223 barrel life
- Thread starter czgun
- Start date
You could probably hand that rifle down to your grandkids and it will still shoot well. With any barrel it is the heat that kill the barrel after a while. As long as you don't keep shooting long strings of rounds without letting it cool you should enjoy the rifle for a long long time.
I thought it was the constant "erosion" of the beginning of the lands/grooves from the heat/fire of ignition, and as time goes on, this could affect headspacing??? I need some clarification, (this is only a vague memory, I really can't remember the reasoning. I doubt that lead/copper could wear out a steel barrel too quickly (unless shooting hypervelocity ammo).
sgt rock. The 223 headspaces on the shoulder not the case mouth. With time the throat will erode due to wear caused by heat, friction etc. the hotter the metal the quicker it will erode. Usual firing at a regular rate of fire this should take a long time before you see any appreciable effect to accuracy. You may be thinking of auto pistol rounds that headspace on the case mouth.
Unless you are plannng on shooting a LOT of gophers a LOT of the time, the barrel on a hunting rifle will last a LONG time.
Everything else being equal, a .223 is middle of the pack. You are going to see thousands of accurate rounds before accuracy drops enough to be problematic.
Everything else being equal, a .223 is middle of the pack. You are going to see thousands of accurate rounds before accuracy drops enough to be problematic.
sir_springer
Regular
- Location
- East Kootenays
.223 doesn't have reputation for rotting barrels.
.22.250 or .220 Swift, maybe another story.
Combination of overbore and relatively high velocity takes its toll.
I understand that Winchester didn't pursue the .257 WSM specifically because it was so hard on barrel life.
For the most part, takes a lot of shooting to wear out a barrel, generally a lot more than the average hunter, including a few visits to the range each year, is likely to put on in a lifetime...assuming, of course, one is not a spectacularly lousy shot, eh?
.22.250 or .220 Swift, maybe another story.
Combination of overbore and relatively high velocity takes its toll.
I understand that Winchester didn't pursue the .257 WSM specifically because it was so hard on barrel life.
For the most part, takes a lot of shooting to wear out a barrel, generally a lot more than the average hunter, including a few visits to the range each year, is likely to put on in a lifetime...assuming, of course, one is not a spectacularly lousy shot, eh?
The 300Win is good for 2000-2500 rounds....I have heard of a bit higher.
Depending on your accuracy expectations the 223 is good for about 10,000 rounds....I have heard of AR (black rifle) guys getting 20,000-30,000 rounds or slightly more, but those guys have different accuracy expectations.
"...Swiss arms 223 are good for over 30,000 round I do believe..." Who made it makes no difference.
"...300Win is good for 2000-2500 rounds..." Way more in a hunting rifle. A heavy barreled, long range(1,000 yards/meters), target rifle is a different thing.
"...barrel life of the .223..." Barrel life is a relative thing. Mostly about accuracy. For example, benchrest shooters are looking for sub-.200" groups at 100(not using a .223.). Varmint hunters like sub-MOA groups(not shooting fast and usually heavy barrels.). Two or 3 inch groups, at 100, is good enough for deer sized game(never shooting fast nor mag loads and not with heavy barrels). All of the rifles used in those are considerably different. Barrel weights, etc. So what you intend doing with the rifle matters. Any .223 will be fun to shoot and relatively inexpensive for a centre fire. Reloading can reduce your shooting costs too.
"...this could affect headspacing..." No. Throat erosion has nothing to do with headspace in any firearm.
"...300Win is good for 2000-2500 rounds..." Way more in a hunting rifle. A heavy barreled, long range(1,000 yards/meters), target rifle is a different thing.
"...barrel life of the .223..." Barrel life is a relative thing. Mostly about accuracy. For example, benchrest shooters are looking for sub-.200" groups at 100(not using a .223.). Varmint hunters like sub-MOA groups(not shooting fast and usually heavy barrels.). Two or 3 inch groups, at 100, is good enough for deer sized game(never shooting fast nor mag loads and not with heavy barrels). All of the rifles used in those are considerably different. Barrel weights, etc. So what you intend doing with the rifle matters. Any .223 will be fun to shoot and relatively inexpensive for a centre fire. Reloading can reduce your shooting costs too.
"...this could affect headspacing..." No. Throat erosion has nothing to do with headspace in any firearm.
