Barrel life

I would not let barrel life be the deciding factor between the 308 and 6.5 creed.

If you shoot that much, you have a problem I'd like to have.

If you're a hand loader the ammo cost difference between the two will be negligible. If you're not a hand loader then you should be if you plan to shoot that much. The money you save on hand loaded ammo will offset any barrel life considerations.

I'd be more focused on what type of shooting you're into. For PRS you are better off with the 6.5 and for F class its a bit of a coin toss. The 6.5 puts you into open class but the 308 shoots against 308s
 
BadAsMo said:
I would not let barrel life be the deciding factor between the 308 and 6.5 creed.

If you shoot that much, you have a problem I'd like to have.

If you're a hand loader the ammo cost difference between the two will be negligible. If you're not a hand loader then you should be if you plan to shoot that much. The money you save on hand loaded ammo will offset any barrel life considerations.

I'd be more focused on what type of shooting you're into. For PRS you are better off with the 6.5 and for F class its a bit of a coin toss. The 6.5 puts you into open class but the 308 shoots against 308s
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Pardon my ignorance but can you elaborate on the differences?

I don't hand load but when I finally pick up a precision I most likely will then for the reasons you have mentioned
 
Tikka223 said:
Lots of good advice here. Ask yourself how often your realistically get yourself out to the range to shoot. If you actually get to the range every weekend and shoot 100 rounds you're looking at 5200 rounds a year. Myself, I get out at most once every second weekend and can't see myself shooting more than 50 rounds a weekend so that's a max of 1300 rounds a year. So to be extra realistic, I can't see myself ever shooting more than 1000 rounds a year. With that in mind, my 6.5CM should last me 3 years.
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Yeah Ive thought about this

I go to the range every other week and at a guess I`ll do 50 rounds per session, maybe 100 (I try to limit myself with all my guns but sometimes the temptation is just too great)

So assuming I go every other week and shoot 100 I`ve got a just over a year from a 6.5 CM barrel
 
You can always load a cooler load for practise, and then run hotter for competitions. Just keep track of you dope for each load. This will extend your barrel life. Or go with a switch barrel platform, I shoot 308 for practise, then swap the barrel and run 6.5 for competitions.
 
3of30 said:
You can always load a cooler load for practise, and then run hotter for competitions. Just keep track of you dope for each load. This will extend your barrel life. Or go with a switch barrel platform, I shoot 308 for practise, then swap the barrel and run 6.5 for competitions.
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Interesting....

From what I understand this would make the Savage the better buy by virtue that the barrels are super easy to change
 
r204 said:
Keep in mind that a Prefit barrel will cost about $150 more than a regular barrel blank.
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That went right over my head

I assume a prefit barrel means its ready to screw on and a regular blank barrel needs some work (not designed for quick/multiple changes)
 
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Sniffer said:
That went right over my head

I assume a profit barrel means its ready to screw on and a prefit needs some work (not designed for quick/multiple changes)
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A Savage prefit is chambered and threaded ready to install with the use of a go-guage and a barrel nut wrench. I am not sure what you are refuring to when you say profit.
 
r204 said:
A Savage prefit is chambered and threaded ready to install with the use of a go-guage and a barrel nut wrench. I am not sure what you are refuring to when you say profit.
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Its a typo (computer autocorrects)

So can a regular blank barrel be fitted by Joe Average? Or just prefits?

How long are we talking to swap each type?
 
r204 said:
Keep in mind that a Prefit barrel will cost about $150 more than a regular barrel blank.
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a barrel blank is a hollow tube with rifling that need to be profiled , cut to length , threaded ,chambered and the muzzle faced off among other things ... impossible do do with out training and a lathe .

a prefit barrel , unscrew old barrel , screw on new barrel , set head space and your good to go ..........


you have to compare 2 equals , and you are not doing that .... compare apples to apples , not apples to a apple tree seedling
 
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Pre fit barrels are great and shoot with the rest of them. I have changed out several Savage pre fits for myself and friends in my basement. Easy.
However if going to a switch barrel rig that you plan on switching barrels frequently, or at the range having them set up like a Remington with a shoulder, and some other creative machine work and you could change barrels at the range without removing the action from the stock.
 
Most barrels are sold already profiled and just need the threading/chamber done and muzzle end.
Cost difference is all over the place depending on what style and brand you want or who the gunsmith is, the prefit selection is also much more limited, but plenty good for most.
For a buyer what's nice about it is not sending your rifle away to a gunsmith for months. Couple tools and anyone can do it.
 
burnt_servo said:
that is not a barrel blank though as mentioned several posts above
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I'm pretty sure he was talking about any regular profiled barrel, seeing as that's pretty much all anyone ever stocks.
Don't focus too much on the word "blank" it means about as much as "billet"...
 
I would only go with prefit. Saves time and hassle. On my AI it takes 30 seconds to switch between 308 and 6.5 at the range. All you need is an Allan key. Downside: cost of the rifle will never be recouped by ammo savings. But you get what you pay for.
 
Sniffer said:
Pardon my ignorance but can you elaborate on the differences?

I don't hand load but when I finally pick up a precision I most likely will then for the reasons you have mentioned
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F Class has two divisions, F-Open and FTR. In FTR division you must shoot either .223 or 308. Whats nice about FTR is that everyone is shooting ballistically similar gear. In F-Open, you are shooting against just about any other calibre besides 223 or 308. At each distance and wind condition there is a calibre with a certain competitive advantage. A rig thats right for 1000 yard high wind will probably choke at 300 yards on a calm day. F-Open in this regard is a little like golf. If you don't show up with a bag full of options, you cannot be ideally competitive for the conditions present at the time of the shoot. All most of us can really do is go for some sort of compromise, But then you'll give something up here and there. But in FO there's probably some guy with 4 guns whos ready for anything.

In PRS shooting recoil is a thing that affects your ability to call the shot. You take a shot and if you cannot see the strike then you cannot compensate for a miss. So a round with mild recoil and good ballistics has an advantage over a round with high recoil and so so ballistics like a 308.

If you are buying ammo and not reloading, there is no doubt 308 will be easier to find and cheap ammo can be found. If your a hand loader, the 6.5 creed will be cheaper to load for and cheap factory loaded ammo for 6.5 Creed is really hard to find. At least at the moment.

So having said all that, the 6.5 Creed would be a competitive round for F Open in reasonably calm weather conditions. It represents a fair compromise and provides reasonable barrel life. It would be fiercely competitive with a 6.5x47 which is popular in F Open. Keep in mind that you'd be competing side by side with guys running 60 grains of powder with the same bullet that in a 6.5 Creed runs about 40 grains of powder and thats not always a bad thing. Just work your strengths and win what plays into your wheelhouse.

Bottom line is there's no real bad choice. If you're going to shoot allot, the reduced recoil of the 6.5 Creed is an advantage in terms of your own stamina over the duration of the match.
 
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