Running a Hot Barrel?

Mad-Dog

Mad-Dog

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Long before I got into precision shooting, I had read - just about everywhere - about barrel damage that can be caused by hot loads, or by fast firing. THE question that remains an open issue as far as my reading has progressed thus far is, how slowly does the shooter need to cycle the rifle to avoid excessive heating due to rapid fire?

Personally, I shoot, DOPE, adjust, and fire on average once every two or three minutes, firing three rounds followed by a break. For the moment, I have settled into using a .308 and 7mm Remington Magnum for medium and long range shooting respectively. Any comments on firing intervals to minimize the possible effects of overheating?
 
Mad-Dog said:
Long before I got into precision shooting, I had read - just about everywhere - about barrel damage that can be caused by hot loads, or by fast firing. THE question that remains an open issue as far as my reading has progressed thus far is, how slowly does the shooter need to cycle the rifle to avoid excessive heating due to rapid fire?

Personally, I shoot, DOPE, adjust, and fire on average once every two or three minutes, firing three rounds followed by a break. For the moment, I have settled into using a .308 and 7mm Remington Magnum for medium and long range shooting respectively. Any comments on firing intervals to minimize the possible effects of overheating?
Click to expand...

Sounds like what your doing is about what I do, and ive never had any issues. I fire until I cant keep my hand on the barrel anymore, not super hot but really warm. If its too hot, I slow down the time between shots. In the hot of summer it ends up being a few rounds and then break time.
 
If you are shooting in competitions, you may find that there is an absolute time limit for you to fire all your rounds.
 
Unless you are mag dumping with a semi or FA, I doubt you can damage the barrel.

The other concern is accuracy. I properly heat treated barrel should not "walk" the group as it warms up.

I have shot 15 and 20 shot matches shooting aimed shots as fast as I can (bolt action), to avoid wind shifts. The 308 barrel gets very hot. Needs the mirage band. I get about 6,000 rounds out the barrel, before accuracy fades.
 
Heckler & Koch had a look into the theory. Service rifles that were used on the range with single shot lost accuracy faster than rifles used with plenty full auto. They simulated that and found it seemed true. Full auto 20 round mag then stuck rifle in a barrel of water to repeat kept accuracy longer than rifles shot with colder barrels as in single shot. I can only explain that with a hot steel being much softer and lower E- modulus which leads to better thermal shock behaviour which leads to less fire cracking. Fire cracking is number one barrel killer. Find a barrel material with better thermal shock behaviour and you have higher barrel life.
one can find the H&K report somewhere on the net.
One of the Swiss rifle builders are testing heat insulated barrels for their precision rifles.

edi
 
Sounds like your rate of fire is slow enough to not shorten the life of the barrel excessively.

I also clean my F-Class match gun barrel every 150 or so rounds. Others sometimes longer, but sometimes shorter intervals. If you can keep some copper in it, you can find the equilibrium between fresh with no copper fouling and dirty with degraded performance. Usually for me the equilibrium is between shots 25 and 150. Before and after that, I find the groups are ever so slightly looser. YRMV
 
EJG said:
Heckler & Koch had a look into the theory. Service rifles that were used on the range with single shot lost accuracy faster than rifles used with plenty full auto. They simulated that and found it seemed true. Full auto 20 round mag then stuck rifle in a barrel of water to repeat kept accuracy longer than rifles shot with colder barrels as in single shot. I can only explain that with a hot steel being much softer and lower E- modulus which leads to better thermal shock behaviour which leads to less fire cracking. Fire cracking is number one barrel killer. Find a barrel material with better thermal shock behaviour and you have higher barrel life.
one can find the H&K report somewhere on the net.
One of the Swiss rifle builders are testing heat insulated barrels for their precision rifles.

edi
Click to expand...

any link to that?
because I doubt it big time
the barrel throat erosion is caused by the powder hence full auto will abrade more than single shot.
 
Mad-Dog said:
Long before I got into precision shooting, I had read - just about everywhere - about barrel damage that can be caused by hot loads, or by fast firing. THE question that remains an open issue as far as my reading has progressed thus far is, how slowly does the shooter need to cycle the rifle to avoid excessive heating due to rapid fire?

Personally, I shoot, DOPE, adjust, and fire on average once every two or three minutes, firing three rounds followed by a break. For the moment, I have settled into using a .308 and 7mm Remington Magnum for medium and long range shooting respectively. Any comments on firing intervals to minimize the possible effects of overheating?
Click to expand...

Ya sure...
Don't shoot the 7mm Rem Mag!

A hot round is hard on the barrel even if you don't shoot quickly between rounds.

Don't over think this... It is what it is and if you are to enjoy the rifle, just run it for the game you play, and don't worry about time between shots... Unless you are at the range developing loads where you might be inclined to fire too quickly. In that case, just shoot a few and let the barrel cool to the touch between groups.

Everything in shooting is a trade off and you need to find a balance that works for you. If you want good barrel life, shoot 223, 6BR... even 308 is pretty good.

Here's a link to a barrel life calculator
http://www.accurateshooter.com/technical-articles/excel-formula-predicts-useful-barrel-life/
 
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