SilencerTalk

I bought a new pistol recently just to try something new. It's initial function at the range was, well, not so good. A number of FTFs, FTEs and feed jams. I did a round of emails with their techs and the gist of their reply was: "Don't worry, the gun's just not 'broken in' yet."

This got me to thinking: is there really a "break in" for new semi-auto pistols? Will a pistol that performs poorly for the first 300 rounds really get better/more reliable beginning round 301?

By my quick recollection, I've had at least 10 different auto pistols in calibers ranging from .22 to .45 and can't remember a single one that required a "break in". They either fired out of the box or they didn't. If they didn't, they either came back from adjustment/repair and either worked or didn't. The one lemon I did have sucked from round one and never improved despite heroic measures by all involved. I can't remember a single instance of a pistol that was behaving badly improving over time just through repeated use.

So, break in a myth or reality? What say you?

For high quality semiautomatic rifles, there is no break in that I have noticed. For other semiautomatic rifles I would say I have found that with some wear..... performance improves.

I would imagine it is the same for pistols.

I believe some things do require a break in period, for mating surfaces to smooth out and obtain a better fit.Does this apply to your problem, I don't think so, I suspect the feed lips on the magazine are not properly shaped and angled to guide the cartridge to the chamber.
I would add that any new pistol or rifle should be function fired to get an idea of its dependability and your confidence in its operation.

This.

It's definitely not a myth, it depends on the gun.

Sometimes otherwise good semiauto guns are snotty about certain ammo. I don't like it, but I have seen that.

Kahr pistols are pretty good, and they do recommend a 200 round break-in period in the manual.

I think Hush petty much has it.

Shit, revolvers need break-ins too.

I don't think there is a "magic" number. I've had pistols work right out of the box and I've had pistols that took a mag or two to start working right. To be honest, I buy mostly used guns. I get "like new" pistols and rifles from guys that either never shoot them or have a little trouble with them and sell them at a loss because they didn't work right out of the box. LOL, I love guys that expect perfection at the first shot.

My experience echos what most of the others have posted - some semiauto handguns appear to require break-in while others do not. My experience with semiauto rifles has been the opposite - none that I have owned required any sort of break-in.

I think part of the "break-in" with handguns may be the shooter learning how to properly grip and "stand behind" the gun. There's a lot of subjective factors that go into pistol shooting that make it awful hard to speak in terms of generalities.

+1. Kahr pistols are super tight new and I would personally break one in.

i believe keltec says in the manual for the p3at that during the first 100rds you will have some FTF and other associated problems.

If a manufacturer (e.g. Kahr) specifies a X00 round break-in period, then they should supply you with those X00 rounds.

I have seen some guns have a break out period. where after X thousand rounds, they don't want to work anymore. I guess the springs only last so long

Seriously.

Or do it at the factory.

Considering how filthy new guns seem to be, it really wouldn't be a change the consumer would notice.

Yeah, I'd take that.

When you buy a car, they sometimes recommend a 1000 mile "break in" period of the engine, but at least during that time you can drive it! The idea that you buy a gun and you can't rely on it to shoot out of the box just seems silly to me.

Further, if a manufacturer tunes a pistol to a certain ammo or at least type of ammo, they ought to spec it in the manual. Car manufacturers tell you the minimum octane for the fuel the car needs.

I hand cycle all my autos about 200-300 times (w/o any ammo)... and dry fire maybe 1 in 10 times. I cycle it a good 50 times then disassemble look for wear marks... remove oil, re oil & reassemble .. cycle 50-100 more times rinse repeat. Some times some light stone work in rough spots. .. Buffing wheel in others. A couple of evenings while watching some movie or Net geo

I always go over my pistols before going to the range. I am sometimes appalled by some of the rough machine work I see. Burrs, rough spots, and even metal shavings in the frame. Not that every surface NEEDS to look nice to be functional, but rough swirl marks + sharp edges bother me. A tool may break on the C+C and a chip in the tool leaves swirls in a non critical place.

THAN I shoot live ammo. It really is amazing how much an auto will "run in" and how much crap you can smooth out before ever going to the range. Plus it gives you time to develop some muscle memory and really get the feel for it and the trigger + sights.

Used to drive my Ex crazy... I would practice dry firing in front of the TV for hours... better than stuffing your face LOL

I think it is less real for a barrel that has been lapped. I also think the part about you having to do some special procedure for the first 10 shots or else the barrel is forever ruined is a myth.

If a gun is properly engineered and machined there should not be any break in required. Specifying tolerances properly should be part of the engineering that went into the original design. Unfortunately it is one of the harder things to get right. You have to balance your tolerances with machine technology and accuracy requirements. Also quality control should also weed out those guns that would require a break in to work. Bits/tools get dull and chipped and might not get caught leading to burrs in the gun mating surfaces.

Having said the above, I would not trust any gun (or magazine) before putting a few hundred rounds through them first.

Robert I don't think this poll was about "barrel break in", but pistol break in.

Remember I posted the number of Bronze brush strokes one procedure had when we talked about this last? It was appalling! You and I agree on that...

But I have seen the benefit of shoot and clean for a few rounds but w/o a brush and not an excessive number of shoot and clean cycles. You do more damage cleaning it than shooting it.

Back on topic...

Some tight custom 1911's are overly tight and are designed to wear in and be a good fit.. so the first few 100 cycles will be fairly tight... Other less expensive pistols may have imperfections that will smooth out with repeated cycling.

I like to do it by hand .. it may prevent something from getting worse. By watching the process as I explained above, if you have an imperfection you may be able to stone it out so the mating part will not be negatively affected.

ALL my rifles (except a custom built like a GAP) and pistols have benefited from my taking them apart and cleaning them up some.. then wearing in the action some and polishing some areas like feed ramps. Jewelers rouge is your friend. It can prevent galling and give you a mirror bright wear instead of a scratched mess.

I was appalled by some of the CRAP I have found when I take apart a brand new firearm. It's not like the old days when a person did some of this "hand fitting" or final inspection and touch up.

I spent a while smoothing out the bolt on my FNSPR so the bolt lift was smooth... It was eating it's self up instead of polishing it's self. By taking it apart and buffing the mating parts with jewelers rouge, then lubing it stopped the galling and is now smooth as butter.

I spent about 5 hours on the FNSPR when it was new before I shot even one round polishing and cleaning parts. A huge difference. And that is a work cell hand produced rifle NOT a massive high volume assembly line.

My CZ 1911 was one of the better pistols. I just worked in the action a few 100 times to smooth out the frame to slide fit, and polished the feed ramp. I then sent it back to have a lower front sight installed so I did not have to have the rear sight all the way up.

My RIA 1911 was a MESS. That was a few evenings of filing buffing and general clean up. Most is non critical stuff but many sharp edges and BAD tool marks none that effect function.

However the new barrel I fitted took a lot of work and now it will feed HP ammo w/o any issues. it's waiting for my OSPREY to be approved.

I do feel a semi auto pistol does need some run in before it will run the way it will after a few boxes.. You need NOT waste ammo when you can hand cycle it first to do most of the run in yourself.. Then take it to the range to see how it runs and if the sights fly off. (Colt Series 70 Gold CUP for example) Or other parts that may fail under the full recoil.

So some live fire is still needed. But hand cycling can help a lot and shorten the amount of live ammo you need to "run in" a pistol. Some don't need any at all ... Others need more.

Just like a booster in a silencer may need a few rounds to help it move more freely.

I have generally had good luck with Tubbs Final Finish bullets for fire lapping. Noticeably easier to clean the barrel. Not always in the accuracy dept. though. The biggest success story is a Model 1917 I ran some through and went from 3+ MOA with handloads to .75 MOA with the same loads. All I can figure is they cleaned something detrimental out of the throat. Never through my gas guns though-