break-in period for a new gun?

[EnglishBob]

So I've spent the week messing around with my new FNX 45. It's the first plastic gun and the first gun that I've had to break in. 400 rounds later and the thing has finally stopped malfunctioning.

I've seen conflicting information about break-in periods. Some say that it shouldnt be required with modern firearms and then there's another camp that say that high quality firearms need a few hundred rounds to get them settled in.

So whats the general consensus? what's the expert opinion? what's the n00b opinion? (I'm a n00b and I think its bloody annoying).

Now that its settled in I believe I could shoot the testicles off a woefully endowed gnat, its a great gun.

 

[frenchman]

Break in periods are usually for custom and semi customs. Their tolerances are way tighter. If I buy a Tupperware gun and it requires breaking it in, you'll hear me bitching. Get it from the store, clean, re-oil, and shoot it.

 

[strangenh]

Just about anything commercially produced that needs to be "broken in" could have been broken in through a finishing process at the factory. Basically the factory just outsourced the final finishing work... to you, to be accomplished by shooting it (rather than machining off burrs, polishing, etc.).

On the other hand, if them skipping the buff&polish saves the buyer $200, hey, whatever works! I've seen wide reports the Kahr PM9s require a 200-round break-in. On the other hand Beretta Nanos appear to run from shot #1. Just a matter of finishing at the factory... and yet the Kahr costs considerably more. HMMMM.

 

[Varmint]

Get it from the store, clean, re-oil, and shoot it.

I'm curious why that's necessary, don't they clean and oil guns at the factory before shipping? I would think each part gets a clean after the machining.

 

[browncoat]

I'm curious why that's necessary, don't they clean and oil guns at the factory before shipping? I would think each part gets a clean after the machining.

Sometimes they ship over lubed to prevent corrosion in transit and while waiting to be sold

 

[Golddiggie]

What kinds of, and how many, malfunctions were you having?

I've never had to run 400 rounds through a gun to get it to be 'broken in'... I had zero malfunctions through the barrel break-in period on my DPMS AR15. I don't recall any malfunctions on my P14-45 (when I got it back in 1995) during that same round count. The only issues I had with my 300 Blackout pistol build can be attributed to the ammo we made (resized .223 cases with the wrong dies, set incorrectly) but sill had more than 95% function properly.

BTW, a quick google search suggests malfunctions in that pistol could be related to the ammo you feed it. What were you running through it?

Also, first thing I do with a new gun, is give it a decent cleaning and lube it so that it functions within parameters. I also use lube that I prefer, since there's almost no way to know what was applied at the factory. At least it's not as bad as what people buying Mosin's have to go through.

 

[jmikk85]

My Sig P226 and HK USP both had hiccups for the first several magazines. Now they run flawlessly. I think most people would consider those decent firearms.

 

[Supermoto]

Breaking in guns is just another way to say you bashed together parts while shooting that should have been fitted correctly when the gun was built

 

[Pvt. Cowboy]

Vp9 and 226 needed no break in. Mp45 same deal.

 

[92G]

100 or so rounds is feasible.

400 rds is waaay too much for breakin period. Personally i would want mfr to service my gun if its still not smooth after 100 ish rounds...even Kahr who claims a 200 rd breakin period ive found 100 rds is sufficient.

 

[EnglishBob]

It's funny how you all say that That was my feeling too. my p226 and M&P Shield required no break-in. The FN FNX-45 ....bleugh, the first 150 rounds was a total shitshow, stovepipes, FTF on nearly every round. #1, turns out my technique sucked and stiffening up my wrist knocked mals back to every 5 rounds. #2 I'm using the range blessed reloads - I think they're a little light. I found the FN forum and they suggested the 450 break-in period. Today I was shooting and had only two mals over 100 rounds. Having shot the range rental version with 0 malfunctions, plus everything i'm reading, I think it should be cleaned up by 500 rounds. The recoil spring is really stiff on this gun and I've only just started seeing the slide lock on an empty mag.

I was pretty frustrated with it but the gun is so accurate for me it's almost uncanny and todays session of 100 rounds went great.

 

[je25ff]

Well, in terms of a barrel: When I broke in my Remington 700, I literally fired a round, ran patches, fired a round, ran patches, like 20 times. All in 20 degree weather. Some people say you don't need to do this and some do. Figured I'd err on the side of caution.

 

[greencobra]

What types of malfunctions did you experience in the first 400 rounds? I must be the exception to the rule on this forum cause I expect a gun to function out of the box. Sort of like a car when new, it will do what you want, go fwd & back, while you wait for the engine bits to wear together. Don't interpret that to mean I've never experienced a malfunction, of course I have, but not on the level of I'm thinking to myself I'm experiencing a tough "break in."

 

[preacher4573]

I have a FNX-45 and it has never had a malfunction out of the box brand new. Over 4500 rounds and not one. Something wrong there whether it be product or shooters error.

 

[92G]

What types of malfunctions did you experience in the first 400 rounds? I must be the exception to the rule on this forum cause I expect a gun to function out of the box. Sort of like a car when new, it will do what you want, go fwd & back, while you wait for the engine bits to wear together. Don't interpret that to mean I've never experienced a malfunction, of course I have, but not on the level of I'm thinking to myself I'm experiencing a tough "break in."

^^this

IMO there are "malfunctions" caused by the gun being stiff, thus some high resistance to cycling. a good example is stovepiping or possibly FT-feed. although limwristing can be blamed for such failures, often I've noticed once the gun gets warm and broken in, then it cycles fine with the same limpwrister.....so blaming limpwristing IMO is only part of an explanation.

then there are real malfunctions which are less likely to be cured by more break-in period, such as FT-extract, misfeeds or FT-fire. Usually if i have extraction or firing issues, I try at least 4-5 types of ammo and if it's happening with >1 type of ammo then the gun needs to be serviced.

in general w a new gun I like to shoot hot ammo, not the low cost reloads which are famous for squibbing. by shooting good ammo I am essentially giving the gun the best chance to function well and declare itself, so to speak. a good example is 9mm american eagle 115gr FMJ vs. blazer brass 115gr FMJ. the blazer ammo is weaker and inconsistent, so I usually push 100 rounds of american eagle (or other good 9mm FMJ) though a new gun. often I will observe normal function w good ammo then when I switch to crappier ammo (e.g. blazer) I will see a stovepipe here and there. down the road when the gun runs 100% on crappy ammo then I know it is fully broken in.

the only gun I personally own that needed a very long break-in period (>300 rds) is my sig p232 .380. It would stovepipe constantly, like once per mag. after repeatedly cleaning the gun after each trip, I noticed there's a ton of metal-metal contact points given the old-school design. So I let the metal scuff itself up and then polished each area of contact, and voila the gun is now 100% after another 500 rds there hasn't been a hiccup. however, such issue shouldn't apply to a new polymer gun because the contact points are far less and way lower resistance in general.

 

[greencobra]

I've had 1 gun not function out of the box in 40+ years of handgun buying/shooting and ironically it was a "high end" Walther PPK .380 stainless model, from back in the Interarms days. Over engineered? Don't know, but used every brand of ammo available back in the day and couldn't even get a full mag through it. Again, don't interpret this as me saying Walthers suck now cause they don't. Never found a solution to issues. Sometimes a bad one escapes.

It's just me saying this but 400 rounds and the gun is still not functioning, something might be up. I know guys that to them, 400 rds is a lifetime of shooting, god help them if they need this gun in an emergency and it doesn't function first time. I know nothing of the FN line of pistols, maybe a call to the factory rep is in order, run the problems by them and see what they say

 

[JackOfAllTrades]

Any new or repaired mechanical system is going to have some sort of break-in period.

I don't care how well you fit all the parts together, once they start interacting, there will be wear on them as they settle into alignment with their neighboring parts.

If the the tolerances are well chosen and adhered to, it may not take much mutual wear before the parts are happy with each other and stop wearing in. If the tolerances were off, it may take some time before the wear-in process corrects them.

Also, your hand fitting of parts can not simulate the forces involved in actually firing the gun. Parts that glide smoothly and leave no marks on each other while manually cycling the action may have to wear in with each other under the thousands of pounds of force applied when the cartridge ignites.

Polymer based mechanisms tend to have looser tolerances to begin with, the plastics tend to be somewhat more slippery than metals, and they move much more than metals under stress. This can hide some fitment issues and wear-in malfunctions.

The other part no one mentions is that on a new gun, there is a break-in period for the operator. How many malfunctions can be attributed to the operator not holding it firmly enough, or putting a thumb in the wrong place, or not pushing the magazine quite all the way home, etc. Odds are that some of these early issues are just the operator learning the particular design or gun.

Think of driving a rental car. Even though you know how to drive it, the first few miles are loaded with slow starts, jerky starts, more aggressive stops than you intended, etc. until you get to know this particular car.

 

[greencobra]

Polymer based mechanisms tend to have looser tolerances to begin with, the plastics tend to be somewhat more slippery than metals, and they move much more than metals under stress. This can hide some fitment issues and wear-in malfunctions.

How many Glocks you heard of that don't work out of box? None is my answer. Usually polymer guns have small metal rails on the frame so there is not much metal to metal contact at all. Don't know how the FN is put together but look at the M&P line, almost identical to the Glock, same with the polymer Sig.

 

[AM13]

How many Glocks you heard of that don't work out of box? None is my answer. Usually polymer guns have small metal rails on the frame so there is not much metal to metal contact at all. Don't know how the FN is put together but look at the M&P line, almost identical to the Glock, same with the polymer Sig.

Shot my new M&P 45c for the first time the other day. Out of box no cleaning/lube and it ran fine 100 round of fed aluminum with no issues

 

[EnglishBob]

I have a FNX-45 and it has never had a malfunction out of the box brand new. Over 4500 rounds and not one. Something wrong there whether it be product or shooters error.

I assume a little of both. I had issues shooting a glock. Also I think using the reloads wasn't helping. The FN forum has a guide to breaking in the FNX-45 and I just followed that. The key piece of info I left out was that people who owned FNX-45s could shoot the damn thing without a mal (when it was messing up at first I had them test it and it ran fine). Lots of stovepiping was the primary issue.

 

[Supermoto]

How many Glocks you heard of that don't work out of box? None is my answer. Usually polymer guns have small metal rails on the frame so there is not much metal to metal contact at all. Don't know how the FN is put together but look at the M&P line, almost identical to the Glock, same with the polymer Sig.

Plenty on gen4 glocks did not run out of the box

 

[greencobra]

Plenty on gen4 glocks did not run out of the box

That was the recoil spring problem was it not? Glock changed the spring to the 2 piece design iirc. That was a manufacturing/design problem. If I'm wrong refresh my memory. This could be a thread hi-jack, sorry bout that.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

The "200 round break in" is a cracty warranty strategy. A large percentage of handguns are bought, taken out to the range once or twice, and site in a safe or holster unshot. I'd guess that a decent percentage never get past the 200 rounds where the manufacturer can blame it on "break in" rather than fix it.

 

[strangenh]

That was the recoil spring problem was it not? Glock changed the spring to the 2 piece design iirc. That was a manufacturing/design problem.

Yeah, a problem that works out over time is a polish/fitting/finish issue. A problem that doesn't go away is a defect.

The first as I said, is the manufacturer outsourcing the final fit/polish to... us, the users. The second is the manufacturer screwing up.

 

[preacher4573]

One thing I do to all my autos is get a dremel, Flitz Polish, and a polishing head for the dremel and polish the hell out of the feed ramp on the barrel. I also despite what many disagree with, Froglube with a heat gun the entire gun as the directions explain. I did this same regiment with my FNX-45 before I shot it and as I said, not one malfunction in over 4000 rounds. Not sure of you hand size as well but it is a big mother of a pistol to say the least, so maybe try changing back straps to get a better grip if you think that is an issue. Hope it works out for you, I have a lot of FN product and have not been let down by performance yet. Good luck!!

 

[greencobra]

Yeah, a problem that works out over time is a polish/fitting/finish issue. A problem that doesn't go away is a defect.

The first as I said, is the manufacturer outsourcing the final fit/polish to... us, the users. The second is the manufacturer screwing up.

That's what you pay serious money for when you buy a Les Baer or Ed Brown, some guy sitting there for hours hand lapping the slide/frame fit and all that crazy polishing of the nooks and crannies. All I'm saying is a gun should be expected to function out of the box. Am I the only one who thinks function and break in are 2 different things? Might I add, 2 of my lowest cost, entry level 1911's, a Norinco and Remington R1 have functioned perfectly out of the box. They don't get any rougher than Norinco, looks like they finish the bearing surfaces with a heavy grit wheel. And they were made by child slave labor after all.

Edit for OP..Good luck with this gun, hope it gets sorted out for you soon

 

[strangenh]

That's what you pay serious money for when you buy a Les Baer or Ed Brown, some guy sitting there for hours hand lapping the slide/frame fit and all that crazy polishing of the nooks and crannies. All I'm saying is a gun should be expected to function out of the box. Am I the only one who thinks function and break in are 2 different things? Might I add, 2 of my lowest cost, entry level 1911's, a Norinco and Remington R1 have functioned perfectly out of the box. They don't get any rougher than Norinco, looks like they finish the bearing surfaces with a heavy grit wheel. And they were made by child slave labor after all.

Edit for OP..Good luck with this gun, hope it gets sorted out for you soon

I get you. I think it is a matter of degree - custom work vs. factory final finishing. A gun that "works in" over time is probably more common than not in these "CNC and ship" days. No idea how Beretta keeps the Nano price down compared with Kahr and yet delivers a pocket handgun that just runs. Cheaper labor?

 

[greencobra]

Sometimes the manufacturer will say in manual if a gun requires a break-in period

Yes, I've seen that. But have you ever seen a manufacturer say in the manual something like "do not carry or use your new pistol for defensive purposes until a mandatory break in of 500 rounds is completed." Yeah, I never have either.

 

[mursenary4]

I guess you'll have to give that fnx over to me

 

[warwickben]

Did you clean the shipping grease crap off of it? Most of the guns I've bought new had stuff like Cosmo on them so they don't rust sitting on a rack waiting to be sold.

Maybe it wasn't a break in and you just stopped limp wristing it ? When ever I hand my 1911 to some one who never shot one it starts to have problems .
Then I give then crap about being a wimp and hold on to it , the problems stop.