The informative website 6mmbr.com describes the relatively short barrel life of the .243 Win; use of slower-burning powders (such as IMR 4831) and a modified cleaning regimen can help counter this. Could an experienced 6mm shooter offer what that modified cleaning regimen might be? I routinely shoot CCB so I wonder if I'm already doing all that can be done.
.243 Win, barrel wear and "modified cleaning regimen"
- Thread starter Pionier
- Start date
It's not about the cleaning, its about the shooting. I clean when the rifle tells me it needs cleaning. If this is a factory rifle, it probably shoots better dirty as hell. however...Products like "Wipe-out" require no aggressive scrubbing and are a good low-friction option.
What will erode the throat fastest is shooting to the point where your barrel overheats, but this is simply a high overbore index cartridge with a short barrel life and that's the price you pay.
What will erode the throat fastest is shooting to the point where your barrel overheats, but this is simply a high overbore index cartridge with a short barrel life and that's the price you pay.
As I said, I shoot cold, clean bore shots; barrel overheating is not a problem. I suspect that my standing routine of running a lightly-oiled pull-through after the barrel cools will wring the most life out of my barrel, a 26-inch Remington Varmint 1 in 9 1/8".
So I gather that heat is the main culprit in throat erosion...from powder burn or friction?
So I gather that heat is the main culprit in throat erosion...from powder burn or friction?
yep, the relationship between the surface area of the case mouth and the case capacity make the 243 an "overbore cartridge". The heat and pressure to which the throat is subjected erodes the rifling more quickly than a 308 for instance (its parent case... the difference is the larger surface area at the case mouth).
It is a primarily a hunting round. Hunting rifles typically have a few sighters through them and maybe a couple of kill shots and they get put away. With that sort of use, a hunting rifle will last decades.
For something you plan on shooting more often than that, you either need to accept you will need to re-barrel sooner, or switch to a cartridge that is less overbore.
In the end however, how accurate does it need to be to keep you happy? Even with a worn throat, the rifle will shoot and it will still be plenty accurate enough to place a properly aimed shot on a deer after a few thousand rounds.
This is the conundrum facing guys that want a combination hunting/target rifle.
It is a primarily a hunting round. Hunting rifles typically have a few sighters through them and maybe a couple of kill shots and they get put away. With that sort of use, a hunting rifle will last decades.
For something you plan on shooting more often than that, you either need to accept you will need to re-barrel sooner, or switch to a cartridge that is less overbore.
In the end however, how accurate does it need to be to keep you happy? Even with a worn throat, the rifle will shoot and it will still be plenty accurate enough to place a properly aimed shot on a deer after a few thousand rounds.
This is the conundrum facing guys that want a combination hunting/target rifle.
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- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
From what I understand from reading Ackley, to realize the maximum life from 6mm barrel, the powder charge should be about 36 grs, hence the interest in the 6X47.
I very seldom use a bore brush anymore, and in my good barrels I never do. Wipeout and Sweets does the job quite nicely. I tend to clean after each outing as the amount of time to get down to bare metal is shorter than if I have to work through the accumulated fouling of 500+ rounds.
I very seldom use a bore brush anymore, and in my good barrels I never do. Wipeout and Sweets does the job quite nicely. I tend to clean after each outing as the amount of time to get down to bare metal is shorter than if I have to work through the accumulated fouling of 500+ rounds.
Too late now, but there is no practical benefit to the so-called "Break-in" of barrels, particularly on a barrel with a short useful life. This is a subject of tremendous subjectivity and lore, but comes up very short on the scientific end. Frankly, with the crude tooling on a factory barrel, its performance is enhanced by having copper trowelled into the low spots.
I always found the first 100 rounds were the most accurate on any barrel. I want to load develop with the fewest number of rounds and save its most accurate life for where it is needed the most.
I always found the first 100 rounds were the most accurate on any barrel. I want to load develop with the fewest number of rounds and save its most accurate life for where it is needed the most.
