6mm Creedmoor barrel life in GAP10?

[Steelhead]

For those of you who have a GAP10 (or other semi-auto) in 6mm Creedmoor, how many rounds did you get out of your barrel before you had to change it?

I think I'm at the limit. I have well over 3000 rounds, and instead of a steady group opening up, I noticed it just went. I've played around with my loads a bit, thinking I may have messed something up there, but I'm still not getting the same accuracy that I once did.

I've not seen anything diffinitive on how long the barrels last, but I think I may be at that point.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[poison123]

Any speed loss? But ya....I think George mentioned depending on the load your shooting and other factors the 6cm is about a 3kish barrel lifetime.

 

[2ndPanzer]

If you think your there then you are. There is no set number, but over 3000 is probably better than most! Barrels are expendable, get a new one and don't think about it. I have had 223 AR barrels that have gone 5000 rds and some only went 3000. They still shot good at 200, but were bad at 300 plus. Sometimes it was a steady decrease in accuracy, some were within 50 rds from great to wtf?? And dead.

But like I said, if you think it's gone it is.

 

[FCS]

For those of you who have a GAP10 (or other semi-auto) in 6mm Creedmoor, how many rounds did you get out of your barrel before you had to change it?

I think I'm at the limit. I have well over 3000 rounds, and instead of a steady group opening up, I noticed it just went. I've played around with my loads a bit, thinking I may have messed something up there, but I'm still not getting the same accuracy that I once did.

I've not seen anything diffinitive on how long the barrels last, but I think I may be at that point.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

You need a new barrel.

 

[Steelhead]

I haven't chrono'ed the load for a long time, however, my dope for distance hasn't changed. What is weird is it still seems to shoot good past 100 yards. I can hit MOA sized steel at all distances out to 1000 yards. I've just noticed that at 100, my groups have opened way up, so I'm wondering how much longer I've got before it really goes down hill.

I have a new upper on order since August, so I'm not expecting to see it until June. I guess I better call GAP up and see how long a rebarrel will take.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Grump]

Please quantify.

Losing accuracy from a .3-inch 3-round group to one that's .9 inch, all at 100, is more than double the group size but might not be that conclusive, a problem for some but not for all. So "how much" worn out can be a relative thing.

Performance plummeting from .8 inch 5-round groups to 1.4 inch is the same .6-inch increase, a smaller percentage from the original, and to *me* a much bigger problem. I would call a barrel doing that worn out for match work but still plenty good for everything else.

Comparisons of 3-round groups, even if more than three such groups per "test" is also far less conclusive than 5-round groups. Statistically-speaking and with real world experience, there's a bigger difference between 3- and 5-round groups than between 5-round and 10-round groups. Still, they on average are always larger the more shots fired. Going to two or three 10-round groups is more expensive in ammo and remaining barrel life consumption, but provides much more reliable data with the flukes and aberrations smoothed out.

So IMO, it all depends on what your definition of "accurate" is.

 

[Grump]

Also, calibrate your expectations to the true nature of the round.

6mm Creedmoore is quite similar to the old .243 Winchester. What have you heard about that rifle's barrel life???

 

[dvdt]

Personally I wouldn't be too upset with the barrel going at 3k rounds.

I can't add anything to this thread except to ask if your brass is still in good shape ? Not to derail this thread, but I'm a huge believe in annealing brass to keep consistent neck tension. I thought my 6.5CM was going at 1800 rounds but it was because my brass was getting a bit hard. I had it annealed and the rifle came right back to to shooting tight groups. I'm talking .3 -> .7 -> .3. Just throwing that out there...

I'd love to have a gap10 in 6cm. Thanks for posting up.

 

[toygunner]

Mine was toast at 2k in gas gun.

 

[A10XRIFLE]

Barrel life in 6 Creedmoor is dependent on how its shot. In Bolt rifles they are going 3000-4500. In Gas Guns 2000 - 3500 , Heat is what kills barrels and with a gasser you can heat them up real easy. If you got 3000 on your GAP-10 and its acting weird now I would say your there. Re-Barrel time right now is 8-10 weeks. Im hoping that by March it will be back down to 3-4 weeks

 

[tipper]

Recheck seating depth an adj. load

 

[Steelhead]

Please quantify.

Losing accuracy from a .3-inch 3-round group to one that's .9 inch, all at 100, is more than double the group size but might not be that conclusive, a problem for some but not for all. So "how much" worn out can be a relative thing.

Performance plummeting from .8 inch 5-round groups to 1.4 inch is the same .6-inch increase, a smaller percentage from the original, and to *me* a much bigger problem. I would call a barrel doing that worn out for match work but still plenty good for everything else.

Comparisons of 3-round groups, even if more than three such groups per "test" is also far less conclusive than 5-round groups. Statistically-speaking and with real world experience, there's a bigger difference between 3- and 5-round groups than between 5-round and 10-round groups. Still, they on average are always larger the more shots fired. Going to two or three 10-round groups is more expensive in ammo and remaining barrel life consumption, but provides much more reliable data with the flukes and aberrations smoothed out.

So IMO, it all depends on what your definition of "accurate" is.

I first noticed something wrong when I was practicing on a "know your limits" target. I was missing, sometimes significantly. I then did a few 5 shot groups and noticed I had a hard time keeping anything under 1", where as I can usually do 1/2" or better with this rifle. Some groups even opened up to 1-1/2" to 2", but I changed my reloading techniques a bit and went back to H4350 (now that I can find it again) and have been able to shrink the groups a bit, but still not as good as they once were.

I have a match coming up in a couple of weeks. I'll shoot it and see how it performs. If I don't do as well, I'll go back to the bolt gun, until my new upper gets here. I'll just have to know not to push it on a "know your limits" stage.

 

[Steelhead]

Barrel life in 6 Creedmoor is dependent on how its shot. In Bolt rifles they are going 3000-4500. In Gas Guns 2000 - 3500 , Heat is what kills barrels and with a gasser you can heat them up real easy. If you got 3000 on your GAP-10 and its acting weird now I would say your there. Re-Barrel time right now is 8-10 weeks. Im hoping that by March it will be back down to 3-4 weeks

Thanks George. Since I have a new upper on order, maybe I should keep this one for a while as a "Practice" barrel and use the new one for matches. What do you think?

 

[Steelhead]

Recheck seating depth an adj. load

Thanks, I will probably try that too.

 

[A10XRIFLE]

try 105 Hornady HPBT the ogive is alot closer and you might get another 500-600 on it with those.