Another look at barrel life: 16,000 rounds?

[Why not?]

Very interesting reading, 16,000 rounds of military hardball 30-06 ammo down the same barrel and still acceptable accuracy.

https://www.remingtonsociety.org/remingtons-wwii-experience-with-2-groove-rifling/

Often hear about some who are concerned about accuracy in hunting rifles after a thousand or less.

Ted

 

[dead meat]

Acceptable accuracy covers a wide range of accuracy. I have never heard the 30-06 called a barrel burner either. Still, 16,000 rounds is a lot of shooting.

 

[john-brennan]

270

I recall reading an article on a 270 that was at 7000 rounds plus and counting with good accuracy still, so I think it can depend on if you use factory loads or hot reloads ect. but possible for sure.

 

[Eagleye]

Well, barrel life is such a variable thing, and depends on several factors, so it is not surprising to see some large figures.
In my own experience, I have defied the "so-called" barrel burner syndrome a few times..

My first 220 Swift was a very early production Tang-safety Ruger M77V [26" HB, blued, Walnut]
This rifle was exceptionally accurate, so much so that it was hated at local turkey shoots.
I did not baby it either, drove 50 grain bullets to over 4000 fps, and 55's to 3925.

My first indication of barrel throat erosion was it went from a .25 moa rifle to a .45 moa rifle.
This occurred as it approached 2700 rounds.
This rifle stayed under moa until 3600 rounds. by seating 55's out more, I delayed the rebarrel
another 400 rounds. [I was under the impression that I might have to rebarrel before 2000 rounds.]

I put 6500 rounds through a 6.5x55 Pac-Nor 5 groove, 8 twist before accuracy was bad enough
to make me rebarrel that fine 700 Classic. [It's on its 3rd barrel right now. Gets shot a lot]

I rebarrelled my second 264 Win Mag [another notorious barrel burner] at 3400 rounds because it
would no longer shoot well enough to satisfy me for sheep hunting.

I poured literally thousands of rounds through an M17 that had been sporterized, with nary an
issue. It shot just as well at the end as it did at the beginning. Regular care and not shooting
them till the barrel is really hot helps them live longer. Dave.

 

[Gatehouse]

I had a Norinco AR15 with a pencil barrel. After 15K rounds it would still shoot "battle acceptable" at 100 yards with some ammunition. Some brands were 3MOA some were 6 MOA. But you could probably kill a coyote at 100 yards with it. 2 other AR15's (S&W) were keyholing after about 10K round each. My 300 WSM isn't as accurate as it once was. It's over 2000 rounds. My 50 BMG has 4000 rounds through it and groups look like this now. It was basically 1 MOA or less for 3 shot groups when new, now it's 1.71 MOA for a 6 shot group. Not too bad I think

 

[Magmalis]

My .223 got about 16 000 rounds before i noticed degradation from .25 moa. I changed the the barel at between 19 000 and 20 000 rounds and it was degrading quickly but still sub moa. I believe it could have lasted a bit longer but i try to keep under .5 moa for shooting dirt rats in Alberta.

Keep the speed down and keep the heat down to make the barrel last longer. Too many stringing shots together without cooling and the barrel gets worn out quickly.

 

[Why not?]

In reading the article I posted, I got to thinking about a Parker Hale 243 that Bevan King used for 'roos before he immigrated to Canada. If I am remembering correctly, the rifle had something like 9-10,000 rounds through it when he left there. he gave it to his brother, whom I have met, and he used it for another 3-4000 rounds or so.

The one good thing about throat erosion is that essentially, it increases the chamber volume in the same manner as purposely free-boring a chamber does. I had an old Husqvarna 270 that kept swallowing more and more H4831 and never shot poor groups. The velocity increased however, and it was still shooting sub moa when I traded it for a New Kirby Vacuum!

Ted

 

[Grizzly Adams]

I had a Norinco AR15 with a pencil barrel. After 15K rounds it would still shoot "battle acceptable" at 100 yards with some ammunition. Some brands were 3MOA some were 6 MOA. But you could probably kill a coyote at 100 yards with it. 2 other AR15's (S&W) were keyholing after about 10K round each. My 300 WSM isn't as accurate as it once was. It's over 2000 rounds. My 50 BMG has 4000 rounds through it and groups look like this now. It was basically 1 MOA or less for 3 shot groups when new, now it's 1.71 MOA for a 6 shot group. Not too bad I think

Military is happy if you can put a hole in the other guy, doesn't really matter where.


Grizz

 

[JIMMY 808]

Proper record keeping is more rare then a worn out barrel.

 

[Why not?]

I had a Norinco AR15 with a pencil barrel. After 15K rounds it would still shoot "battle acceptable" at 100 yards with some ammunition. Some brands were 3MOA some were 6 MOA. But you could probably kill a coyote at 100 yards with it. 2 other AR15's (S&W) were keyholing after about 10K round each. My 300 WSM isn't as accurate as it once was. It's over 2000 rounds. My 50 BMG has 4000 rounds through it and groups look like this now. It was basically 1 MOA or less for 3 shot groups when new, now it's 1.71 MOA for a 6 shot group. Not too bad I think

Military is happy if you can put a hole in the other guy, doesn't really matter where.


Grizz

I wonder how many could put six rounds from their favourite and most used hunting rifle into less than 2 minutes of angle at 470 yards?

Very, very, few is my bet.

Ted

 

[sail32]

From ( https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/theswissriflesdotcommessageboard/swiss-barrel-life-t10035.html )

" Average is 11-12000 rounds for the K31 barrel, the grease and the less intensive bore cleaning compared to other armies seem to be the the reasons why. Top shooters more easy renew things like springs and barrels.
In the early days of the Swiss Stgw90 they did a test with 20.000 rounds in various cycles on that one, after that they cleaned the bore well and it did a 2" (5cm) group at 300 meters off machine, that is exceptional but it shows that what a Swiss army specialist said "as long as it cycles and repeats it's not shot out " is kind of true. Guisan "

 

[Ganderite]

Barrel life also depends on whether it is a chrome moly barrel (blue) or a stainless. The two steels wear differently.


A blue barrel gets throat erosion. Not a big problem. A handloader can seat the bullets longer and longer.

A stainless barrel does not show erosion. The throat develops little cracks that look like dried mud. These cracks get longer and deeper until one day they cause a flake of metal to pop out. The accuracy goes from 1 minute to 3 minutes in one shot.