Breaking in a Firearm?

greener · Post by **greener** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 9:30 am

I've read a lot about the need to break in a new firearm. Do they need it? Is there a good procedure to follow if they need it?

My SR9 seemed to need a couple hundred rounds to improve ejection and some polishing that no amount of shooting would improve to fix a very gritty trigger. My P22 needed some polishing to prevent self-destruction. Other than that, everything else I've purchased seemed to function pretty well out of the box. Every other firearm, new or used, seems to have shot better after several hundred rounds strongly suggesting that the part getting "broken in" is the shooter.

bearandoldman · Post by **bearandoldman** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 10:40 am

Not sure about this breaking in procedure thing myself. Some guys, shoot 10, clean and repeat for a hundred round or so. Anything I have ever purchased new or used, just went to the range and got used. Trigger work is another story, my target/range guns and my shotguns get a trigger job. My carry guns are left as they came from the factory. If the stop working they are then considered broke and get fixed. Some one said the barrel on HenryI showed some leading and I thought about cleaning it, bu it shot so well the other day at the rang, we will leave it alone until it shoots poorly.

blue68f100 · Post by **blue68f100** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 4:32 pm

I think most auto need some rounds put through them. The count will vary from gun to gun. My BHP , none require. My Sig229 none required, never a malfunction. But some Sig owners say it takes a couple hundred for them to smooth out.

Personally with todays mfg equipment it should not be needed. Some guns where coating are applied, I can see some needed. It's very hard to get a dead on even coat on all surfaces. These high end 1911 needing breakin is crap in my book. If I spend $2k+ for a gun it better work flawlessly out of the box.

Post by **Bullseye** » Sun Aug 09, 2009 12:02 pm

I always deep clean first then run rounds through it until I'm satisfied that it will function properly. This is especially true if it is a custom match pistol, the tolerances have been tightened to a point that could affect functioning without a good breaking in. I won't send them out unless I'm completely satisfied that there's no functioning problems. It's better to be sure than have an unsatisfied customer and go through the whole return, repair, and reship process. Even with all that extra care sometimes it still happens anyway.

R,
Bullseye