Just like a new pair of boots, a new Glock 17 barrel should be broken in, along with the rest of the action, in order to potentially improve accuracy as well as to enhance the overall smoothness of cycling.
This short post will break down that procedure as well as why it’s necessary in the first place.
Why Barrel Break in Is Necessary
While barrel break-in is not as impactful with respect to the performance of a handgun as it is to a precision rifle intended to be used for extreme long-range shooting, it is still a necessary function to improve the overall performance and cycling of the autoloading action.
A Glock 17 barrel (and action) that’s broken in will feed more reliably, cycle more quickly and more smoothly, and will potentially even produce more accurate groups than one that has not yet been “seasoned” to use the term loosely.
Breaking in a new Glock 17 barrel will smooth out any imperfections that have been left in the bore as a result of machining, will limber up the recoil spring, and will also improve the fit between the frame and slide and its components, resulting in a smoother charging, cycling, and shooting gun.
With that said, a Glock 17 barrel (or any Glock barrel, really) can be broken in simply by cleaning it and firing a few hundred rounds at the range. However, you can speed the process up by intentionally breaking it in.
Plus, an added benefit of breaking in your barrel is that you will also break in the slide components as well as your Glock mags during the process.
The Procedure
The first step in breaking in your new Glock 17 barrel is to clean it thoroughly once you bring it home. Whether your pistol is brand new from a Glock dealer or you have one of our aftermarket barrels, the procedure for cleaning remains largely the same.
Per Glock, to clean the barrel:
- With the barrel removed from the slide, wet a cleaning patch with lubricant and run it through the bore from chamber to muzzle.
- Remove the jag and patch and attach an appropriately sized bronze cleaning brush to the rod. Soak the brush in powder solvent and run it through the barrel from chamber to muzzle to loosen and scrub away any grease (or fouling, for a barrel, that isn’t new) from the bore.
- Remove the brush, wet a fresh patch with lubricant, and run it through the bore once more from chamber to muzzle. This will help absorb any grease or fouling.
- Replace with another fresh, clean, and dry patch. Run it through the barrel from the chamber end and inspect; it should come out clean and white. Repeat this process until the patch comes out clean, with no solvent, oil, grease, solvent, or powder fouling detectable on the patch.
Your Glock 17 barrel is now clean and ready to break in.
Now, one note before exploring this topic is that you can forgo this active process and simply break your Glock in by sending a few hundred rounds downrange. Using the gun will break it in organically; this is just a way to fast-strack the process.
Take your Glock 17 to the range, and shoot a few mags through it. Somewhere between 20 to 50 rounds. When you’ve done so, field strip it and give the barrel a good cleaning, just to remove powder fouling, not copper fouling.
Repeat the procedure, shooting another 20 to 50 rounds through the new Glock 17 barrel, after which you should field strip it and give it a quick cleaning and lube again.
Once you’ve done 100 or so rounds, shoot another 100 through it, then field strip it and clean it again. Between 200 and 300 rounds, and your Glock will be fairly well broken in. There is no hard number here, but most shooters agree that a few hundred rounds are all that’s needed.
A Note on Copper Fouling
While breaking in your Glock 17 barrel, you don’t need to exert yourself too heavily to remove copper fouling. This is due to the fact that, while excessive copper fouling can complicate accuracy, a little bit is not necessarily implicated in a degradation of accuracy. For the purpose of break-in you can overlook copper fouling removal and focus instead on removing grease and powder fouling from the bore – something that will be made easier due to the finishes of our barrels which offer advanced permanent dry lubricity that inhibits oil, grease and fouling from adhering to them.
Caring for Your New Glock 17 Barrel
After you’ve broken in your new Glock barrel, all other notes for routine maintenance apply. Don’t allow the bore or chamber to become excessively fouled, as this can interrupt feeding, extraction, and cycling, and a heavily fouled barrel will not be as accurate as a clean one.
