How much shooting is too much ?

Freist

Freist

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Hello everyone.

Shooting season is opening soon at my local range. I plan to go once a week but need some inforamtions from some seasoned shooters.

I have a Remington 7600 in 30-06 that I really like to shoot. But I also use it to hunt an I would like it to stay accurate. This gun was made in 1989 and has shot about two boxes of factory ammo. I was wondering how much can you shoot a rifle until it looses it's accuracy or needs work. I know that this limit is in the thousand rounds and depends on the quality of the rifle (metal hardness, barrel rifling etc.) but I would like some pointers.

Thanks,
Seb
 
'How much shooting is too much ?'

For the gun or the shooter?
When I go to the range, there is a time when I feel that my accuracy potential has peaked after which I'm just wasting ammo, so for myself as a shooter, about a half a box through a 30 cal, or 20 rounds through the 243 or 7-08. 22's I can shoot all day, and they help a great deal with my form.

I think if you've shot out a barrel, you should be proud of that. By the time I shoot out a barrel I hope to have sufficient experience to know so.
 
Just keep your rate of fire to 1 rounds per minute and take a 5 minute break every 10 shots or so.
Clean your rifle's bore ideally every 10 - 20 rounds for top accuracy and you should get a accurate barrel life of 3000-4000 rounds.
The rifle will still shoot very well at 5000 rounds but it will have opened up by 50%-100%.

Remember that you could get a cook off if you fire more than 200 rounds in 5 minutes ;)

Alex
 
When I go to the range with centerfires I always bring a 22 and some stuff to plink with.

1) Shoot a couple with the big gun
2) Practice with the 22 as the barrel cools for the next group and give the shoulder a rest
3) Shoot the sh*t with some of the boys

Repeat all freaking day if you have the time and the ammo. I agree that if you are too banged up to shoot straight your are wasting ammo but if you pace yourself there is no "too much" point

Also, ending the day with a bit of 12 ga waterjug or pumpkin blasting is always a good way to finish a great day at the range. ( this is only done in an acceptable location followed by cleaning up):D
 
No set number. Some rifles will get more accurate as you shoot more. The breaking point will happen though and you can only find that by experimenting. Keep shooting groups until the accuracy is affected and then you know. It usually comes from copper build up. That is the point you need to clean the barrel with a copper and powder solvent.

It is also about replicating conditions. You usually shoot at animals with a cool barrel, maybe fouled or maybe clean depending on how your rifle likes to shoot. For instance, my T3 300 WSM shoots equally well clean or fouled. :D My 260 rem likes to be dirty (... she's my favorite! ;)).

But as for burning out a barrel, that is 1000 rounds +. Your 30-06 should be fine for a 2000 +. A 6.5-284 for instance will burn out around 1000 rds. If accuracy is good, keep shooting. IF accuracy can't seem to come around, try different ammo, bullets weights and if it is still out, consider taking it to a gunsmith to look at the throat and barrel for erosion. If that isn't the issue, it's ammo preference or... your shooting! Good luck!
 
Yup, don`t get the barrel to hot and it will last a long time. Good point about having more than one fiearm to shoot, a matching rimfire is great for practice. It is good to know if your rifle changes point of impact with a clean barrel, shooting at the range is a good place to find out. The only time a lot of shooting is bad is if you develop a flinch, then you need to find out why and how to fix it.
 
i don't think you can unless something physical begins to show- bad nerves, etc- or you start thinking of everything as a target- seeing roundels on everything- you can tell you're shooting too much with lead as it shows up in your bloodwork, but with smokeless and jacketed, and being a rifle, which in concept is slower rate of fire anyway, i don't see it
 
yea, it can happen- it's injested through the nose esp on indoor ranges, even with good ventilation- bout the only way round it is lead free primers and tmj bullets
 
How much

When you are deaf from the noise? Athough I suppose it wouldn't matter then. I don't think there is such a thing as too much shooting. Mine is limited by available time and a safe place to do it. Guns wear out, so replace or repair them.
Pappy
 
I wouldn't worry about it. If you can afford to shoot it enough to wear out the barrel, you can easily afford to buy a new barrel.
 
If you are worried about wearing out your barrel, practice with cast, gas check bullets and you can shoot until the cows come home without wearing out your barrel.
 
Win 38-55 said:
If you are worried about wearing out your barrel, practice with cast, gas check bullets and you can shoot until the cows come home without wearing out your barrel.
Click to expand...

Other than cast which will be best for not shorten barrel life
try reloading a very light load of imr 4895 low 40s grains with 168gr Sierra match kings that should get you into the 1/2 moa area, and like other members said, let it cool between shots, and clean often I would get a muzzel protecter from Sinclair International so when cleaning you don't bugger up crown
manitou
 
I generally take at least three rifles, and stand the hot ones in the rack with the action open, muzzle up to get the chimney effect.

My 45-70 with the heavy barrel takes forever to cool, but most thinner barrelled sporters cool fairly quickly.

On a hot day you may still need to take a break now and then, and that's good anyway, lets you settle down, and shoot better.
 
Thank you everyone for your answers. I will take note of all your tips but I already always let my barrel cool between each shot, it's a habit. I sometimes fire 2 rapid shots to simulate a hunting scenario but it's not common.

For those who suggested bringning a second rifle to the range, I already do this also. The 22lr. I have is kinda old an it tends to jams a bit. I tried to re clean it troughly during the winter and I will see the result in May. If it still jams, I think I will buy a 10/22 but I still need to do some research on the price (249 to 449 so far)

On the other side, I bought a Mosin-Nagant for christmas and a crate of ammo for the sole purpose of shooting it as much as I want so if I want to spare my 30-06 I'll use this one.

One day I would like to get a rifle that I don't really care for and get it hot to see the impacts on the barrel. I once tought of buying a lever action 30-30 but ammo price and rifle price soon put a stop to this idea. If one of you ever decide to donate a rifle let me know :p.
 
I wish I had the money to know what too much shooting is like. I've popped 600 standard rifle primers and 200 mag rifles since August, and I'm a rank amateur and too poor to shoot most of the time.

If work ever picks up and money is better I'd like to be around 2000 rounds a year or more out of my hunting rifles. I hope one day to know what its like to burn a barrel out and slide a custom on :(
 
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