Barrel Break-In Procedure for EABCO Accuracy Barrels - T/C Encore Pro Hunter, Contender, Savage, Remington and Ruger 10/22

Our EABCO Accuracy Barrels for the T/C Encore Pro Hunter and T/C Contender, as well as our Savage and Remington are manufactured to the highest standards. We put a lot of time and money into holding precise and close tolerances when we machine our barrels... These are necessary expenses to achieve the level of shooting accuracy we require. On the other hand, we see bore lapping (or hand lapping) as an optional and unnecessary cost that would drive up the price of our barrels. The reason is that the machine marks and/or burrs that hand lapping removes are easily removed by a simple break-in firing process.

This is our simple barrel break-in process for all of our EABCO Accuracy Barrels in T/C Encore Pro Hunter, Contender, Savage and Remington:

First, let me explain that fired bullets, traveling down a clean barrel, cause enough pressure and friction to clear out burrs and machining marks. The important thing is that the barrel is clean so that the passing bullet can work directly against the bore. The break-in procedure for our barrels is a process of cleaning, firing, cleaning, firing, and so forth.

The importance of cleaning the throat:

Much of the copper fouling that you may see in the length of your barrel is actually caused by the throat of the chamber. This is the area just in front of the chamber. This is the area where the bullet gets squeezed into the rifling in a nano-second. At the throat, some copper jacket material gets converted to a dust/gas that solidifies out in the rest of the barrel as the bullet passes through. For that reason, it is especially important to be sure the throat gets clean during the break-in firing because if it doesn’t, it can give a false read on the break-in progress of the rest of the barrel. Develop a cleaning procedure that puts emphasis on the throat.
Here is the method to give the throat of your EABCO Accuracy Barrel a good cleaning. Use a stiff cleaning rod, jag, patch, and cleaning solvent. With the patch, run it into the chamber, about 4-6 inches past the throat. Pull it back out and repeat. After 5-6 of these short strokes, run the patch all the way through the rest of the barrel. Do this step again with a clean patch and fresh solvent. This method gives 5-6 times more cleaning effort to the throat than the rest of the barrel. Continue until your patches come out clean.

How to clean the throat:

Different Calibers, Different Steels

The amount of fouling in your barrel will differ based on the type of steel and the caliber. You will need to get a sense for how much your barrel needs. Watch the amount of fouling on your patches and detect when it seems to become less prevalent and more consistent. For example, on Chromoly (blue) barrels we recommend fire once, clean once, fire once, and clean once for 5-25 shots. Chromoly is more resistant to abrasion than stainless. On stainless we recommend fire once, clean once, fire once, and clean once for only the first 5 shots. Likewise, small calibers tend to break in differently than larger calibers. So, watch the color of your patches to see a point where the amount of fouling between shots settles to a consistent amount. When it settles, go to the next break-in step.

- Chromoly Break-In: 5-25 one shot cycles, 2 three-shot cycles, and 1 five shot cycle.

- Stainless Break-In: 5 one shot cycles, 1 three shot cycle, and 1 five shot cycle.

Solvents Recommended - For a mild abrasive/lapping action, we recommend a good quality bore paste... It’s especially useful for breaking in barrels but also a great regular cleaner (see instructions below). If you want to use a solvent, avoid harsh cleaners that contain a high concentration of ammonia. For serious copper removal with a solvent, we recommend Wipe-Out bore foam followed by Butch’s Bore Shine for clean-up. For lubrication after all cleaning, we recommend Clenzoil... Which protects the metal and also helps to reduce fouling. Another recommendation is KG-12 Copper Remover and KG-2 Bore Polish... excellent Stuff!

How to Use Bore Paste - First, order a bronze bore brush one size smaller than your caliber. For example, if you are shooting 6.5mm (like 6.5 Creedmoor), use a bronze bore brush size of 6mm or .243. Run your cleaning rod with the bronze brush from the breech thru the barrel and out the muzzle. Wrap a patch around the brush, moisten it with oil and draw it back through the barrel to pre-moisten the barrel and remove loose fouling. Repeat, only this time, moisten the patch with Bore Paste. This time, draw it back and forth through the barrel. When it’s dirty, do the process with a fresh patch and oil until the patch comes out clean.

Now that you have the process down, you are all set to take your new barrel on the big hunt or competition. Be sure to send us your results, we love to hear from our customers.

Good Luck! EABCO Team