So you have just bought that new rifle in 300 Shoot Em A Mile Away or that new caliber 7 MM Der Louden Banger and you have put that new scope on it that allows you to see a gnat on a horses butt from here to Russia. You have the ammo all loaded up and you are off to the range to get it sighted in. You sit down at the bence and start shootong. After 10 or 15 shots you have it sighted in and now you are ready to try those hot loads that you hope will do about 20,000 fps. You shoot the rest of the afternoon until you are satisfied that that whitetail you saw last year at 2500 yards doesnt\'t have a chance. You pack up and go home with a smile on your face not knowing that you have just ruined any potential your rifle had to be a very accurate weapon. But you say I can keep 5 shots in 1 1/2 to 2 inches. Follow these simple directions and see if 5 shots in 1/2 inch or LESS is possible. Having been in the ammo business and a compitition shooter for over 40 years now accuracy has always fasinated me. Barrel steel even stainless is porous and porosity gathers in copper from the bullets ( or lead ) and not only is hard to get out but ruins accuracy. The smoother the bore the greater the chances of superior accuracy. I going to walk you step by step thru the correct process of breaking in a new barrel. You only have to do this once so don't think it's a lot of work.You have spent a lot of hard earned cash on that new rig so let's get the most out of it. Here we go.

1) Put a barrel mop on your cleaning rod, add a little oil and the put a small amount of jewelers rough evenly dispersed on the oiled mop. Run this thru the bore 20 times followed by dry patches until the last comes out clean.

2. Now it's time to go to the range.

3) Fire one round using a copper jacketed lead core bullet. This will begin to burnish the bore. (Do not use Barnes X bullets...their copper is to soft...but they are the only bullet I use for hunting). Remove the bolt, install a bore guide ( never clean a rifle without a bore guide) and clean the bore as follows.

  a)using the proper jag and tight fitting patch with a good copper removing solvent clean the bore 4 times using a clean path soaked in the solvent each time. Install a BRONZE bristle brush soaked in the solvent (I like Barnes CR-10) and push thru 20 times ( do not reverse directions until entire brush is out of the barrel, bristles can break off and lodge in the grooves if you reverse directions inside the bore). Put the jag back on and run dry patches thru until the last one comes out clean.

  b) repeat this process for the next 10 shots

  c)next fire a 2 shot group and clean according to a) above. Do this 5 times cleaning after each 2 shot group.

  d) shoot 2 five shot groups cleaning according to a) after each 5 shot group

  e) clean off muzzle and chamber and run a lightly oiled patch thru the bore remembering to run a dry patch thru the bore before the next outing.

  f) you now have a barrel broken in the way all of the major custom barrel mfg's and custom bullet makers recommend. A lot of work? Sure, but well worth it and what's better than a relaxing day at the range.

We at Ohio Ammo wish you the very best with your new firearm and our longstanding tradition is to answear all reloading questions free of charge. Just e mail me, Doc, owner and Chief of Ballistics, through the eBay e mail link for Ohio Ammo. May God richly bless you and yours. Thank you for taking the time to read this and my other guides. Doc