Henry Rifle Forums

Hello to all,
how do you proceed to break the barrel of a new rifle? (i'm not sure of translation, break => first use of new riffle, preparing barrel for long and good service)

I read some stuff on it, some advocate cleaning between shots, for the first ten shots ... for a new rifle.

what do you use and how ?

a boresnake? a one-piece stainless steel rod? cotton pads? a standard solvent? a strong solvent with ammonia?

I am very interested to know the opinion of people having had several carbines .... for a long time ....
i will have to do this with 45-70 henry...

See you soon,

BruniX

I had a similar question. When I contacted Henry, I was just informed to clean it before the first use. I do nothing fancy. I use Hoppe's 9 with a one piece coated metal rod and patch. I let the solvent soak for a 5-10 minutes or so. Then, I may run a brush through it. A few more patches until clean. Lastly, I finish with a light oil (Remington oil). But, I have found that my Henry may have some copper fouling. So, I add Tetra Gun Copper Removal to the process.
https://www.range365.com/dirty-little-s ... ing#page-8

P.S.
I should clarify; I remove the bolt to clean the barrel.

"Break-in" process depends quite a lot on the type of shooting you'll be doing. Competition, hunting, etc. Competition shooters who run thousands of rounds/month will take great care with this to get the most life and accuracy out of a very expensive barrel. Hunting guns where you might only shoot a a hundred rounds/year or less, it's not such a big deal. Like the man said, "Just shoot the damn thing."

If you want a taste of break-in for competition guns and precision ELR, see this and related videos dealing with bore dynamics, etc. :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXf6oZz ... ex=44&t=0s

for a hunting/recreational range rifle, I agree with the recommendation above to clean it and shoot it .... as to a lead or copper buildup, keep an eye on it as you are cleaning it .... it will tell you, what if any, steps need to be taken .... I do recommend giving a new rifle a close look prior to shooting it for the first time .... make sure all screws are tight .... look for any signs that the action isn't working as it should ....

anything new on when your 45-70 may get there

Run a very tight fitting patch through the barrel, see if there are any tight spots. I had a Marlin 1895 that was tight at the front and rear sight dovetails. It was hard to clean and not very accurate. I fire lapped it and all was very well. Recoil seemed less, groups were much better and it did not foul much. If your bore feels good, just shoot it.

John Davies
Spokane WA

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The common term is 'break-in'. Is your .45-70 the brass receiver model? You don't want ammonia anywhere near brass. Cleaning the bore you will want to use a soft metal rod (for example brass or aluminum), but best to use a flexible cable rod (OTIS) and clean from the breach and out through the muzzle.
This what I do. Clean after each shooting session.
o Run a bore snake through dry, breech to muzzle.
o If there is copper fowling, run Otis cable with swabs/TetraGun copper solvent through breech to muzzle until you are satisfied its as clean as you can get it.
o Run Otis cable with swabs/gun solvent through breech to muzzle until you are satisfied its as clean as you can get it.
o Run Otis cable with dry swabs through.
o Run Otis cable with oil damp swab through.
o Buff wood and Brass with Renascence Wax.
o Rub oiled cloth on blued steel.

Opinions for rounds fired for break-in varies. Anywhere between 500-2000 shots.

BruniX wrote:Hello to all,
how do you proceed to break the barrel of a new rifle? (i'm not sure of translation, break => first use of new riffle, preparing barrel for long and good service)

I read some stuff on it, some advocate cleaning between shots, for the first ten shots ... for a new rifle.

what do you use and how ?

a boresnake? a one-piece stainless steel rod? cotton pads? a standard solvent? a strong solvent with ammonia?

I am very interested to know the opinion of people having had several carbines .... for a long time ....
i will have to do this with 45-70 henry...

See you soon,

BruniX

The most I do with any of the guns I have owned is boresnake and then check for copper or lead deposits, in 50 years shooting I have never found any. Regarding the break in process of shoot 5 then clean etc. I have never found it necessary all you are doing is wearing out the bore.

First you may want to check the manual to see if the manufacture recommends anything specific.

Here's my thoughts, exactly, on breaking in a barrel from a gentleman I've gotten to know from personal correspondence over the years. Basically, clean the barrel first, then go out and shoot it. We used to email, regularly, about our thoughts and experiences, though we no longer do, now that he's so busy doing vids. He spent his whole career and a police armorer and shooting instructor and grew up, like I did, shooting all kinds of guns.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCIi-SklcP8

As was stated before the common term is break in. Breaking the barrel on a new rifle would mean literally breaking it in two. Not a good thing.

Phrases and colloquialisms can be a real problem when dealing with a language you do not speak all the time. Sometimes just the place you live can make a difference, even if you speak the same language.

I remember working in grocery store in the south when I was in high school. A lady came in and asked one of my co workers, "What is a grit?".
He thought about it a minute, and said, "Oh, you mean grits. Well they are kind of like cream of wheat, no, well....... anyway they are on aisle 9. Try them, they're good.".