some AR forums; and some purists suggest this for a new barrel:

"Clean barrel after the 5th shot, then clean every 10 shots until 200 shots"

Is this really necessary?
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What I did on my M&P15 (while sighting the scope) is: "clean after every 20 shots". I limit my shooting to 20 shots. I do pass a cleaning rod with solvent then some oil on the range; and clean the rifle at night.


Q2: Would you recommend selling the M&P15 to get a Windham SRC? How about selling the M&P15 for a Colt LE6920?


Q3: For accuracy and contingency, would you recommend getting a heavy 20" barrel upper (maybe a bull barrel) as extra upper receiver for the WW MPC and SRC/M&P15?

When prices stabilize, with a $800-$1000 budget, what brand of uppers would you recommend?


Q4: What would be the "break-in" procedure for barrels of the Savage Axis .308 or .270?



Thanks!

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Answer 1

Q1: You probably have a chrome-lined barrel and breaking in is not needed. The procedure is primarily for expensive non-chromed match barrels. A Windham is not a Bushmaster. They are made in the old Bushmaster plant by the original owners of of Bushmaster, but I would avoid confusing them.



Q2: For what reasons? Generally NO. You are not really increasing the quality of gun much and will probably loose net value on the exchange.



Q3: A heavy barrel will not necessarily be more accurate. However, it will be more consistent after shooting multiple shoots because the barrel does not heat up as fast. The only thing that bull barrel accuracy will help you on is with match-level target shooting. Are you doing that level of shooting and are not happy with the groups your are getting? There are probably other ways, such as a better trigger or your shooting technique that can help your groups. If you want a different upper, then I recommend that you consider getting a different caliber, such as 6.8 SPC or .300 AAC Blackout.



Q4: Follow manufacturers recommendations in the OM. I suspect that none is mentioned and if so none is necessary. Break-in procedures are primarily for high-end target/hunting rifles, not entry level rifles like the axis.

Answer 2

I agree with the others. I have never broke in a barrel. More damage has probably been done to barrels with cleaning rods than anything else.My advice is to get a quality one piece cleaning rod and use a bore guide. As for different guns I suggest you just start searching forums and see what people are saying. Join the forums and ask for suggestions. Some of the people you will meet there have lots of trigger time on AR's. You don't mention the reason your asking about selling the gun you have now. So what is your ultimate goal ? You have plenty of time as just about every one is back ordered for months. I recently ordered a 24" barrel 6.5 Grendel upper and they told me the wait time will be 6 to 8 months before I see it.

Answer 3

i agree breaking in a barrel isnt required and you'll get what you pay for on a barrel .. there are some tricks imo to attempt to settle in a barrel for ultimate target accuracy like polishing it out with semichrome polish IF it is not grouping well and you know it should be doing better .. generally speaking though, when your talking about a bushmaster your not in that class of target shooting .. i wouldnt worry about it, dial that puppy in with a battle sight and dont blow a ton of money on an ar to look cool .. and i would take a savage bolt gun to the range to work on long range target accuracy ..

Answer 4

If you want to cover all of your bases, follow the procedure your manufacturer recommends. That said, I have never come across any data that indicates a break in procedure has any effect whatsoever on the intrinsic accuracy of a rifle.



In fact, the term break-in is a bit misleading when it comes to rifles. I can take as much as 600 rounds to ACTUALLY break in a rifle bore for maximum accuracy.

Answer 5

Barrels don't need to be broken in. Cleaning after every 5th, 10th or any other number will have no effect on the the life time or accuracy of the barrel.



As far as choosing new guns or barrels that just depends on what you want out of the gun.

Answer 6

Cleaning after every five shots reduces wear, keeps barrel sharp; so it is a good idea to do so.

2 the bull barrel ads weight which reduce recoil, prolongs barrel life; takes longer to heat that much steel up. And Q4 I would suggest the same route-en, 5 shots and clean the boar, this will give you a clearer idea of any sight adjustments you mite want to make as well as help barrel life.

Answer 7

You don't have to "break in" a new barrel, you will do more harm than good.