That's about what the guy in the video was saying too, lol.

The only break in I have done is with semi auto actions. Rimfire for sure. Every 10/22 I have had or built has got a few hundred rounds, tore down and polished the rub spots. Pistols also. This was for mostly function, lessor for accuracy, but smooth actions don't damage rounds that would hurt point of impact.

Some custom barrel makers have a recommended “break-in” procedure. Some don’t.

I’ve talked to a lot of barrel makers, gunsmiths, etc, and the general consensus is most all barrels benefit some from a fire-lapping procedure. Some greatly, some not so much.

Factory barrels require/benefit this procedure more so than custom tubes.

I do it and will continue to do it.

I don’t shoot competition so my round counts are low comparatively. I have noticed that the more I shoot a gun, the more precise it gets to some extent. It was quite noticeable for the first couple hundred rounds in some of my rifles.

Since I buy so few new rifles, I usually use a break in. I think, like others have mentioned, it may just be a faster way to get to the precision that a certain barrel is capable of. It is a pain and I agree that there’s no way to know if it helps. If I bought more rifles I’d probably use a much abbreviated break in.

My last rifle was a Hawkeye Predator from Ruger in 6.5 CM. I was amazed at how much less copper fouling there was after the break in compared to how much there was after the first few single shots. Anecdotal evidence at best.