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Barrel life in 6.5

killer-e

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Full Member
Minuteman
Jul 31, 2010
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odell nebraska
Which lasts longer? 6.5x47 260 or 6.5 creedmore? I was told that barrel life was around 3,000 rounds for the 260 and 6.5 creedmore.I read some good posts on here about the 6.5x47 but never heard what barrel life was. Thanks for your input.
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

I am not sure if it is true or not, but....Boots Obermeyer says he has a 260 with over 6,000 rounds thru it that is still as accurate as the day he built it. I believe it is on his web site. I know with my 6.5mm Obermeyer barrel I have maintained excellent accuracy, but I am only at 600 rounds.
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

Guys I will honest with you. I only have 600 rds thru mine, but the loss of barrel life, even if it does only go 3k, is well worth the trade off in my opinion. I will probably be in the bottom 10% of barrel life, as I am hot-rodding pretty good. I am getting 2800fps with 140 AMAXs from 22" barrel, and LOVING every damn minute of it.
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

How about 6.5x47? Any input? Read some very good articles by Zak Smith at DEMIGOD LLC but didn't see anything on barrel life.
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

I'm at 1100 with my 6.5x47, and it will shoot .25MOA (best is .172). I'm shooting 123 Scenars. I'm hoping 3k or more, but whatever it ends up being, its worth it. I have a 308, 243, 220 Swift, and a 300WM, and nothing is as much fun to shoot as my 6.5.
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

6.5x47 has less case capacity than the other two so it should get longer barrel life. However the difference is small so you'd be looking at a small gain. This assumes you're running all 3 at the same pressure.
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

I have built rifles in all three. With the 260 and the 6.5 CM if your pushing them hard and trying to be competitive, your barrel life can be as short at 2000. I'm sure you can get better if your shooting a mild load.

Mark
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

It costs money to be in the game. Answer these questions:
1. How many rounds do I really shoot a year?
2. What am I shooting at?
3. How far do I really shot 99% of the time?
4. How much do I have into my current rig?
5. How much does 3000rds of 6.5 loaded ammo cost?
6. Do I reload?
7. After completing questions 1-6, is $500 for a new barrel really that much in the scheme of things?

If you answer those questions, that will tell you if you need the 6.5.
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

Don't leave out the other factor in barrel life: Heat. If you are runnin' and gunnin' (regardless of the caliber or weapon) your barrel life is significantly less than a guy who takes a shot, a bit later takes another, etc. Careful shots, two to five minutes apart will have a barrel life 30-50% greater than a guy poppin' a cap every 10 seconds. With slow fire and cooling time, I have no problem beleiving that some of the 6.5s have 5000 rounds and more.
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

People who worry about barrel life probably don't shoot enough to burn a barrel out. After you do burn one or 2 out. It's really not that big of deal. I am willing to sacrifice barrel life for superior ballistic performance.
 
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Re: Barrel life in 6.5

My 308 has 5500 rds down the tube. Most were fed match 168,s. But now I've started reloading. Shooting 155 hpbt scenars 45.0grs of varget in lapua brass. Getting great groups. When it dies I want to go 6.5x47. Seems to be the most accurate out of the bunch. I think???
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

Just put a .260 together. Based on my experience with 6.5-06 I am expecting +-2,000. I am ordering a new barrel ASAP. That way I'll have a replacement when this barrel is toast.

Good luck

Jerry
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

Running any chambering at higher pressures will cook it to death faster.

I do a trade-off, substituting barrel length for propellant charge in order to achieve a desired velocity. I liken it to running the barrel at a cruise speed, rather than subjecting it to a constant dash.

None of my chosen CoF's require less than 1 minute maximum time between shots. Our local club FV200 CoF dictates 20rd for score plus unlimited sighters within 30 min. We nearly never use up all the time.

Whenever load development reveals multiple accuracy nodes, I choose the one which delivers the bullet ontarget at or as close as possible to 1300fps. More than that is not needed and is probably counterproductive. My .260 barrels are 28" and I run them at about 2850fps with 140-ish bullets. This corresponds to about 44gr or slightly less, of H-4350.

Greg
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

It's just part of the game!!Shoot it,enjoy it, rebarrel it and shoot it! Its all how far you want to take the game, just like hotrods, harleys, boats and B%tche$!
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

In Scandinavia we have a lot of experience with low pressure 6.5x55 loads for Krag matchrifles. I think it is quite interesting that these loads almost have the same MV as high pressure loads in smaller cases. The Krag loads have better barrellife, in the area of 6000 rounds, even when used in rapid fire maches. The Krag loads are still capable of sub .4moa accuracy so a 6.5x47 has a lot to prove in the real world. A typical Krag load is a 139gr Lapua Scenar at 2600fps in front of VV N160 in a 26" barrel. This load should give a barrellife of about 6000 rounds.

Another interesting point is that European matchbarrels, even if they are cut rifles like Schultz&Larsen or Sauer/Steyr hammerforged, have not uniform measurs inside. They are all tighter towards the muzzle to increase barrellife. The S&L barrels are polished in a special manner to obtain this after rifles have been cut.
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

I shoot F-class with a 6.5 x 47 and that class is hard on barrels as you fire 22 rounds in no more than 22 minutes. Most people are done shooting in 10-12 minutes, unless the wind is real twitchy. The X-ring is .5 MOA at all ranges so that is the level of accuracy desired.

All that being said I get around 1,400 - 1,600 rounds down the tube before I need to swap or set back barrels. This is lower than most people report that is why I described the type of shooting I do.

Hope this helps,

wade
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

I've got about 1200 rounds through a 6.5X47 and it's still a 1/4 moa gun. I had my smith go ahead and chamber me another tube, and while my old barrel was off he bore scoped the throat.....he told me there was Very little erosion and should have a lot more rounds to put downrange before I need to swap it out.
I guess we'll see...

I will say this, the 6.5X47 is addictive to shoot! Kinda like potato chips, you can't shoot just once. I find myself shooting longer strings with it than my other precision rifles. I guess it's due to the lack of recoil and the accuracy.
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Bacarrat</div><div class="ubbcode-body">People who worry about barrel life probably don't shoot enough to burn a barrel out. After you do burn one or 2 out. It's really not that big of deal. I am willing to sacrifice barrel life for superior ballistic performance. </div></div>

That's like saying folks that make seven figures don't care how much their mortgage is.

I'm willing to sacrifice, but am also cheap enough to look for the best balance I can.
Shit, in the economy of the past two years I have only been able to shoot as much as I do by getting rid of what wasn't getting shot,a nd there's no guarantee the near future will be much better, so yeah I care about it.

I built 6.5CM, based on the efficiency of the cartridge (I get same speeds as buddies' 260's for less powder and don;t seem to hit pressure as soon. I only have a low number of rounds on it, so I can't comment for sure where it will end up at.
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

If you want to put a monetary value on it, then replacing a barrel (5-700 bucks) is a whole lot cheaper then the other consumables.
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

I understand that, but its not a valid argument, because the other consumables will need to be paid for in any case. Just because out of 6000 rounds the barrel costs less than the rounds does not negate the fact that in 6000 rounds I'd rather pay $500 once than twice.
That $500 savings makes me half the ammo it takes to get to 6000 rounds to begin with.
My math is rough guesstimate at best, and I'm too tired to do the reloading cost scenario, but you can probably savvy my point.

Sorry, its a consideration for me no matter how its spun.
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

My .260 barrels have lasted 2500-3000 rounds. The last one shit the bed at 2750 after the SH Bash. It was so fire cracked that Surgeon couldn't set it back. lol I push 140ish gr bullets around 2800fps out of them. New barrel was put on in March and at the end of month I'll have 1000 rounds down it.
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

I am on ym 3rd 260 barrel and my barrels have all gone at around 2400 to 2600rds. The first two were shot in comps and got hot more times than I would have liked. My 3rd barrel only had one comp on it and I had it set back at 1800+ rounds. I am now pushing right at 2800rds and its still shooting sub .5moa groups.

Like one of the guys said it depends on how you use them and how hot they get. I don't like buying barrels either. Its getting damn expensive to rebarrel.

I can blame all this on TorF he got me started on the 6.5s years back and I have loved them every since. I went through a couple of 6.5x284s and loved them but as much as I shot it was a barrel every winter. So I went with the 260s and they are better but not all that great. I have a 6.5x55 now too and I am trying to shoot it at or around the 260 velocities to see if I get better barrel life out of it.

I just had a 284 built and It may be the answer. They are suppose to get 3000+ out them in comps so barrel life should be good. Plus this thing is a HAMMER!!! Its deadly!! During load testing it was shooting sub half MOA out to 600yds for 5 shot groups with 162 AMAXs. One 5 shot group at 600yds on a perfect night was around 1.6"s.
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: killer-e</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Which lasts longer? 6.5x47 260 or 6.5 creedmore? I was told that barrel life was around 3,000 rounds for the 260 and 6.5 creedmoor.I read some good posts on here about the 6.5x47 but never heard what barrel life was. Thanks for your input. </div></div>
I shoot a 6.5 creedmoor with 3800 or so rounds down a LW barrel. I understand this isn't the norm but I will continue to shoot it until it craps out. It still groups well and preforms well in comps if I'm on my game.

I stick to the hornady 140 gr box recipe and get about 2740fps.

From my observations all offer identical performance but .260 seems to toast tubes slightly quicker than the CM or 47.
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: raptor99</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
I just had a 284 built and It may be the answer. They are suppose to get 3000+ out them in comps so barrel life should be good. Plus this thing is a HAMMER!!! Its deadly!! During load testing it was shooting sub half MOA out to 600yds for 5 shot groups with 162 AMAXs. One 5 shot group at 600yds on a perfect night was around 1.6"s. </div></div>

Not to hijack the thread but what bbl length and velocity are you getting? I'm running the 162 amax about 2910 fps out of a 26" tube.
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

Here is a 5 round group from my 6.5 Creedmoor. 2,500 rounds through a Shilen SS match grade select 1-8" twist 24"

JFCreedmoor.jpg


This is a 5 round group from D.Miller's 6.5 Creedmoor with 3,900 rounds through a Lothar Walther match barrel 1-8.5" twist 25"

Dmillercreedmoor.jpg
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

Lothar Walther Barrels are much harder to machine than US made 416 SS barrels, and there is a big differance.
Same thing with S&L barrels are harder.

I don't know, but I got a feeling that the soft 416 barrels don't last as long as the harder barrels, but i might be wrong here.

Just like TorF I come from a country where they used 6,5x55 a lot, and normally they expected betwen 6-8000 rounds from a S&L or a GF barrel in a M96 action.
While the currrent Sauer 200 barrels only seems to last 4000 rounds.

Håkan
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

what is the best way to tell when a barrel should be set back? Can you see it with a bore scope?
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

Life can be anywhere from 2000-3500. I know some guys who have 3000+ and still shoot great. It also depends on how many times you do a barrel burning type of stage/scenario. Powder charge is another variable. Every barrel is different.
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

safe estimate to assume:
greater than ~2800 fps = less than ~3000 rounds
less than ~2800 fps = greater than ~3000 rounds
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jerry M</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Just put a .260 together. Based on my experience with 6.5-06 I am expecting +-2,000. I am ordering a new barrel ASAP. That way I'll have a replacement when this barrel is toast.

Good luck

Jerry</div></div>

what was your experience with the 6.5-06?
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Spuhr</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Just like TorF I come from a country where they used 6,5x55 a lot, and normally they expected betwen 6-8000 rounds from a S&L or a GF barrel in a M96 action.
While the currrent Sauer 200 barrels only seems to last 4000 rounds.
Håkan </div></div>

Spuhr, know anything about Tikka/SAKO barrel life in 6.5x55? They are supposed to be on top of the game
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

Nope, I don't yet have the experience.
My own T3 have not yet passed the 500 line.

My TRG 338 is however over 2500 and shoots better than ever.

Håkan
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Bacarrat</div><div class="ubbcode-body">People who worry about barrel life probably don't shoot enough to burn a barrel out. After you do burn one or 2 out. It's really not that big of deal. I am willing to sacrifice barrel life for superior ballistic performance. </div></div>

I feel the same way. Shoot it, enjoy it, try to get the most out of it that you can, once you shoot it out, put another one on and shoot it some more
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Spuhr</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Lothar Walther Barrels are much harder to machine than US made 416 SS barrels, and there is a big differance.
Same thing with S&L barrels are harder.

I don't know, but I got a feeling that the soft 416 barrels don't last as long as the harder barrels, but i might be wrong here.

Just like TorF I come from a country where they used 6,5x55 a lot, and normally they expected betwen 6-8000 rounds from a S&L or a GF barrel in a M96 action.
While the currrent Sauer 200 barrels only seems to last 4000 rounds.

Håkan </div></div>

Lothar Walther uses their LW-50 steel, which I believe is similar to 17-4PH. This is a significantly harder, wear resistant steel than 416R. Though at the expense of not being at free machining at 416R.
 
Re: Barrel life in 6.5

So far our club has toasted two 6.5 Creedmoor barrels. Dane's Lothar Walther 1-8.5" twist 24" went 4,200 rounds before we re-barreled it. My Shilen SS match select 1-8" twist 24" went 3,200 rounds before I re-barreled it.

We ended up using Rock 5R 1-8" twist MTU's on both rifles.