Barrel burners

powdergun

powdergun

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As it is varmint season the talk is all about those small caliber rifles that shoot 50-70 gr bullets at blazing speeds. I've read that these rounds can be a little hard on a barrel. ( Yes I know that depends on hot the load and how hot you heat up the barrel )

Of the following rounds which are easiest on a barrel

.223
.17 rem
22-250
.204

etc...
 
223 by a HUGE margin over the 204.

Here is how to answer the question properly:

Take the case capacity in grains of H20 and divide by the surface are of the case mouth in square inches.

The 223 has a case capacity of 30.2 grains of water divided by the frontal area of the case in inches (Pi x r squared) so .112 X .112 X 3.1415 = 0.039406976 30.2 divided by 0.039406976 = 766 (The lower that index number the better.)

The 204 Ruger case capacity is 33.2 and thus its index is 1015

the 22-250 index is 1091

the 17 remington has an overbore index of 1137

Those index numbers are relative, and do not relate to round counts, but as an example of barrel life, the 220 swift has a known ACCURATE barrel life of 1000 rounds or less. Its OBI is 1218. The 223 remington is known to be good for between 3500 and 5000 accurate rounds. Those indeces should help put that in perspective.
 
223, 204, 22-250, 17 i have a 204 ruger that i shoot 32 grain v max bullets out of, loading 28.4 grains of power moving at just shy of 4200fps fast, low powder, good barrel life.
 
A person can present all the figures he wants, but there are a lot of other factors that
determine barrel life besides the "OBI"
The thoeretical life vs the real life can be a long way apart.

For example, if you insist on shooting your barrel "hot", you can reduce it's life dramatically.
Improper cleaning methods can shorten accurate barrel life. The list is quite long.

I have owned a number of 220 Swifts over the years, and I'm here to tell you that I never had
one go south on me before 2000+ rounds were through it....and full-power loads, too.

On the other side of the coin, I knew a fellow who washed the throat out of a 6.5/300 Weatherby in just
over 350 rounds. [I saw him get that barrel so hot you could not touch it]

Truth is, if you shoot your rifle enough to have to rebarrel, you've had a lot of fun with it!!
I have a 6.5x55 that is on it's third barrel..:)

Regards, Eagleye.
 
Theory is certainly not the whole story. I know of two rifles in 220 Swift that both had 3000 rounds through them before they were sent away for new barrels .... because they would no longer hold MOA past 300 yd. ;)

Ted
 
I would be proud to burn out a barrel. I'd hang it on the wall in a nice glass case and smile every time I walked by it.

I've put a lot of rounds through my go to gopher guns and they are still hanging in there. (10/22, bdl 22-250 for 20 years)

Anyways, if burning out barrels was that common, I'd think there would be a lot more hanging on walls in other high-volume shooters trophy rooms.

Pick what you want to shoot a lot and shoot it.
 
I bought a used Husqvarna 270 in 1966, and used it most for shooting woodchucks at long range. Several thousand rounds later, in 1969, we moved out West, and the rifle really came into its own. I kept it for another fifteen years, shooting and hunting, and eventually traded it for a new Hoover vacuum cleaner, of all things.

It had at least 4000 rounds of 130-160 gr bullets down the tube, all powered by the old H4831 when Mark got it. It would still shoot into less than an inch and a half at 100 yd then, and is still going strong today hunting big game.

Accuracy is a relative term. :)

Happy New Year Everyone!

Ted
 
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My 7mm STW is awaiting its 3rd barrel right now, lol. I love that rifle so much I use it for everything but grouse and waterfowl lol.
 
My MR-1 is very near 6000 rounds tru it and accuracy never been so good and i really blast away somethime, maybe that crio stuff is good... JP.
 
I think an important question to ask is what is your acceptable level of accuracy. A barrel that is considered washed out, shot out, burned out what ever to one guy might be thought as a hummer barrel to the next. A barrel that once shot one hole groups on paper will still be more than accurate for gopher shooting and after you've decided it was no longer good enough for that it would still be effective for predator hunting...forever. That's just my opinion of course and how I extend the useful life of my barrels. But hey I'm all for buying new barrels. It's very exciting.
 
hend238 said:
I think an important question to ask is what is your acceptable level of accuracy. A barrel that is considered washed out, shot out, burned out what ever to one guy might be thought as a hummer barrel to the next. A barrel that once shot one hole groups on paper will still be more than accurate for gopher shooting and after you've decided it was no longer good enough for that it would still be effective for predator hunting...forever. That's just my opinion of course and how I extend the useful life of my barrels. But hey I'm all for buying new barrels. It's very exciting.
Click to expand...

This is exactly the point to be made. HOW ACCURATE IS ACCURATE? There are century+ old milsurp 303's and mausers that are still happily shooting 5" 100 yard groups, taking deer and being shot decades after they guys who built them were put in the ground. If our remington hunting rifles shot like that we'd be pretty pissed. Chances are, those groups will not get any bigger.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, and where I have personally spent almost all ot he last 20 years of my shooting, is the precision shooting sports, where a barrel is considered done when it can no longer produce precision for the sport in which you're shooting. For a BR shooter, that is anything over .2. For a TR shooter, that is anything over .5 and for an F-class shooter it is over .3 or .4

So when shooters claim to have gotten 3000 rounds out of 6.5-284's and 220 Swifts, they have done so, but their tolerances for what is considered "shot out" differ greatly from what someone who has personally chambered or borescoped hundreds of barrels and shoots primarily for the purpose of prodcing the most possible precision.

Eagleye is also bang on when he points out that many things contribute to wearing out a barrel faster and heating them up is #1.
 
captonion said:
Not so!

Barrel life isn't far off from that of the 223..
Click to expand...

Depends how accurate they are to begin with. I have owned several and this is my favorite varmint round by far. I have owned 3 and rebarreled 3. I have literally worn out a throat in a week of gopher shooting. They are not anywhere near as forgiving as a 223
 
General rule of thumb; the bigger the case capacity is in relation to the bore size, the faster it will wear out a barrel. Here's a somewhat accurate chart:

overbore_chart.jpg
 
bearkilr said:
General rule of thumb; the bigger the case capacity is in relation to the bore size, the faster it will wear out a barrel. Here's a somewhat accurate chart:

overbore_chart.jpg
Click to expand...

Apparently my Hornet and Russian will never die! And my .30/30's will live to 100.
 
Fire306 said:
How many rounds approximately are you getting out of your STW barrels before you are replacing them?
Click to expand...


First barrel was somewhere between 1200-1500, the second barrel has made 3500+. But I was pushing 139 and 140 HARD! Most people won't believe what a 30" barrel and the STW pushed to its limits will do over an Oehler lol

I have learned to back off on my loads, and now use heavier bullets.
 
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