[Randy45]

since most of the guns I have are military surplus and I use a lot of surplus ammo (which is corrosive). I clean my guns everytime I shoot them in order to better maintain there condition. As Mark1945 stated I also pull them out and clean them every couple of months to make sure the remain in good working order and I just enjoy them....I find it very relaxing to work on them.....

[TRAPPER1]

Hi this is trapper1 I just purchased a Sako 223 cal. with a stainless barrel how do i break this Rifle in ? I was told to clean the Rifle every time i shot it up to 10 rounds. any body have some Info? on this .

[Buffalo11]

Originally Posted by TRAPPER1

Hi this is trapper1 I just purchased a Sako 223 cal. with a stainless barrel how do i break this Rifle in ? I was told to clean the Rifle every time i shot it up to 10 rounds. any body have some Info? on this .

Was this BNIB? If so, haven't you got a manual explaining this proceedure? If not Google search for a manual online.. Every mfg has a so called proceedure so I would at least contact the company rep..

wPm

[nfafan]

Originally Posted by TRAPPER1

Hi this is trapper1 I just purchased a Sako 223 cal. with a stainless barrel how do i break this Rifle in ? I was told to clean the Rifle every time i shot it up to 10 rounds. any body have some Info? on this .

If BNIB, there is this method off of a mfg website...

I followed it once - a long process as you will see. Works? Dunno, I just plink...


"A note of warning: Breaking in a barrel does not make a barrel inherently more accurate. What it will do is make it more consistent throughout it's life, allow it to consistently meet the barrels highest level of inherent accuracy, and give it's longest life. For these reasons we do recommend a good quality break in procedure.
We will not attempt to go into great detail with regards to why this is important. Nor will we describe what it does to the barrel as far as breaking it in or any more of the more scientific reasons and effects of this procedure. Many volumes of books have been written with regards to break-in and we will not attempt to rewrite any of it.

Fire, Clean, Treat, Lubricate and Fire Method

1.Clean the barrel well.
◦Make sure the patches come out clean and white.
◦Use the cleaner of your choice (do not use ammonia-based cleaners). Use of a lead or copper solvent is okay, but use only when necessary.
◦Make sure you have the barrel cleaned and any solvents removed or neutralized in the bore.
◦Apply the lubricant-bore treatment (we recommend Weapon Shield).
◦Dry the bore with a clean dry patch.
◦Use the quality ammunition of your choice and fire ONE round.

2.Repeat Step 1 for the next 24 rounds.

3.At round 25, repeat Step 1. Change from firing ONE round to THREE.

4.Repeat Step 3 until you have fired 50 rounds total.

5.At round 51, repeat Step 1. Change from firing THREE rounds to FIVE.

6.Repeat Step 5 until you have fired 100 rounds total.

7.After firing 100 rounds total clean and treat the bore as in Step 1, then fire for a group. Your barrel is now broken in.

You may choose to use another method if you wish. Again, if you do choose a different method, or choose to accelerate the process this does not void your warranty. We do not recommend lapping of the barrel."

YMMV and other methods are out there.

[oldpapps]

Aah, (that was my attempt to speak Canadian)
Congrats on the new rifle. Your question has as many answers as there are guns.
All I can give you is my way and views. Many will find fault with them and some of the faults are justified.
My view on prepping a barrel is what my dad told me to do.
I 'lap' a new barrel. This is a method of smoothing out ruff spots in the lands and grooves. This is actually just wearing in the barrel. Does it really benefit? I think so and in the end, that's what counts.
How to 'lap'? I know of three ways, 1) shoot and clean, shoot and clean and continue to shoot and clean. Each time you must clean out all lead/copper/jacket residue. 2) my dad's way, stroke the bore with a very tight cloth patch with 'JB Bore Cream' for hours and hours. 3) my lazy way, I shoot a series of 'gritted' bullets with serious cleaning between sets.
Many will say that 'lapping' a barrel is just added wear and not to waste time and energy doing it.
I can't give side by side testing examples as every new rifle barrel I have owned for the last 49 years has been 'lapped'.

As you have a Stainless barrel, you must take care of it for it to last longer than you live. It is in .223 cal, so burning it out, as in being an over bore cartridge, is not a worry. Cleaning will cause more ware and damage than normal shooting. Just because it is stainless doesn't mean it doesn't need to be cleaned. As you are in an Maritime Provence, you should have an understanding of the effects of salt water.

I have a number of stainless barreled weapons and I NEVER run anything from the muzzle to the breach. It just goes against my grain and I think the grain of the barrel as well.

This is more than you wanted to hear. I get long winded.

I love the area you are from. Come visit my area when you want tornadoes, temps and humidity around 100, drought every summer. It is much different from the Atlantic coast.

Enjoy and be safe,

OSOK

[MountainRobin]

Hey JonM, I recognise that patch, that is the "Tropical Lighting" 25th Infantry from Schofield Barrack in Hawaii, I was in the 25th from 1976-1979
ran the "tropical mile" every morning at 5:00 am. what years were you with them? didn't they move from Hawaii?

[BobandWife]

Originally Posted by TRAPPER1

Hi this is trapper1 I just purchased a Sako 223 cal. with a stainless barrel how do i break this Rifle in ? I was told to clean the Rifle every time i shot it up to 10 rounds. any body have some Info? on this .

I've got a new Marlin 336 stainless that I will be lapping, before using. Check out the vidios on line for lapping. I read everything I could find on lapping. This is what I got out of it. Lapping compound over 400 is polishing or at least the same as 'just shooting bullets threw' the barrel. Lapping with a compound under 300 would be concidered COARSE grit. I am going with a 320 for 5 rounds and a 400 for 10 rounds and 800 for another ten rounds, than I'm shooting at least 20 to 40 rounds of regular ammo. I'm going to start by shooting three groups of 5 (regular ammo) so as to gage my barrel lapping. Use pistol powder (2 to 3 grains) just enough to get the bullet out the barrel. If you stick one go from the muzzel to the breach to get it out. 320 may not be coarse enough as a starter grit but I do not want to give the barrel unneccesary wear. I've ommitted all the cleaning between each set of grits. This will be my FIRST LIME LAPPING ALSO so just letting you know what I will do for starters.

[oldvet]

Mountain Robin,
Saw your note to trapper1, I was with Tropic Lightning in 1967 (sorta), in 1/35th Inf, where I learned about cleaning my weapon each and every chance. Then I got shot, and didn't get back to the 25th until 1974-1976 (DISCOM & 1st Bde). Throughout my career, I learned about weapons from the best, and tried to pass that on to those under me... Yeah, right! Sometimes it worked. Still the only time I had a weapon jam on me in combat, it was because of those 'unexpurgated and doubly censored' chromed bolts they tried out on us! Not because of cleaning.

[mausershooter]

Most every post I agree with. My .03 sents.... I only clean as aggressively as I need to for the gun to become clean. I like for kroil or WD-40 or similar product to do the hard work for me. When my guns are cool enough to be cased when leaving the range I will squirt a little kroil down the barrel and let the magic work.

[GaryE]

Originally Posted by mausershooter

Most every post I agree with. My .03 sents.... I only clean as aggressively as I need to for the gun to become clean. I like for kroil or WD-40 or similar product to do the hard work for me. When my guns are cool enough to be cased when leaving the range I will squirt a little kroil down the barrel and let the magic work.

I remember a time when the Air Force did not permit the use of WD40 on aircraft parts as it did displace moisture at the beginning only later to attract the moisture back.