22-250 Barrel Life?

mmattockx

mmattockx

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I am looking at buying a Savage 12FV in 22-250 for my varmint / longer range plinking / yote gun. The caliber is perfect for my uses, aside from its reputation as a barrel eater. What is a realistic expectation of life from the blued steel and stainless steel versions?

Thanks,
Mark
 
1000-1500 "accurate" rounds.

Now....accurate means different things to different people but it will most likely start walking the odd shot somewhere in the region mentioned above but would probably shoot minute of Coyote for some time after.
 
There are too many variables to really give an accurate estimate....

If you run scorching fast 40gr loads 4100+fps then you will start getting throat erosion around 1500-2000rnds.

If your running slower 55gr loads then you will see about 3500rnds before any negative effects show up.

Everything makes a difference and every rifle is different.... things like how warm the barrel is when shooting and Bullet coatings (MOLY) lowers pressure and gives the bullets a bit a lube..... also impacts barrel life.

If you stick to 55gr and even 50gr bullets and stay around 3500-3700fps you will get years and years of service out of the .22-250....keep the barrel cool when your plinking and your good to go.......

Also if you do wear the barrel out drop mysticplayer a PM and order a prechambered Savage barrel they are very reasonably priced......You can also get your .22-250 barrel rechambered in .22-250AI when the throat wears out.
 
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srt4u2nv said:
......You can also get your .22-250 barrel rechambered in .22-250AI when the throat wears out.
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Rechambering to .22-250AI isn't going to help with a worn throat.
Setting the barrel back and rechambering will produce a new throat. Might have to shorten the barrel by an inch or more from the breech. The barrel may well shoot OK.
Almost as much work - and expense - as fitting a new barrel.
 
tiriaq said:
Rechambering to .22-250AI isn't going to help with a worn throat.
Setting the barrel back and rechambering will produce a new throat. Might have to shorten the barrel by an inch or more from the breech. The barrel may well shoot OK.
Almost as much work - and expense - as fitting a new barrel.
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Thats what I said when the throat wears out get it rechambered in .22-250AI setting the barrel back is a given....sorry I wasn't more specific :p

I agree buying a new barrel would be the way to go.
 
The overbore index of the 22-250 is high. It has a short accurate barrel life. As Richard said, 1200-1500 ACCURATE rounds, but then my definition of accurate will be different from yours. You will still be plinkin' gophers long after its prime accuracy has diminished, because you don't need quarter minute accuracy for gophers.

The 22-250 AI has an insanely high OBI and it will have prime accuracy for well under 1000 rounds

There is really no discernible difference between Chromoly 41XX and stainless 41X steels in terms of barrel life. CM has better heat dissipating properties, but accuracy and barrel life are essentially the same.
 
Obtunded said:
The overbore index of the 22-250 is high. It has a short accurate barrel life. As Richard said, 1200-1500 ACCURATE rounds, but then my definition of accurate will be different from yours. You will still be plinkin' gophers long after its prime accuracy has diminished, because you don't need quarter minute accuracy for gophers.

The 22-250 AI has an insanely high OBI and it will have prime accuracy for well under 1000 rounds

There is really no discernible difference between Chromoly 41XX and stainless 41X steels in terms of barrel life. CM has better heat dissipating properties, but accuracy and barrel life are essentially the same.
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You guys are spreading a bit of fear here you will get 1500rnds if your running 4100fps+ 40gr'ers with no cool down....If you run your loads under 4000fps your barrel life will be just as long as a .223 its the size of the powder charge, speed/pressure that wears the throat. So lower the powder charge and you increase the life of the barrel.......Running 55gr Moly Vmax's at 3650-3700fps you will see 3500+rnds before you will see a reduction in accuracy as long as you give the barrel time to cool between groups....it will last every bit as long as a .223 running 40gr'ers at 3650fps......not to mention .22-250 is so much better then .223 and even if you got 1000rnds how many years of coyote hunting is that?......

I wonder if the guys saying you will only get 1000-1500 rnds even own .22-250's?....I'm on my 3rd I put over 2500rnds down my first .22-250 and it shot .80" 5 shot groups from the day I bought it to the day I sold it. It saw a mix of shooting from hyper fast 40gr'ers to 55gr'ers with out ever having an accuracy issue. I bumped into the guy who bought it at the range today when I sighted in my new .22-250 and guess what a few years later and another 1500rnds and it still puts up Sub MOA groups all day.......We can all find stuff on the net that says what we want to support our arguement but real life experience trumps data pulled off the inter webz....But A quick google search turns up countless posts on other forums about this and the consensus seems to be shortened barrel life only comes into play when you go over 4000fps and most are seeing aprox 3500rnds.

Keep your loads under 4000fps
Keep you barrel cool
No excessive cleaning
Consider moly coated bullets

And you will see many many more accurate rounds then 1500..... Remember fellas the question was "what the life of the barrel would be" not when you might loose 1/4MOA accuracy I think he wants to know how many rounds until it needs a rebarrel.
 
rechamber?

Anouther option would be to rechamber into 22br. Velocities are close enough for gophers and barrel life is pretty good. If you rebarrel look into a fast twist for 75 and 80g bullets. Sure helps to buck the wind on long shots.
 
Thank you for the info, gents. Since I was very generic in my original question, the answers do vary a bit. I will answer some of the variables here to let you know my uses.

1) Obtunded, I am sure your idea of accurate and mine are quite different, with mine much less demanding.

2) I plan to mostly shoot heavier bullets and keep velocity in the mid 3000's. Much of my shooting can easily be done with lighter than book maximum loads, accuracy is more important than balls out velocity for most of my shooting.

3) I will watch for overheating the barrel to keep erosion to a minimum.

4) Rechambering is not something I am worried about, for the price Mysticplayer sells new barrels I can just re-barrel when things go sideways.

My question has been answered to my satisfaction, I can now go shopping without worrying too much about my cartridge choice.

Thanks,
Mark
 
one thing to keep in mind though if your going to under load the .22-250.....if your going to run the same velocity as you can achieve with a .223 then get a .223 cheaper on powder and factory ammo.....If your not going to take advantage of the added velocity the .22-250 offers then don't waste the cash on more expensive reloading components......just my opinion....
 
srt4u2nv said:
one thing to keep in mind though if your going to under load the .22-250.....if your going to run the same velocity as you can achieve with a .223 then get a .223 cheaper on powder and factory ammo.....If your not going to take advantage of the added velocity the .22-250 offers then don't waste the cash on more expensive reloading components......just my opinion....
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Good point, but I want more velocity than I can get from a .223 for most of my shooting. The 22-250 is 400-600fps stronger than the .223 and I plan to run maybe 100-150fps below book max for much of my shooting. So, not max loads, but still significantly stronger than a .223.

Mark
 
Obtunded said:
The overbore index of the 22-250 is high. It has a short accurate barrel life. As Richard said, 1200-1500 ACCURATE rounds, but then my definition of accurate will be different from yours. You will still be plinkin' gophers long after its prime accuracy has diminished, because you don't need quarter minute accuracy for gophers.

The 22-250 AI has an insanely high OBI and it will have prime accuracy for well under 1000 rounds
Click to expand...

If on the other hand if you choose heavy bullets and a fast twist barel to stabilize them, I believe your barrel life with the .22-250 could be quite good, say 5000 rounds. An 80 gr bullet ahead of 30 grs of 4895 would be one answer.
 
curtmg said:
How many rounds did you get out of your last 22-250 before it crapped out?


:p
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Haven't had one crap out on me yet my first Savage .22-250 had 2500rnds down the tube and the new owner has put 1500 down her and its still going strong....My Savage predator that I sold in the summer only had a few hundred rounds through it.....My new Savage 12BVSS has only 25rnds down her....lots of rounds to go I will post and let you know when the barrel is shot out :D...
 
Boomer said:
If on the other hand if you choose heavy bullets and a fast twist barel to stabilize them, I believe your barrel life with the .22-250 could be quite good, say 5000 rounds. An 80 gr bullet ahead of 30 grs of 4895 would be one answer.
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The 12FV comes with 1-12 stock. I will use that and 55-60gr bullets (if it will stabilize them) until that barrel dies, then buy a new 1-9 barrel from Mystic Precision and use 68-75gr. bullets with the new barrel.

Even 3500 rounds is a lot of shooting for me and would translate to 6-7 years of steady use at a minimum.

Mark
 
srt4u2nv said:
Haven't had one crap out on me yet my first Savage .22-250 had 2500rnds down the tube and the new owner has put 1500 down her and its still going strong....My Savage predator that I sold in the summer only had a few hundred rounds through it.....My new Savage 12BVSS has only 25rnds down her....lots of rounds to go I will post and let you know when the barrel is shot out :D...
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I meant the 12FVSS. Didn't last too long that one. ;)

4000, wow. I've got a 22-250 12FVSS, mine has straight base holes, If I can get 4000 rounds out of it, I'll be very happy. I believe it's had about 500 through it so far. 4000 would put me into my forties, a new barrel wouldn't be too much of a stretch by then.
 
curtmg said:
I meant the 12FVSS. Didn't last too long that one. ;)

4000, wow. I've got a 22-250 12FVSS, mine has straight base holes, If I can get 4000 rounds out of it, I'll be very happy. I believe it's had about 500 through it so far. 4000 would put me into my forties, a new barrel wouldn't be too much of a stretch by then.
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Ha ya touche :D

Anyone who is using barrel life on the .22-250 as a deterant is crazy if your coyote hunting how many shots do you get a year?. If your Les Johnson maybe 300/yr?...So lets say 3500 is the magic number thats still 11.6yrs of service I'm sure we can all afford a $400 barrel by then....:evil:
 
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