308 Semi - Harming accuracy

[shane45]

I was having a discusion recently. We were talking about how hard you can run a AR pattern 308 without hurting its accuracy. I was always under the impression that hard use rapid fire is simply not good for a 308 barrel if you want to keep it accurate. I remember reading articles on the subject long ago but really dont recall the substance. So I re-pose the question. If you have a 308 semi that hovers around .6 or so, how concerned should you be about running it like a 5.56 carbine from time to time? How many rounds running it like that would risk killing off its accuracy?


Shane

 

[Lowlight]

From the Knight's Armament Manual for Sustained Rate of Fire


Basically they say 5 rounds per minute with 2 minutes of cooling with the bolt open.

 

[Shoots 700's]

Don't forget barrels are meant to be replaced!

 

[Jon Lester]

From the Knight's Armament Manual for Sustained Rate of Fire
View attachment 4488

Basically they say 5 rounds per minute with 2 minutes of cooling with the bolt open.

I don't think a lot of match stage designers got the memo!

 

[Kevin70]

Had a tough time reading the KAC attachment due to the size.

If rate of fire extends to the point of affecting accuracy will the accuracy come back after it cools down?

 

[Mike_Honcho]

Had a tough time reading the KAC attachment due to the size.

If rate of fire extends to the point of affecting accuracy will the accuracy come back after it cools down?

I am inclined to think that the author of the report is inferring that a rate of fire that exceeds this would result in raising the bore temp to the point where heat checking / throat erosion can occur.




Good luck