some of you might find a recent thread interesting. I've been documenting my break in process with pictures on another forum. i mentioned it 3 weeks ago in
this thread but now have enough rounds on the barrel to be meaningful.
The result on these two barrels, to date, has been representative of most past barrels in my experience.
In short, i postulate that a short break in process is conducive to low SDs by eliminating copper fouling as a variable. (i make no claims regarding accuracy, though tighter velocity spreads obviously affect vertical dispersion at longer ranges)
On one barrel, i document the break in, then clean again at various intervals, after 25 rounds, up to a couple hundred, to demonstrate that copper does not build up after break in.
On the other barrel, I document the break in (2 rounds), then just shoot it, and am up to 400 rounds (as of today).
At 182 rounds, I chrono'd and got
2779
2779
2783
2782
2779
which is a 4 FPS ES and a 1 SD.
At 390-400 rounds, I chrono'd and got an ES of 11 and SD of 3 FPS. The point being, the barrel hasn't been cleaned since the 2nd round. So, 398 rounds since it was cleaned, and it's still shooting low single digit ES. AND, once the velocity stabilized, from 182 to 400 rounds, the Mean has only moved 2 FPS.
you can read the thread here
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=797080. feedback on either site is welcome.
If anyone can demonstrate similar results with a copper fouled barrel, i would be interested in seeing it. It should be relatively easy since so many people "just shoot it" with no cleaning whatsoever. That's not a challenge to anyone's manhood. I am genuinely interested in the topic. Specifically, I'd like to see chorno results for a barrel that has several hundred rounds on it and has never been cleaned. Then if you're willing, either show bore scope video or clean it with a copper solvent to show copper removed.