WARNING: Failure to properly break in your barrel will void any accuracy guarantee.
WARNING: Do not break your rifle in with moly coated bullets.
Mayhem Arsenal recommends that your new precision barrel be properly broken in to get the best accuracy. Properly breaking in a barrel also ensures easier cleaning, longevity, and it will achieve its maximum accuracy potential.
What’s Needed:
-A good coated one piece cleaning rod like Dewey or Bore tech.
-A bore guide.
-Jags with cotton patches or our preference, plain felt patches made by VFG Weapons Care systems. Never use stainless steel jags.
- Nylon brush. NEVER USE A STAINLESS STEEL BRUSH. Make sure that the brush has an aluminum core otherwise you will get false positives with your copper removing solvent.
-Sovents. You will need a carbon removing solvent and a copper removing solvent. We like Bore Tech’s C4 Carbon Remove or Eliminator Bore Cleaner and Bore Tech Cu+2 Copper Remover. There are many good solvents out there but we prefer Bore Tech.
All of these products are available from a number of sources such as Sinclair International, Champions Choice, Brownell’s, etc.
There are 2 types of fouling:
Copper Fouling Copper fouling is caused by bullet jacket material being left in the barrel. During the first few rounds a lot of copper fouling will be left in the barrel. It is important to remove this fouling completely after each shot to help prevent a build up.
Carbon Fouling Carbon fouling, also known as powder fouling, is caused by the power burn and is ongoing, but easy to remove.
For proper barrel break in, the barrel should be cleaned after every shot for the first 10 rounds or until copper fouling stops.
Step 1. Carbon Fouling: Push 2 saturated felt pellets through the barrel (Bore Tech C4 Carbon Remover or Eliminator Bore Cleaner). This will remove the loose powder fouling and wet the inside of the barrel with solvent. Next, wet a nylon brush with solvent and stroke the inside of the barrel 10-15 times. This is followed by another wet pellet and then 2 dry pellets.
Step 2. Copper Fouling: Now, push 2 saturated felt pellets through the barrel (Bore Tech Cu+2 Copper Remover or Eliminator Bore Cleaner,). Next, wet a nylon brush with solvent and stroke the inside of the barrel 10-15 times. Let the chemical soak for 5 minutes. This is followed by another wet pellet and then 2 dry pellets. Repeat steps if necessary if copper is still present.
REPEAT: Steps 1 & 2 after each shot for the first 10 rounds. The copper fouling will be heavy for a few rounds and then taper off quickly in just one or two shots. Once it has stopped or diminished significantly, normally 10-15 rounds, it is time to start shooting 5 shot groups, cleaning after each group. After 25-30 rounds, clean at a normal interval. Your barrel is now broken-in.
Normal Cleaning After Barrel Break in. Use a good carbon and copper remover like Bore Tech Eliminator to remove both carbon and copper fouling. The number of rounds between cleaning can be as few as 25 rounds to as many as 100 rounds. Your barrel will tell you this.
Carbon/Copper Fouling: Push 2 saturated felt pellets through the barrel. Next, wet a nylon brush with solvent and stroke the inside of the barrel for 20-25 strokes. Let the chemical soak for 10 minutes. Follow this by another wet pellet and then 2 dry pellets. Repeat steps if necessary.
Every few hundred rounds it is a good idea to clean using the two step process.
We do not recommend using moly coated bullets or any abrasive cleaners.