Barrel Burner load dev

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MartyK2500

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Just out of curiosity, how do you guys load dev when using barrel burning calibers?
I hear some calibers (6mm?) will burn a barrel under 1200 rounds,
If you spend more than 50-60 rounds on load dev I can see significant barrel life shortened.

Myself shoot 308 at the moment and a 6.5 early 2020, so it's not a concern for me.
I am curious to know how you guys do it none the less, we never know it may be applicable to myself and save time doing my load devs...
 
I load five rounds, shoot them and measure velocity. Adjust the charge weight to get the correct barrel time, load five rounds and measure speed. The third and usually last tweak is typically less than 1% of the charge weight, a fine tune to nudge the barrel time to be on the money. It's that easy

My 6cm burns .006" of throat every hundred rounds. My 6.5cm .003"
 
It depends on what you call "burnt". Is a high volume target barrel, shooting small fractions of inch, burnt when it gets to above .5 moa?

Keep temperatures down by shooting slow, short strings. Use OAL and comparators to check erosion, chase the lands. Counterintuitive, but vigorous cleaning can prolong life.
 
todbartell said:
I load five rounds, shoot them and measure velocity. Adjust the charge weight to get the correct barrel time, load five rounds and measure speed. The third and usually last tweak is typically less than 1% of the charge weight, a fine tune to nudge the barrel time to be on the money. It's that easy.
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This sounds really interesting. Seems much quicker than my usual 50 rounds ladder with 0.5 grains difference between 5 round groups.

How do you determine barrel time? Quickload? If you could point me to a write-up on this method that would be great.
 
RangerPark said:
This sounds really interesting. Seems much quicker than my usual 50 rounds ladder with 0.5 grains difference between 5 round groups.

How do you determine barrel time? Quickload? If you could point me to a write-up on this method that would be great.
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We have the equipment available to us in 2019 to short track the load development process. Trial and error is a thing of the past

http://www.the-long-family.com/optimal barrel time.htm
 
I don't really worry about burning barrels, my only rifle that is really a concern right now is my 22-250 but I have owned a 6.5-284 in the past.
I guess my attitude is that I don't give a rats ass about a factory barrel and if you are getting the accuracy you desire out of your rifle and really like that caliber then spending another $500-$1000 every few years to replace the barrel is just part of the cost of playing with those calibers. It's also a good time to maybe try out a new cartridge in your rifle.
It's like driving a high performance sports car, I'm not going to drive it like grandma just so my tires last a little longer or so I spend less on gas.
You've chosen to play in an expensive hobby, if you choose to play with the faster chamberings that eat throats then you need to be prepared to buy a new barrel every few years, if this isn't compatible with your budget then stick to the chamberings that are known for longer barrel life.

I also do my load development on my private range at my house so load development consists of 3 round groups and I only make three then shoot then 3 more at a higher powder charge till I'm safely in the velocity zone I want to be in and see something that looks promising (good on paper or very low ES over the chrono). Once I find a load that looks like it has potential I switch to 5 round batches still testing before making the next batch.
This method drastically reduces the number of rounds down the barrel and the time required to zero in on a good load.
I realize that this method doesn't work for anyone who has to drive to the range to do their testing but for me it means a lot less time and rounds developing a load.

But as I said above, I don't worry about barrel life, if I keep a rifle long enough that I burn out the barrel it's just the cost of playing the game and I'll shop for a new barrel.
 
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todbartell said:
We have the equipment available to us in 2019 to short track the load development process. Trial and error is a thing of the past

http://www.the-long-family.com/optimal barrel time.htm
Click to expand...

This is an interesting concept thank you for sharing!
Never heard of this before.
On my 308 my testing on my new bullet is well underway I will not use it,
But for my 6.5x47 in the spring, even though it has an acceptable barrel life, I will try this out.

If I save time load developing and spend more time at the 900M range, I can't see anything wrong with that either.
 
I just find it so ironic that people buy a gun to shoot it and then they worry about burning the barrel off, I mean the whole idea is to shoot the thing is it not?
 
Bad Bob said:
I just find it so ironic that people buy a gun to shoot it and then they worry about burning the barrel off, I mean the whole idea is to shoot the thing is it not?
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I have a different opinion but each their own.
I go out to the range 2 to 3 times a week.

9mm, 223 and 308 i blast away.
Even my 308 bolter sees 1500-2000 rounds a year.

Now going for a 6.5 (which isn’t technically a barrel burner),
I will not waste barrel life in the winter or harsh conditions when my 308 would do the same at 300M.
I will save it for match conditions and 400M+ practices.

If i had a true barrel burner, i would try to maximize its life through yet another approach.
Not because you buy a barrel burner that you won’t outshoot the barrel every year, but i would want my burning shots to be worth it.
 
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Bad Bob said:
I just find it so ironic that people buy a gun to shoot it and then they worry about burning the barrel off, I mean the whole idea is to shoot the thing is it not?
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Exactly,
The silliest thing I read about on here is when guys download their barrel burning calibers to extend barrel life. In my mind, The way I look at it is that I bought the 22-250 because I want the super high velocity, if I was just going to load light to save the barrel I'd just grab my 223 bolt action instead. Too many guys on here are so wussy-whipped that they act like their wife won't let them buy another rifle or that one rifle has to do everything so they want a different load for deer, target, elk, moose, etc.

It's sad that so many guys let their wife control the spending. It should at least be a 50/50 decision, a man shouldn't have to ask his wife if he's allowed to buy something as long as he's not putting the family in financial hardship.

Not saying that's what's happening here, just a general observation lately.


MartyK2500 said:
I have a different opinion but each their own.
I go out to the range 2 to 3 times a week.

9mm, 223 and 308 i blast away.
Even my 308 bolter sees 1500-2000 rounds a year.

Now going for a 6.5 (which isn’t technically a barrel burner),
I will not waste barrel life in the winter or harsh conditions when my 308 would do the same at 300M.
I will save it for match conditions and 400M+ practices.

If i had a true barrel burner, i would try to maximize its life through yet another approach.
Not because you buy a barrel burner that you won’t outshoot the barrel every year, but i would want my burning shots to be worth it.
Click to expand...

With the volume that you're shooting it makes sense to stay away from barrel burner calibers unless you can set that rifle aside for those situations where "it's worth it".
Don't worry about your 6.5, from what I've read it's almost as easy on a barrel as 308win. I have two 6.5CM and while I don't shoot them as much as you shoot your precision rifles I don't worry about the barrels at all.

Mystic Precision said:
https://www.longrangehunting.com/articles/load-tuning.281/

https://www.longrangehunting.com/articles/precision-reloading-for-long-range-hunting.17/

These will help...

Jerry
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Great articles Jerry, I've read both of those before and while I don't go to quite the same extremes as you in brass prep (I rarely shoot past 500 yards) I have been using those principles in my loading for a few years now with good results.
 
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cr5 said:
Great articles Jerry, I've read both of those before and while I don't go to quite the same extremes as you in brass prep (I rarely shoot past 500 yards) I have been using those principles in my loading for a few years now with good results.
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The main goal is to help narrow down if a component or set up has the potential to shoot well in as few shots as possible. You should be able to diagnose a trend within 21rds.

From there, decide if the components get dropped or further, more extensive testing is done.... but you will have a solid idea on the boundaries of the nodes.

Jerry
 
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