So I bought this new DPMS classic AR-15A1

[Donnelly]

...and in the manual it says to break in the barrel you should clean the barrel and chamber after every round for the first 25 rounds then clean barrel and chamber after every ten rounds for the first one hundred. Question #1 - Is this really necessary? I have never done this with any gun I have bought in the past. Will it effect accuracy that significantly if I cheat a little, and just clean after every ten to start.
Question #2 - What do they mean by clean? Just a wet patch or four of solvent and a dry patch, or phosphor bronze brush and all? Thanks in advance for input.

[ATM]

Widely disputed on many forums. Usually boils down to this: Might help and certainly won't hurt.
I am also interested in hearing responses as I just acquired my first AR.

[Tinman]

No expert here, but I have been doing this for a while and run more then a few AR's over the years.

In a precision rifle, sure it MAY help a little. I still have yet to prove that fact. The best shooting bolt gun I have ever owned (1/4 MOA all day long) was broken in by taking it to the range and running the poo out of it. I didn't clean a thing.

I have never "broken in" an AR. unless it's going to be used for varmit or some kind of precision work I just don't see the advantage. I have more than one at this point, any one is 2MOA accurate to 300 yards. I consider that good enough.

Just my 2 cents.

Tinman....

[NateIU10]

I never have, but it can't hurt it. I'd say it's more personal preference IMHO.

[Donnelly]

I think I will run some wet and dry patches through it after every ten rounds till I get up to 100. I call that a compromise.

[AllenM]

There are so many post about this online. but here is what I have fallen back on. If it is just going to be a run of the mill rifle IE not bench rest. I will clean after every shot until the copper stops fouling so much or barrel for (lack of better term ) pours close up.
You will see a sharp decline in the amount of copper that gets left in the barrel after 1 shot is fired. usually between 10 and 15 rounds sometimes less.
Once that happens I will clean every twenty rounds twice and done.

I use a differant procedure on a quality gun
Basically the above procedure will help keep the barrel from fouling so much and make it easier to clean later on..IMHO!!!

[BE Mike]

I broke in the barrel of my DPMS M-4 clone. It was obvious to me that the patches ran smoother through the barrel after 15 or so rounds. I cleaned the barrel with copper bore cleaner followed by dry patches after every shot. I used J-B bore paste (10 passes), followed by Kroil and dry patches after every 5 rounds. I did this for 25 rounds. I just got a Rock River Service rifle. I broke in the barrel the same way. It took me the better part of 6 hours at the range to do this each time. It is a real pain, but I think it is work it. The non-match barrels need it more than the match barrels, which are hand lapped. If you break in the barrel, your barrel will not likely get fowled with copper as easily and will be easier to clean. I figure that if the manufacturer recommends it, it must be the thing to do.

[shooter521]

Originally Posted by BE Mike

It is a real pain, but I think it is worth it.

That's one of the reasons I stick with chrome-lined barrels whenever possible; the tedious and time-consuming break-in procedure consists of 1) load gun, 2) shoot, 3) repeat as desired.

I *do* have a stainless barrel in my Recon Carbine, and I didn't do any kind of special break-in procedure on it, either. It will out-shoot my abilities, and cleans up just fine.

FWIW.

[space turtle]

Broke in my Yugo ak47 by shooting it like crazy and scrubbing hard while it was smoking hot every 100rds or so. I ran 300 rds through it and the barrels so shiny it looks like chrome! If its not chrome lined i always use lots of gun oil. This probably wasn't the right way but it worked very well. My 2 cents....

[BE Mike]

Originally Posted by space turtle

This probably wasn't the right way

You said it!