# Break in period?



## chip2 (Apr 8, 2015)

I have put approximately 1000 rounds through my XD 9 since I bought it. The trigger seems smoother now, and the gun just generally shoots better. Is that from getting it broken in? Or maybe it's just me that has changed? LOL


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## TAPnRACK (Jan 30, 2013)

Firing rounds through a new gun will help smooth out everything from the trigger to the slide. Some guns require no break-in period because they come more "finished" (usually higher end guns) than others... and some have mandatory break-in periods (like Kahr and others). 

My CZ 75BD and Kahr functioning greatly improved around the 300-500 rd mark... while my Sig Tac Ops was already functioning smooth and only needed to prove it's functionality. Every gun is different, but all guns must prove themselves before I carry them... that i'm sure everyone can agree on.


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## rustygun (Apr 8, 2013)

I have noticed the same on most of my hand guns. They seem to smooth out a little over time. I would not even consider modifying a new gun untill it had at least 500 rounds through it.


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

...


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## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

My first XD was OK from the start, but after about a thousand rounds, the trigger was butter smooth. I have two others, now, that are getting there, also.


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## 1911crazy (Jul 16, 2015)

Not break in, it's wear in , the mating of the machine fitted parts. Nothing seems to be hand fitted anymore.

To me personally if a gun needs break in time then I purchased the wrong gun.


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## dereckbc (Jan 2, 2016)

In my experience Springfield XD are very tight. Mine failed to eject rounds until I got about 300 rounds through it. Now I am about 1000 Rounds and the gun has loosened up and working perfectly. From my research this is normal for the XD series. So yeah they need broken in.


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

1911crazy said:


> Not break in, it's wear in , the mating of the machine fitted parts. Nothing seems to be hand fitted anymore.
> 
> To me personally if a gun needs break in time then I purchased the wrong gun.


"Break-in period" is a very common and acceptable use of the words.
I don't see a problem using "wearing in" if that's (what floats your boat)

*https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Break-in_(mechanical_run-in)*

*http://www.brazoscustom.com/magart/0705.htm*


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## Kennydale (Jun 10, 2013)

After 1000 rounds i would say its good to go. Shove into holster and BOOGIE ON !


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## Clerk (Oct 31, 2016)

After 1000 rounds put through your pistol I'd say it's broken in.

Clerk


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

TAPnRACK said:


> Firing rounds through a new gun will help smooth out everything from the trigger to the slide. *Some guns require no break-in period because they come more "finished" (usually higher end guns) than others...* and some have mandatory break-in periods (like Kahr and others).
> 
> My CZ 75BD and Kahr functioning greatly improved around the 300-500 rd mark... while my Sig Tac Ops was already functioning smooth and only needed to prove it's functionality. Every gun is different, but all guns must prove themselves before I carry them... that i'm sure everyone can agree on.


Whenever I buy a gun I'll just take it apart and do the finishing myself where needed. Usually it's just a matter of polishing out any rough machining/tool marks. Wherever you see wear spots, that's where there's friction. That's where you'll want to polish. It's a lot cheaper than buying a thousand rounds of ammo and going through what sometimes can be the frustration of working all the bugs out and getting all pissed off at that piece of shit gun you just bought. But then again I enjoy working on guns just as much, maybe even more than shooting them. I'm fascinated with all of those little machined parts and how they interact with each other. Not only that but I hate to rely on others for things I'm capable of doing myself. *Obviously if someone is not mechanically inclined or who has never worked on guns, this may not be such a great idea.* However it's not exactly rocket science.

They will also need specific tools for any given gun. Hollow ground screwdrivers, brass and steel punches along with a brass and nylon headed hammer. You'll also need a vise and armorers block. You can pad the jaws with scrap pieces of leather and make your own armorers block by drilling holes into a piece of 2x4. The block is mostly used for supporting a part while driving the pin(s) out. If you have a lot of guns you can buy the punches and screwdrivers in sets. Or individually for any particular gun. If the gun has roll pins there are punches made for them too. You should have one brass punch and one steel punch for any one size. Brass for starting and steel for driving the pin out the rest of the way. After awhile brass punches will mushroom out on the ends. They can be easily restored to their original diameter by placing them in a drill press or maybe even a hand drill and wrapping a piece of wet or dry around a flat steel ruler while holding it flat against the end of the spinning punch.

Wet or dry sandpaper from 220 grit to 2000 wrapped around a flat steel machinists ruler can be used to polish out most flat surfaces. Things like the slide, frame rails and places inside the frame. Pivot holes can be polished out by rolling up a small piece of wet or dry into a tube and placing it in the hole while rotating the part by hand several times around it. Pins can be polished by placing them in a drill chuck and at low speed hold the wet or dry against it. You should put a piece of masking tape over the pin where the chuck holds it in place, polish the exposed part of the pin, remove the tape place it on the other end then repeat. The objective is not to remove metal only to polish out any roughness. For pins and their respective holes a few passes each with 400 to 600 to 1500 should do. Depending on how rough and how tight the parts are will determine the grit to start with. Except for a slow speed drill as I've described, I never use power tools. Mainspring housing tunnels such as on a 1911 are usually pretty rough and should be polished out too along with the hammer strut. I also like to polish the breech face and feed ramp along with the top of the hammer where it rides against the bottom of the slide along with it's mating surface on the bottom of the slide. I could write chapters of this kinda' stuff, but I think you get the idea.

Keep in mind that what you're doing is what a thousand or so rounds would be doing. There's nothing like the feel and function of a friction free gun.


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## Pandaz3 (Aug 23, 2018)

I too would never modify a gun until it seems to function well every time. You might find a warranty issue, you might find you really hate the grip angle and wish you never bought the blanketly blank thing. make sure it is something you like already before modifying it

I have carried a revolver with less than 100 rounds practice, but a pistol would have to be perfect to carry with less than 250 rounds for me.


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## Goldwing (Nov 5, 2014)

My G19 probably has 1,000 rounds through it. No hiccups, no issues of any kind. It will eat any ammo that is loaded in it.
No break in required. 
I did recently apply Motorkote to all metal to metal contact points with a Q-tip. I probably dipped the Q-tip in a cap full three or four times through the whole process. Afterwords when I cycled the action it felt like a hand fitted custom.

GW


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