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New pistol break in procedure?

23K views 45 replies 37 participants last post by  SpringfieldBob 
#1 ·
Hey all,
I just joined the firum last week after I purchased my first pistol; the XD-M 40 Bi-Tone.
My FFL recommended that I break it down and thoroughly clean and lube the pistol prior to firing. He recommended after cleaning & lubing, to fire 5 shots, clean the barrel, fire another 5, clean, fire another 5, clean, then shoot 25 and clean, and the barrel would be broken in.

I'm curious of the break in procedures have done, as I'd like to take it to the range this weekend and have some fun.

Thanks for your thoughts!

-Steve
 
#4 ·
First day I got mine I went to the back/range and put 350 rounds with out cleaning it and it shot fine.
 
#5 ·
This sounds messed up.

Clean before first use: Good idea
Clean after each range trip: Good idea
Cleaning after 5 shots, repeat 2x , then after 25 shots: :confused: Sounds stupid.
 
#6 ·
On my new-center fire rifles, my break in proceedures were even more strict - Clean before first use, shoot a round, swab the barrel, shoot another, swab the barrel - for the first 5 rounds. Then I shoot 5 and swab the barrel. After that, I finish off the box making sure it's sighted in perfectly and having fun after it's zero'd in. I was taught to do that by a good friend - for center-fire rifles only. I do it on my new rim-fire rifles also. Every rifle I've broke in like that shot perfectly for me.

For my pistols, I've never performed a break in proceedure besides cleaning it before the first use and cleaning it afterwards. Most of my new pistols get at least a box or two run through without cleaning. Never had an accuracy issue with them.

The thought (as I was told) on rifles is to clean after each of the first five rounds to get any micro machining debris out that may have been left in the landings. I don't know if that is true or not, but I've done it, and it's always worked for me. All of my pistols had barrels that weren't even 1/5th of the length of my rifles. The thought there was that the debris would be expelled out of the barrel at such a short distance. On the rifles, the debris would have much further to travel before exiting the barrel, giving you the possibility of mashing it permanantly into the landings.

As I'm not a professional, and lots of these guys are, I wouldn't be suprised if someone came back with a rebuttle to that technique. But all I know is it has worked fine for me, and I never minded the cleaning.

All the best,
Glenn
 
#9 ·
That's pretty much what I did with my M1A National Match rifle. Man, it sucked!

I'll bet it did! But rifles may be different in this regard. But for handguns, it just seems crazy.
 
#10 ·
Just clean out the bbl of all dirt then go and shoot as many rounds as you can afford a quickly as possible.
If you are super anal though you could scrub the bbl/chamber out with a brass brush, boresnake it, then get a tight-fitting bore mop saturated with JB bore paste and "choke the chicken" with it until you feel its good and polished.
then do what i mentioned first as often as possible.
These guns arent meant for 100yd accuracy so i wouldnt worry too much.
The first time i shot my warranty replacement XD me and two friends went out into the desert with 1000 rds and took turns shooting till the gun was too hot to hold. I boresnaked/lightly lubed it beforehand but thats it.
have fun with your XD!
 
#13 ·
Hey all,
My FFL recommended that I break it down and thoroughly clean and lube the pistol prior to firing. He recommended after cleaning & lubing, to fire 5 shots, clean the barrel, fire another 5, clean, fire another 5, clean, then shoot 25 and clean, and the barrel would be broken in.
Steve,

Looks like your FFL forgot to tell you to clean the magazines as well each time. :mrgreen: My program is to field strip clean after each trip to the range and break down the magazines for cleaning no more than twice a year.
 
#15 ·
On my new-center fire rifles, my break in proceedures were even more strict - Clean before first use, shoot a round, swab the barrel, shoot another, swab the barrel - for the first 5 rounds. Then I shoot 5 and swab the barrel. After that, I finish off the box making sure it's sighted in perfectly and having fun after it's zero'd in. I was taught to do that by a good friend - for center-fire rifles only. I do it on my new rim-fire rifles also. Every rifle I've broke in like that shot perfectly for me.

For my pistols, I've never performed a break in proceedure besides cleaning it before the first use and cleaning it afterwards. Most of my new pistols get at least a box or two run through without cleaning. Never had an accuracy issue with them.



All the best,
Glenn
I have done that to some rifles and not others....and can't tell the difference. I've never heard this before for pistols....I guess he thinks what's good for the gander...

I haven't even ever thought about it with pistols. The twists are not nearly as fine -- further spaced, not as tight.
 
#17 ·
all you need to do is run a bose snake through, no need to do anything else, and then just shoot it and clean it when you feel like it. most people clean after each trip to the range some wait 500+ rounds. the gun will shoot a while before it NEEDS to be cleaned. i clean mine after each trip to the range unless i plan on going back to the range in the next couple days and then ill wait
 
#19 ·
Only time you should clean and break in a gun like that, is if you're shooting pure copper rounds. Main reason is to get rid of the copper deposits and re-lube the barrel as copper is very hard on barrels. Also this is recommended for high powered rifles. But again, you're probably using full copper or a variant.

If you're just shooting lead, there is no break in at all. Even FMJ's won't hurt but it's better to use lead if you can get it.

Handgun barrels can withstand alot more abuse than rifles. You always want to threat any high powered rifle's barrel with care. You can warp one if you don't watch it. Pistols though, can consume hundreds of rounds of ammo without worry.

Just make sure you clean it before(as you just bought it, always clean something after buying it) and make sure to clean it after every trip to the range. Even if you only run a 100 rounds through the pistol.

It's kind of a corny saying, but "a clean gun, is a happy gun."
 
#20 ·
Took my Xdm to the range out the box, put 150rnd through it. Went back to the range again a few days later, put another 200rnds thruogh it, THEN I cleaned it.

No idea if that was ok or not but I never had an issue. I do clean/lube the gun after EVERY range outing now though, mainly because the range ammo is so dirty!
 
#22 ·
What's with all this cleaning?? These are tactical weapons for crying out loud! Anyone ever read the XD Torture Test??

Read this and understand the quality of firearm you have: SPRINGFIELD ARMORY

New XD45 - took it out of the case and put a couple of boxes through it (all I had).
New XD9sc - same procedure.
New XD40 - same procedure.

XD's do not need to be babied! They are not Glocks! (Sorry, the Devil made me say that! :D)
 
#26 ·
are U srs? is that what the 'x' stands for?..... ugh. X for xtreme. i dont know i just think extreme is kind of a strong word that isnt really hip to use anymore

Well, the rumor i heard (just now from one of the voices in my head) said that X for eXtreme gave a better 2 letter acronym than using the E.


I mean, who wants a Springfield ED? Unless your shooting viagra...
 
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