Barrel break in ????? Howa 223 Mini

[Hammo8090]

Hi Guys,

I'm new to this forum & also new to shooting, I have purchased (not used yet) the Howa mini action 223 and was wondering do you need to follow any barrel break in procedures?? There seems to be mixed info on the net so I'm not sure. Also is it necessary for a .22 rimfire??

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Hammo8090

[NukeBOMB88]

Ive never done it and that's worked fine for me, I'm not saying you shouldn't, but I've never seen negative effects from not doing it. The main thing is that you really give your gun a good barrel clean before the first time you shoot it to remove factory grease from the bore

[southwest shooter]

Waste of time and ammo ! Clean then shoot away .

[bigfellascott]

Clean the preservative out of the bore then start shooting - I think running in barrels is BS, run em in on fur I say.

[tony308]

yep, just shoot it

[southwest shooter]

Clean the preservative out of the bore then start shooting - I think running in barrels is BS, run em in on fur I say.

hear hear

[wildcard6]

As for .22 rimfires, there is no need to run in the barrel. Lead bullets will never lap smooth a steel barrel. For a typical hunting rifle-type .22, there is some advantage to keeping your cleaning to a minimum. A dry patch run through the barrel [from the breech to the muzzle] will remove any loose powder residue, but the bullet lube will protect the barrel steel from rusting, so no oil is needed either. My .22 shoots poorly after a full clean, so I see no advantage in doing so. If you feel generous, give it a once-a-year clean, and if you're a target shooter, clean it when/if accuracy shows signs of deterioration.
As for centrefires, the last two rifles I have bought had stainless barrels and showed no signs of coppering after shooting, so I just kept shooting them and cleaning after use. The issue here though is CLEANING, and I've seen many people with no idea how to do it and, more importantly, the wrong gear to do it with. One bloke was using a .22 calibre brush in a .243 barrel, so you can imagine how useless that was. A one-piece cleaning rod, a spear-point patch jag and a good cleaning solution, plus plenty of patches are needed to do the job properly. I use Butch's Boreshine and am very happy with it, as it removes carbon fouling AND copper. I have some Sweet's 7.62 solvent too, but I only use that if I want to check for copper fouling. If you have the right gear and you use it correctly, the rifle [barrel] will tell you if it needs to be run in. An accelerated form of running in can be, 'fire three shots and clean'. Observe for copper [green patches] and continue until patches come out clean. You can sight-in as you run-in by adjusting the zero after each shot. Generally speaking, barrels these days are pretty good and few will NEED to be run-in. Some moly-steel barrels will copper up and shoot very well anyway. Copper isn't plutonium, after all. The only thing NOT to do is to run 500 rounds through that new barrel as fast as you can shoot until it glows cherry red. THAT is the only thing you really want to avoid! Read up on barrel cleaning - it's much more important than any formula running in system, like one shot and clean for X rounds and so on. That's a good way to waste an entire day and lots of ammo.

[pomemax]

When I got my first rim fire I looked up how to keep it clean and worked real hard at it cause that,s what we were told was right then .
Now days if you not sure look on the makers web sight they will tell you what they recommend ANSCHUTZ for instance say clean after 10,000 rounds only if accuracy is getting bad .
Center fire is I wipe them down and bore snake them after use but cleaning I tend to after about 100 rounds a light oil in barrel if storing for more than a few weeks and wipe out before use.
Most people I have see cleaning at the range are doing more harm than good saw a guy with a cordless drill on a cleaning rod the other week and a( steel) wire brush in a new barrel saw one guy totally strip a 1911 one day and do a real good clean in TURPS soaking all the parts in a container .
Cleaning its an overrated pastime most people that tell you to clean for first 100 after every shot are the people selling you the cleaning gear .
A brand new gun has already fired about 12 shots before you get it .

[southwest shooter]

20160627_175100.jpg (980.2 KiB) Viewed 7301 times

Never broke this barrel in imagine how it would shoot if I did !

[Gwion]

People seem to think break in is about accuracy improvements when it is more about minimising damage to the throat and bore early on while giving a final polish to the bore, there by making it foul less than it otherwise would. Any micro burs get moved in the first few rounds down the barrel. Shoot one clean one approach stops these from scoring and damaging the bore in the initial stages, which would increase fouling potential. Also, it's about slowly "seasoning" the internal bore in these initial stages to establish certain metallurgical transformations to reduce throat erosion in the long term. As others have said; the important thing is not to get it too hot too soon.

[Gwion]

Not saying you should do it or shouldn't do it, just that you should know WHY you are doing it before you make your decision.

[Gamerancher]

Go off the barrel manufacturers recommendations. The top "match" grade barrel / rifle makers do not feel it is necessary for THEIR barrels as they put the effort in at the time of manufacture, that's what you pay for. Mass produced barrels vary widely in their internal finish and can therefore benefit from a "break-in". Jam a heap of rounds down a new barrel that has "rough" spots in it and you are just stacking a heap of copper on top of itself.
I believe that Howa recommends "breaking in".

[happyhunter]

Hi Guys,

I'm new to this forum & also new to shooting, I have purchased (not used yet) the Howa mini action 223 and was wondering do you need to follow any barrel break in procedures?? There seems to be mixed info on the net so I'm not sure. Also is it necessary for a .22 rimfire??

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Hammo8090

Somebody posted a link to Howa's recommendations on the matter in another 'should I break in a barrel...." thread, and they explain the reasons behind the procedure.

[Wes]

Waste of time and ammo ! Clean then shoot away .

Scrub it good out of the box and start shooting.

[raptor_256]

might be a bit late now, but it really couldnt hurt to break it in.

watched an ozziereviews video on youtube. he cleans, fires 5 rounds, then cleans, repeating up to 20 rounds. bit less of a hassle and cost than cleaning after every shot like some suggest. again ammo cost might be a consideration too. breaking in a .223 isnt going to cost a fortune, but maybe something larger and a bit obscure would.

also sighting in can be done at the same time saving some money and time

[snag]

Good hard scrub with a bronze brush and CRC to clean out the factory grease, patch out with your normal gun oil, then just shoot the bugger. All you need to do.

[duncan61]

When I used my ruger .222 for roo shooting I found I could get away with one nights shooting without cleaning but after 2 nights the 3rd night would be a disaster for flyers and the group would go way out.This is based on 40-60 shots a night.I could get away with pulling patches for about 100 rounds then I would have to do the full sweets 7.62 and bore polish routine then put 3 rounds through and the first shot would be 25-40 mm high and left.That is enough to miss your first shot on a small target.Rimfires do not need anywhere near the attention high power centre fire rifles need.I only had a 22 inch s/s barrel that was a bit of a knitting needle maybe that made a difference.I have not used my .243 or 7mm rem mag in those amounts so I have know idea how they go but I cleaned the 7mm after every10 shots when I did F class optical shooting as did every one else on the range.Maybe if you hunt sambar and use about 10 rounds a year on a dinner plate size target you can get away with not being so fussy.I did a buffalo safari and the guide was insistant that my rifle was zeroed O.K.But the last shot I had was at 800 metres at a range with 168g sierra target bullets and I was about 2 foot high with highland 160g rounds I bought in katherine.Would of missed my buffalo for sure.Bottom line if your accuracy suffers clean the thing

[bigfellascott]

I remember putting my Howa 22-250 to a bit of a test re cleaning it, I left it for a good 100-140rds from memory and tested it up the upper end of that range at 270m on a target nailed to a tree (was a greens triangle sign from memory) I fired 2 shots and both landed within 5mils of each other so figured it was still good to go hunting with.

Normally I clean them after each trip but this time round I didn't (I'd been culling) and then out chasing foxes so never worried about it - I've scoped the bore and it's fine, throats showing some cracking which is normal for this cal and rounds down it, haven't shot it in a while and probably should take the ol girl out for a run as I do enjoy the smackdown it performs on fur.

[duncan61]

I wonder if barrel twist makes a differance

[bladeracer]

I wonder if barrel twist makes a differance

Caliber does for sure, .17's can be a pain to keep shooting well, .20 cal is a bit better.
I would expect a tighter twist rate would also foul quicker, but you can shoot significantly longer bullets.

[SendIt]

Scrub it good out of the box and start shooting.

I am in this camp also.