AR barrel break in?

[qualitytym]

Getting ready to initiate my PSA Hammer forged and DPMS pencil uppers. DPMS sent a card about the break in, saying to clean barrel after every round for the first dozen or so, then every 10 after that up to 200 rounds.
When I got my sweet PSA upper, I was so excited, I wanted to do a quick cleaning. Massive brain fart, I inserted cleaning brush from the muzzle.
The rod/brush didnt go in so easy and had a hard time on the way out. Got paranoid and have been looking down the barrel with flashlight for damage. I must remind myself it is a hammer forged, chrome lined barrel, hope I didnt bone up the muzzle...

Anyway, is ther a need to observe a break in? And what is proper cleaning method? I have a bore snake on order.

 

[nipprdog]

Anyway, is ther a need to observe a break in?

No.

 

[LPMan59]

negative on the break-in.

i use a boresnake usually; i'm not that anal about cleaning my ARs. Every once in a while I use the GI cleaning kit.

 

[Taylorz71]

agreed, not to worry on the break-in.

I doubt you did any damage either. I found that the boresnake makes for quicker cleaning, but a brush and swabs works too. Congrats and have fun

 

[Acole]

When I got my first rifle, this was something that I was worried about as well. But the general consensus seemed to be that barrels don't need to be "broken in". Some people even suggested that it might be detrimental to accuracy and longevity to "break in" a barrel (but I'm not sure that this is necessarily true).

New gun owners tend to "overclean", which can lead to more wear and tear on the weapon than necessary.

 

[Leo]

Break in of a chome lined barrel is un needed, The chrome is so hard, it does not wear, so any minor burrs from broaching the rifling are pretty much permanent. The chome also tends to fill voids, making the barrel smoother. I still break in a molly steel barrel in a regular rifle. After a good cleaning, I take my time brushing out the bore after every shot for 5 or 10, depending on how the bore feels. If it feels too rough I take it home and cast a lead slug and hand lap it with compound. It is my belief that the heat/cool cycle is at least as important as the cleaning any debris out. That first 2 or three inches of barrel/throat area take a lot of abuse and I would not want to give a slight burr any chance to tear a divot.

It is amazing the difference in barrel feelings. You can take a production rifle and push a wet brush through and it feels like you are dragging a needle across an old 78 rpm record. You can take a brand new HART benchrest barrel and push the same brush through, and it feels like there is no bristles left. Of course that HART benchrest barrel costs more than a new factory rifle.

 

[qualitytym]

So, negative on breaking in the chrome lined, but affirmative on break in of non chrome dpms barrel?

 

[churchmouse]

So, negative on breaking in the chrome lined, but affirmative on break in of non chrome dpms barrel?

As with anything new, use some sense. Do not run a mag dump right out of the box. A set of heat cycles is advised. Do a few rounds spaced out and then 3 in rapid succession. When the barrel heats up let it go cold and repeat for a few mags. You can shoot in the optics during this time. The POA may or may not change after you run some heat cycles.
Enjoy.

 

[teddy12b]

On a bolt action rifle, yeah I'll go through the cleaning process and scrub out the barrel.

On an AR that's meant to run like an AR I use this procedure to break in the barrel:
1 Insert magazine
2 Flip selector from safe to semi
3 Bang bang bang bang bang, bang bang bang bang bang, bang bang bang bang bang, bang bang bang bang bang, bang bang bang bang bang, bang bang bang bang bang.
4 Flip selector back on safe
5 Repeat

 

[iDominate]

On a bolt action rifle, yeah I'll go through the cleaning process and scrub out the barrel.

On an AR that's meant to run like an AR I use this procedure to break in the barrel:
1 Insert magazine
2 Flip selector from safe to semi
3 Bang bang bang bang bang, bang bang bang bang bang, bang bang bang bang bang, bang bang bang bang bang, bang bang bang bang bang, bang bang bang bang bang.
4 Flip selector back on safe
5 Repeat

I like this method the most!

 

[hANNAbONE]

...what Teddy12b said...

 

[churchmouse]

...what Teddy12b said...

Someone remind me not to buy anything from these guys....Run them hard if you wish....

 

[teddy12b]

What's wrong with running an AR like it was designed to be ran? A semi auto rifle designed for combat should be able to handle shooting a lot of ammo without having to wait for a barrel to cool. I can see if it's a competition rifle, then I'd absoluetly treat it like a bolt action and not warm up the barrel too much, but for a rifle that's designed to be used as a fast shooting rifle I don't see a problem pulling the trigger as fast as I can get back on target. Using an AR like it was meant to be used for is not going to burn it up. It's not like we're talking about running a ford focus on the indy track with the pedal floored the whole time and expecting to get a long life out of the car.

 

[tgmorris99]

So this isn't the right way to break it in ?

M-4 Firing Test - Video Library - The New York Times

M-4A1 Firing Test - Video Library - The New York Times

​

Here's the link to the article for those interested or haven't seen the vids before.

 

[Leo]

Abusing a rifle until failure is not what I would consider proper care. Most people here have to work way to hard to get up $1200 to replace a rifle.
Like the man said above, if you are only frying ammo through it to lay down random bullets into a crowded room, it really does not matter how you treat your rifle. If you want to be able to depend on repeatable accuracy at the maximum effective range of a firearm, mindless rapidfire might be counter productive.

 

[Hookeye]

Babying a non varmint/target model AR is pretty silly IMHO (breaking in bbl).

 

[churchmouse]

What's wrong with running an AR like it was designed to be ran? A semi auto rifle designed for combat should be able to handle shooting a lot of ammo without having to wait for a barrel to cool. I can see if it's a competition rifle, then I'd absoluetly treat it like a bolt action and not warm up the barrel too much, but for a rifle that's designed to be used as a fast shooting rifle I don't see a problem pulling the trigger as fast as I can get back on target. Using an AR like it was meant to be used for is not going to burn it up. It's not like we're talking about running a ford focus on the indy track with the pedal floored the whole time and expecting to get a long life out of the car.

Absolutely nothing as long as it is yours. Do as you will. No jamb from me. I just feel a few heat cycles on any "NEW" barrel is a good thing. After I do 90/100 rounds in the fashion I described it is on. I run my guns hard at times but I shoot them in first. Key word....First.
You would break in the motor on the Focus first I hope.

Spent many years building cars for the Indy.

Enjoy.

 

[churchmouse]

Abusing a rifle until failure is not what I would consider proper care. Most people here have to work way to hard to get up $1200 to replace a rifle.
Like the man said above, if you are only frying ammo through it to lay down random bullets into a crowded room, it really does not matter how you treat your rifle. If you want to be able to depend on repeatable accuracy at the maximum effective range of a firearm, mindless rapidfire might be counter productive.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Just This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

As I said, I run mine hard at times. I have a DPMS for an ammo hose and a hot rod M&P 15 for the real get it on deal. I broke both in as I described. I do all my "New" guns this way. Is it needed, Maybe, maybe not. Will my guns hold POI better than one that was ran WOT from the box...You bet they will.
I am not trying to incite any anger. I build some serious HP in the motors I build for folks. Parts need to be happy when the run next to each other. I have my own way of setting things in motion and it has worked very well for me.

Enjoy your time shooting.

 

[qualitytym]

It seems to make sense for new metal to heat and cool to seat correctly etc. What I don't understand is the need for cleaning between shots...

 

[iDominate]

So this isn't the right way to break it in ?

M-4 Firing Test - Video Library - The New York Times

M-4A1 Firing Test - Video Library - The New York Times

​

Here's the link to the article for those interested or haven't seen the vids before.

Interesting vids. I highly doubt that you could achieve a similar effect with a semi auto rifle. Just my opinion though. I see no problem with normal use of a rifle right from the start.