Thread: Tikka T3X barrel break-in

Originally Posted by Moutere

So why not take advantage of some hunting within those first 100, rather than shooting explicitly to break in.
It’s wasteful in cost and diminishing returns.

People do I certainly do load D on my latest rifle was about 9 rounds the next 150 have being hunting

Originally Posted by Kelton

People do I certainly do load D on my latest rifle was about 9 rounds the next 150 have being hunting

Exactly.
Dedicated traditional break in at a range is more or less a waste of time.
Especially on the OPs T3

Hammer forged Tikka barrels generally well finished internally, i’d say less benefit doing ‘break in’ than some others…

the first 11 rounds on my Howa..were shoot one CLP on rag,shoot 2 clp on rag..shoot another 2,more clp etc etc by shot 5 it was zeroed. did a mixed group with 3 different types of ammunition on hand for the rest and got sub M.O.A. group.. cleaned it with light oil ,then dry rag then clp on rag,put it away..shot 12was a deer LOL.

will see a noticeable speed increase after the first 50-100 rounds. so be aware if your hunting before the speeds have settled.

If in doubt find out what the factory says :https://www.tikka.fi/en-us/content/c...-forged-barrel

I do the below method from the Browning site. The Boretech cu+2 works well even though it doesn't have ammonia. I don't know if it is just a fairy tale but I've never had a bad shooting rifle after doing it which is good enough for me to keep doing it.

What is the recommended procedure for breaking in a new barrel?
For the first ten shots we recommend, if possible, using jacketed bullets. After firing each bullet, use a good copper cleaner (one that has ammonia) to remove copper fouling in the barrel. Always follow the directions listed on the cleaning solvent package or barrel damage may occur. We do NOT recommend anything with an abrasive in it since you are trying to seal the barrel, not keep it agitated. If you look into the end of the barrel after firing a shot, you will see a light copper-colored wash in the barrel. This must be removed before firing the next shot. Somewhere in the procedure, around shot 6 or 7, it will be obvious that the copper color is no longer appearing in the barrel. Continue applications through shot 10.

If you have any ammunition left, you then may shoot two rounds and clean it for the next ten shots. This is simply insurance that the burnishing process has been completed.

In theory what you have just accomplished is the closing of the pores of the barrel metal which have been opened and exposed through the cutting and lapping procedures.

After following the procedure, your barrel's interior surface will be sealed and should shoot cleaner and develop less fouling for the rest of its shooting life.

Greetings All,
The first few new barrels I aquired dated from before breaking in barrels was invented. In those days most of us took care to clean our new barrels after each shooting session but this may have been due to the military ammo we had previously used that required prompt cleaning. Some never cleaned their rifle at all. Suggestions that barrels needed to be broken in appeared much later. Over time these became larded with faux scientific phrases like developing a home registration point and many others. None of this passed the sniff test with me and I have stuck with cleaning after each use. Some have suggested that all this voodoo barrel cleaning stuff is to provide a get out of jail free card for the odd bad barrel that slips through.
In 1974 we bought our first new family car. The instructions firmly stated that a certain speed should not be exceeded for the first so many kilometres to run the car in. A new car purchased in 2000 had no such instructions. Why have barrels gone in the other direction?
Regards Grandpamac.

Originally Posted by grandpamac

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In 1974 we bought our first new family car. The instructions firmly stated that a certain speed should not be exceeded for the first so many kilometres to run the car in. A new car purchased in 2000 had no such instructions. Why have barrels gone in the other direction?
Regards Grandpamac.

Because ham fisted people with cleaning rod's following the break in instructions will wreck barrels and so more will be sold. Firing extra rounds "breaking them in" will also wear them out faster especially combined with point one before it. Then there is the endless load "development" that some seem obsessed with.

Originally Posted by grandpamac

In 1974 we bought our first new family car. The instructions firmly stated that a certain speed should not be exceeded for the first so many kilometres to run the car in. A new car purchased in 2000 had no such instructions.

Machining tolerances have improved such that it has become a redundant process and is a great parallel example to barrel break in.

Do any of the barrel making companies actually recommend breaking in? I've not seen any point. Even my bergara has a rough looking barrel (borescoped) but i primarily shoot PC lead through it so I wasn't expecting any wear.

Lilja springs to mind https://riflebarrels.com/support/cen...e-maintenance/

and Kreiger https://kriegerbarrels.com/faq#breakin

and Bartlein https://www.bartleinbarrels.com/how-...ak-a-barrel-in

Gave up looking further...

I did notice an important reduction in copper fouling after the first 40 rounds in my new Hardy barrel. I just followed my gunsmith process: 10 passes with Boretech eliminator on a brush (I used a nylon non indicating brush) followed by dry patches until clean, this every 5 rounds for the first 50 rounds. It was quite obvious the copper fouling decreased through the whole process to become insignificant around 40 rounds. My gunsmith told me no matter how good the chambering is, it always leave some tiny tiny burr that collect copper on first rounds. Those first rounds at the same time remove those burrs.

That said I haven’t done it on my old Tikka 6.5cm with a factory barrel, it shoot one rag hole, minor copper fouling

Originally Posted by tibo

My gunsmith told me no matter how good the chambering is, it always leave some tiny tiny burr that collect copper on first rounds. Those first rounds at the same time remove those burrs.

I think this is the most significant aspect of breaking-in a barrel, in that it’s actually the chamber / bore transition that needs the attention. I’ll use abrasives on a patch and short-stroke this area before firing the first shot through a new barrel.