Breaking in a new gun?

[stone knife]

When I get my new TVM what is the best way to go about breaking it in. Is there a certain procedure to go through before I touch a file to the sights.

 

[reddog]

I would suggest shootin' it about 100 times...

 

[B.Habermehl]

Try to find out what it likes. Inspect your fired patches carefully. When you find a load or two it likes then file your sights to make the gun shoot where it looks. Expect to spend a few days of shooting to fine tune the loading process and components.

 

[rr11]

If your patches show damage lap the bore. My Early Virginia TVM has a Longhammock barrel and shot great from the start. Shoot her and find the best load first.

 

[Rifleman1776]

The gun does not need breaking in. The shooter often does however.
Jokes aside, a new ml gun often requires some tweaking in determining best load, sight adjustment, lock tuning, etc. But, it is nothing like, say a modern semi-auto pistol that often needs considerable shooting and bench work before it is reliable. Different critters. Enjoy, you will find out quickly how to 'tweak'.

 

[Le Grand]

If the fired patches show damage, such as burn-through at the grooves, they might not be thick enough. If so, use a thicker patch. And use a lot of lube. It's no fun getting a stuck ball in a new gun.

 

[Stony]

The best way to "break in" a new gun is to fire it. What you're doing is wearing the parts together. The wood is compressing at the breech, the sear is polishing and mating itself to the hammer and tumbler. You're also removing itty teeny tiny burrs from the barrel. Shoot about a pound of normal loads. You should be able to hit a 10" steel plate during the process or shoot at paper plates, they're cheap. Have some fun and get a little familiar with your new toy. :thumbsup:

 

[DelSnavely]

When I got my .36, I shot a hundred rounds through it with 30 grains of powder before I even shot at a target. Then, I shot 3 rounds at a target with 30 grains, to see where it hit. I added about 2 grains of powder and shot 3 more shots. Every 3 shots I would add 2 grains of powder and shoot 3 more. When I got to 37 grains, my pattern sucked down to about a quarter at 50 yards. That's when I adjusted the sights to find that pattern and dial it in.

Now I've taken 3 gophers and a jack rabbit on the run with this little beauty.

Have fun and don't worry about hitting anything till you're done...lol

 

[majg1234]

My TVM S MTN 40 shot to POA @ 25 yrds right after cutting the rear sight notch (per M Avance directions) At 60 yrds she hits about the same just about 3/4 to the left,Didn't change anything and later that year killed a doe @ about 40yds It too is a longhammock barrel,hand cast ball from a lee mold,015 pillow ticking patch with 50gr-60gr Fffg goex and a felt 45 cal wad over the powder.Bottem line is shoot it and like others posted it'll tell you how much breakin it needs,I was lucky I guess cause mine didn't need any :thumbsup:

 

[Stumpkiller]

In my experience a new m/l will need at least 100 rounds through it before the patches hold up to where they are worth examining. THEN the fine sight work should begin. Probably depends much on the manufacturer.

An exception is the process like L.C. Rice uses which swages the bore smooth of all tooling marks. It still mat cut patches as the rifling edges are so crisp.

I don't recommend lapping a new barrel just because. You paid for a new barrel, why wear it out prematurely? If you are going to do it then use something like J-B Paste that is easy on the metal. The wiping process of a tight patch is of itself helpful in cleaning up the burrs.

 

[stone knife]

I got news for you all, the first nice day after that baby shows up, will see me MIA from work and whittling down my powder cache

 

[DelSnavely]

In my experience a new m/l will need at least 100 rounds through it before the patches hold up to where they are worth examining. THEN the fine sight work should begin. Probably depends much on the manufacturer.

An exception is the process like L.C. Rice uses which swages the bore smooth of all tooling marks. It still mat cut patches as the rifling edges are so crisp.

I don't recommend lapping a new barrel just because. You paid for a new barrel, why wear it out prematurely? If you are going to do it then use something like J-B Paste that is easy on the metal. The wiping process of a tight patch is of itself helpful in cleaning up the burrs.

I was told at one time to use cigar ashes and lube mixed thick and lapp the barrel with that. He said it's not as abrasive, but works just the same. Not sure if it works or not.

 

[Rifleman1776]

In my experience a new m/l will need at least 100 rounds through it before the patches hold up to where they are worth examining. THEN the fine sight work should begin. Probably depends much on the manufacturer.

An exception is the process like L.C. Rice uses which swages the bore smooth of all tooling marks. It still mat cut patches as the rifling edges are so crisp.

I don't recommend lapping a new barrel just because. You paid for a new barrel, why wear it out prematurely? If you are going to do it then use something like J-B Paste that is easy on the metal. The wiping process of a tight patch is of itself helpful in cleaning up the burrs.

Except for an early-early (ca. 1970) CVA Ky. rifle, I don't think I have ever had a new barrel or rifle cut patches. Not saying it won't or doesn't happen but my experience is that this would be an exception, not the rule. FWIW, my rifle barrels have been mostly Douglas plus one Paris, one Montana and one TC. (and the TC might have been a Douglas) Otherwise agree with Stump.

 

[ApprenticeBuilder]

The gun does not need breaking in. The shooter often does however.

In my experience a new m/l will need at least 100 rounds through it before the patches hold up to where they are worth examining. THEN the fine sight work should begin. Probably depends much on the manufacturer.

I agree with both of these statements.

By the time you get yourself trained to properly follow thru with a flintlock you should have an ample amount of shots thru the barrel to smooth up any rough edges.

YMMV

 

[StewartLeach]

My experience with ML barrels- eleven so far, including Thompson Center, CVA, Lyman, Green Mtn and Getz- is that you should get at least a hundred rounds through the barrel before taking files, hammers and punches to the sights. With the exception of the Getz, all of the above showed a significant change in impact as they shot in.

After you get the hundred or so down range, do some testing to find the combination of patch and powder charge that gives the smallest group. Then regulate the sights for point of aim hits at 50 yards with that combination. Further testing will train you as to how much front sight to expose at longer yardages.

Enjoy! What more could a small boy ask for than sparks, smoke, loud noises and bad smells?

White Fox, in the Peoples Republic of Boulder

 

[FishDFly]

When I get my new TVM what is the best way to go about breaking it in. Is there a certain procedure to go through before I touch a file to the sights.

If I spent that much money on a rifle, I would ask the builder, not folks on the web.

Makes sense to me to ask the builder whom you trusted with your money. Why ask those whom you did not send money to, but then again it's not my money either nor my rifle.

 

[ohio ramrod]

The only thing you usually need to do to "break in" a rifle is to remove and sharp edges from the crown and lands IF THEY ARE SHARP. I recommend trying a few shots, checking the patches for tears. If the patches aren't torn you don't need to do anything. If they are torn I recommend a piece of fine emory cloth on the ball of your thumb a few turns to smooth out the crown. And a bronze (or Nylon) brush and TOOTHPASTE for the lands. While I use lapping and rubbing coumpounds to salvage damaged barrels I would never take them to a new barrel. :idunno: :idunno:

 

[hanshi]

Clean her up, take her out and shoot. Put up targets and start from the get-go learning what loads shoot best. After several shooting sessions, 100 to 200 rounds, you should know your load(s) you will use. THEN file and move the sights if it needs it.

 

[stone knife]

These guy's on the web probably do more shooting than the builder so I thought it right to ask here :thumbsup:

 

I would multiply that 100 by 5, then let's talk. find a load for say 25, 50, an 75 yards, that is consistent, and repeatable. Only work with one change at a time, i.e. patch thickness or ball diameter, or number of grains. Then get repeatable results. Get it to shoot consistent to a point before you even attempt to adjust the sights. This means three to five range trips. By then you will have smoothed out the lands of the barrel, and should have a gun that you are intimate with. Take your time and enjoy the trip.

Bill

Bill