How long will a barrel last

powdergun

powdergun

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I have a new savage rifle with a heavy stainless barrel in 300wsm. About how many shots will this barrel last before accuracy goes south. I know there are many factors but if I:

1) properly break it in
2) don't shoot it hot
3)and reload within reason

How many shots can I expect ?

Thanks
 
You should be able to get at least 1200-1500 rounds with good accuracy and mabey up to 2000. I was interested in this calibre myself and was comparing it to the .300 Win Mag as that is what I am shooting right now (among others). It seemed to me this calibre, in general, was a little harder on barrels and a little slower but possibly a little more accurate. Very close in comparison though, splitting hairs really.
 
scout said:
Doesn't look like it will - moly is more important for muzzle velocity.

http://www.exteriorballistics.com/reference/rifleinout.cfm
Click to expand...

A molyed bullet has less friction then a uncoated bullet. Less friction also means less pressure to push the bullet out the barrel. Less pressure= less velocity.
When shooting moly bullets you will have to bump the load up just a bit to, maybe .2 grains to get the same velocity as an uncoated bullet.

Does moly coating extend barrel life? The jury is still out on this.
What moly will do is reduce the time spent cleaning your rifle. I think you can do more damage cleaning it then shooting it, just my opinion.
I went over 900 rounds before I cleaned my .308 target rifle. I never should have cleaned it, as it took about 200 round to get the accuracy back that I had before cleaning.
This rifle will get a new barrel in a few weeks, not because it has over 4000 rounds through it, but because I have changed stocks and the rifle no longer meets the weight limit.
A moly bullet will be the first round down the barrel as will all that follow it.
 
Hi - Interesting reading, especially about cleaning.

I was taught in the Reserves to clean my gun constantly, I guess more for realiability than accuracy - though the guys on the rifle team did not clean often, just turned the gas up (FN C1).

In the Lyman 48th edition Handbook, Chapter 14 by Butch Fisher, he talks about benchrest shooters cleaning every 5 - 10 rounds. He's owned some firearms that would go 25 - 30 rounds without degrading accuracy. I guess another opinion.

I usually clean now after shooting 100 - 150 rounds through the rimfire, and have been cleaning my Savage 12FVSS after every 50 rounds or so.

Maybe I'll try going longer, I don't know.

I've not tried Moly bullets yet, only started handloading so may also try those.

Cheers

Ron
 
Moly reduces friction, yes, but it's not friction that burns out the barrel. It's hot burning powder coming out of the cartridge under high pressure that 'sandblasts' your throat.

So moly may have an impact on barrel life, or not. But if it does, I don;t think it will be a very substantial gain.

The neat thing with moly is that you can get better velocities at comprable pressure levels. Basically, if you put the same powder charge behind 2 identical bullets, one moly one not, the noly one will be slower. But, if you add more powder to the moly one to bring it up to the same pressure level as the non-moly one, it will be faster
 
Not saying that cleaning is wrong. The people that sell cleaning products would like you to clean every 10 rounds.
Some rifles shoot better clean, some need to be fouled before accuracy comes back.
Cleaning the rifle for reliability/function is one thing, cleaning the barrel may be over-rated. I do clean the chamber once in a while.
I know a competitive smallbore shooter that cleans between relays. I also know one that cleans once a year, maybe. Both have been on International teams.
Same goes for fullbore shooters, some clean every day, some will shoot 10 days of the DCRA match before cleaning.
I cleaned my rifle around the 900 round mark. I don't know why I did it, it was still shooting 1/2 MOA elevation.
From now on, I will wait until the group opens up or the rounds don't fit any more.
 
I agree with Maynard! If it ain't broke, don't fix it. A lot of the old myths are from a looong time ago when powders and priming compounds were corrosive.


One thing to remember about moly is that it is very hydrophilic, it will suck water into the bore unless it is "sealed" when humidity is very high. All that is required is a run through with a very lightly oiled patch.
 
The question was "How long".

It depends on how big the shovel is, that's used to fill the case.

How hot the powder burns. (Eroding the throat).

How fast you fire the rifle. 1 shot every minute or two or 10 shots a minute.

Cleaning has been touched, as has moly, and it creates its own set of problems. Do a search, as this subject has been flogged to death on more than one occasion. I don't and won't use moly.

How you are now thoroughly confused. And welcome to the madness.

If I could answer that question, I would be a millionaire.

So, it boils down to you sifting through the information here and further research on your part.

Try benchrest central et al.

RePete.
 
It seems there are no better ways to stir up a debate than to drop the terms "Barrel break-in" and "Cleaning intervals".

The guru's I learn from are all over the map when it comes to the what and how often of barrel cleaning. No two have the same opinion and all are superlaitive shooters.

I thought I had it all figured out when it came to barrel break-in and I got shown the other side of the fence by pretty smart fellas here that had pretty solid arguments against wasting barrel life and ammo on breaking in a barrel.

I've just come to regard the end of a barrel's life as a great new opportunity to turn the rifle into something different
 
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