Do nitrided barrels need a break in period?

Hellgate

Hellgate

Member
I'm getting a new upper with a fluted SS nitride treated barrel. My understanding is this hardens the surface for prolonged barrel life and resists corrosion. Does the hardening make the barrel less able to be broken in? i.e. is "breaking in" a nitride barrel a waste of time & ammo? I understand the other parts of the gun will smooth out with some shooting. Would bore paste or fire lapping smooth the bore?
 
clean the chamber well, run a brush thru the barrel until you can pull a clean patch from both. there's often some crud left inside there from the meloniting process and you need to get that out of there.


nitriding hardens ALL the surfaces so yes "break in" will take longer with a melonite barrel than other finishes.

ive never tried anything like flizt or fire lapping - just take it out and shoot the dang thing. It'll settle in soon enough!
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Like Plant said, just go and shoot it. It will break in just fine on it's own with use. Plus, practice makes perfect. You can never practice enough.
 
Try the final finish routine from David Tubbs.

They are awesome.

Expect your barrel to hold less copper therefor keeping it accurate for longer durations.

https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools...-prod12715.aspx

This barrel break in hocus pocus is good stuff. If you follow the routine you will see with your own eyes that the barrel holds less copper, stays accurate for longer periods of time between cleanings and is easier to clean.

As a disclaimer i would first call them up and verify if their product will work with your barrel.
 
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ARlaunch,

I contacted Tubbs and he said it is OK to use the Final Finish fire lapping on the barrel. I am going to work up some loads for the rifle and if I get a sub MOA load I'll be happy with that. If not then either Tubbs kit, different upper or barrel. When I cleaned it after shooting about 40 rounds there was very little Cu++ fouling (little blue on the swabs using Sweet's 762).
 
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Its been my experience that all barrels will shoot better once they settle in. However, IMO, "breaking in" a barrel is a waste of time/ammo and I certainly wouldn't use the Tubbs final finish method unless you have a crappy barrel and you've exhausted all other options. Shoot it, clean it, and it will settle in eventually.
 
I almost wonder if the process of fire lapping partly improves groups just by the barrel settling in whether it is getting lapped or not. I'll shoot the crap out of it and see if I can find its favorite load. Thanks.
 
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