handgun break-in

[colonel102]

mods...move if need be

I've seached to no avail....new handgun....how to clean the barrel correctly the first time, shoot how many rounds?? when to clean again?? etc, etc....

Has anyone ever treated a handgun barrel like a rifle barrel? i.e...
1...patch
2...shoot 3 rounds
3...oil/brush/patch
4...shoot 1 round
5...oil/brush/patch
6...shoot 2 rounds
7...oil/brush/patch
8...shoot 3 rounds
9...oil/brush/patch
10...shoot 5 rounds and repeat the oil/brush/patch down the barrel every 5 rounds up to 50 rounds

Anyone heard of this?? Or am I just crazy??

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[P95Carry]

IMO handgun break-in is way less complicated than rifle. None of what you mention is of any importance to that degree - but you ain't crazy! .

From new ....... clean barrel with patches until free of any grease/lube - so a ''dry'' bore. Check rest of gun for excess lube and clean off and ensure that in fact if semi - the rails are actually lubricated - almost bound to be or should be. Clean breech face too of any excess lube.

Check mag or mag's - make sure thay are clean and dry - mag's full of lube are IMO not good. Check followers too for free travel.

Beyond this, unless I have forgotten anything crucial! . Shoot the snot out of it - test all mag's and all ammo types planned for use.

If a revo - same for barrel - make sure dry - but same for chambers too.

Cleaning after use is up to you. You may feel happier cleaning after 50 rounds initially - but many guns will happily go way further than that in a session.

Break-in for a semi can vary according to make .. 100 rounds might do in some, 500+ in others. A revo hardly needs a break-in apart from maybe getting a smoother trigger thru use - but dry fire can help that anyways.

[Bud White]

you dont have to do a hand gun like a rifle ...

Break in for me

Run bore snake down bore
Lube Slide Rails

Shoot round 500 rounds break down for cleaning .. if no problems up till then its good to go

[SatCong]

One more thing , I would shoot copper jacket for about 100 rounds or so, before you shoot lead.

[bmcgilvray]

This barrel break-in business flashed up onto the gun rag radar screen a couple of years ago but has subsided into insignificance. It was mostly concerning rifles. It sounds hokey to me.

[rathos]

pistol break in really is just cleaning everything good first then as Chris said shoot the snot outta it. My Springfield 1911 started to tighten up groups at about 500 rounds. Most of my other pistols took about 200 to 300 but really as Chris said its all about making sure it feeds good.

[Supertac45]

I don't treat them the same. I disassemble to clean out any metal filings, lube, reassemble, and go for it.

[1911packer]

I may just be obsessive, but I never take a dirty gun to the range. If I shot 200 rounds or 25, it gets cleaned when I get home.

[obxned]

I always clean them, and then shoot a box or two of WWB bulk pack.

[Ghettokracker71]

I may just be obsessive, but I never take a dirty gun to the range. If I shot 200 rounds or 25, it gets cleaned when I get home.

I'm glad I'm not the only obsessive one here

[friesepferd]

i would say that breaking in a gun is no different than any other time, at least for me. i clean around every 100 rounds unless i shot more than that in one day. this usually ends up being once or twice a week for me. or every to every other range trip.
i dont think breaking in a pistol is that much of an art. mine sure turned out fine

[ccw9mm]

I've seached to no avail....new handgun....how to clean the barrel correctly the first time, shoot how many rounds?? when to clean again?? etc, etc....

Anyone heard of this?? Or am I just crazy??

Have heard of it, but more for rifles. Millions of folks over decades have simply shot it and kept it clean, to good effect. What's best? Dunno. I do know that breakin-by-shooting worked for each handgun I've had, and each one every friend I've known has had. I have yet to see a special break-in routine improve accuracy of a handgun appreciably, so I don't worry much about it in my own handguns.