Barrel Life

[4string]

How many rounds will a barrel chambered for .308 shoot before you have to replace it. I have almost 5,000 through my .223 and don't notice any difference.

 

[Levi Garrett]

twice that

 

[Jamie]

even if the 308 is shooting a hot load you should get 5k easy


Jamie

 

[rgv]

it depends a lot on how it is shot and what level of accuracy you are starting with, and what level of accuracy you are calling 'shot out'.

mostly slow fire at the range with stops to clean, it will go a long time before it falls.

certain uses, like NRA cross-the-course which involves several strings of 20 rounds rapid fire can degrade accuracy in a lot less than 5k

 

[KDX]

mostly slow fire at the range with stops to clean, it will go a long time before it falls.

I read some where that over cleaning causes more wear. Is this true?

 

[gth]

I read some where that over cleaning causes more wear. Is this true?

I dont think cleaning causes wear exactly. I think the problem is you are more likely to damage your bore while improperly cleaning it than you are by shooting.

 

[Levi Garrett]

Improper cleaning can damage a bore (beat the crap out of it), but cleaning is a good thing

 

[guntech]

It depends totally on what degree of accuracy you want on when a barrel is worn out. I have seen barrels replaced with as little as 1000 rounds through them. If you haven't noticed any difference in your .223 in that many rounds, it wasn't really very accurate to start with.

Wear and some loss of accuracy can be detected in as little as 400 rounds in seriously accurate Benchrest rifles.

Proper cleaning methods do not wear a barrel and help accuracy. Incorrect cleaning procedures damage barrels.

Crowns refreshed every 500 rounds will help retain maximum accuracy.