How many rounds through a 300wm before....

[mcc308]

Hey guys just wondering how many rounds you can put through a 300wm
before it looses its best accuracy?
That is a ss bbl of good quality. Also just shooting groups and being cleaned often.
Thanks for any and all comments and Merry Christmas to all.

 

[ksthomas]

Re: How many rounds through a 300wm before....

Depends on what your requirement is for the level of accuracy. Personally, I've never seen one go past 1,200 rds, but that's with heavy weight bullets and a requirement of consistent 1/2 MOA (max allowable) for a ten-round string. What are you doing with it, and what level of accuracy is required?

And a Merry Christmas to you, too!

 

[Rob01]

Re: How many rounds through a 300wm before....

Too many variables to put a solid number on it. What load? How fast are you shooting it? How hot are you getting it? Etc, etc.

 

[MAT4-82]

Re: How many rounds through a 300wm before....

1000-1200 not a bad ballpark but as has been said it depends what your expectation is and how you set up in the beginning.
if your shooting bullseye you'll get less than if your ringing steel. If you set up for shorter or tangent ogive bullets and progressively seat out farther or switch to secant ogive or longer heavier projos you can extend the acceptable service life of a magnum but not by a significant amount. Such is the nature of the magnum.If your the handy type or have an in with a machinist you can start out with a little extra length and set the barrel back. lots of ways to skin a cat.

 

[mcc308]

Re: How many rounds through a 300wm before....

Thx for the info. I thought I made it pretty easy?? A good quality bbl ought to shoot 1/2 moa? At least?? I mentioned shooting groups
So shouldn't get very hot as most people who shoot groups usually shoot about 15 rounds. Maybe 20? Also mentioned taking good care of bbl.. keeping it clean, and not getting it to hot. As far as loads. I have never owned one or loaded for one. So say hot loads?

 

[Rob01]

Re: How many rounds through a 300wm before....

Cleaning often doesn't make a barrel last longer and can actual damage it if not done right.

It's not as easy as you think to even estimate barrel life but if you need a number then between 600 and 3000.

 

[mcc308]

Re: How many rounds through a 300wm before....

If you don't want to answer then don't. I Didn't ask for an exact scientific number of rounds. Just wondering about how many rounds before a bbl starts to go south. I am thinking about getting one but don't really want to go through the trouble if I am only going to get 600 rounds. If some of you experienced 600 or 1000 or 3000 or what ever. You can just say that and how you were shooting it.

"Cleaning often doesn't make a barrel last longer and can actual damage it if not done right". So shooting a dirty bbl makes them last longer??

Sorry if you got the impression that I am new to shooting and cleaning guns. I am not. Yes I am new to this site and thought it was a valid and intresting question for me and possibly other members here. After all how do we get our post numbers up??

 

[Lt. Arclight]

Re: How many rounds through a 300wm before....

Fact is 300 win mag,is burning alot of powder and is harder on the throat than a 308. My GAP 300 was built with a Mike Rock barrel and was the most accurate rifle I've ever owned. I noticed a slight drop off in accuracy at 900 rounds just because the throat was eroded about .005". 72grains of RL22,Lapua case,215m, 190SMK.I think you can get 1500-2000 before you run out of room to extend your COAL.

You can't do anything to extend the barrel life except by not shooting it. 300WM barrel life is still better than a 6.5x284 or a .243 at least in my experience.

Your load, your shooting style, cleaning habits all effect overall accuracy and barrel life. Only way to really tell is keep track of the throats condition with a bore scope.Your question is valid,but unfortunately tough to give a definitive answer. For me, the 300 was a barrel burner.

 

[ORD]

Re: How many rounds through a 300wm before....

+1 on the above info. There's no magic number and life will vary greatly based on any number of factors. Personally, I have shot one out (TE-wise) in 1070 rounds (to the point it would no longer group within 1/2 what it would even 200 rounds less than that. I have also had other barrels last nearly 1500 rounds pushing fairly hot loads with heavier, 210gr and 220gr pills.

Going off of what I've experienced and what I've seen from others, 1,000 rounds minimum is probably a good rule of thumb to begin thinking about detriments to accuracy, consistency, etc. If you get more out of a .300WM chambered barrel...good on you!

As for cleaning...I have witnessed more barrels damaged and suffer from accuracy problems because of POOR cleaning practices and equipment than I have from barrels being run pretty seriously fouled and not cleaned. Simply put, too much cleaning is a bad thing. Nothing wrong with regular maintenance...nobody's arguing with that. But cleaning after every single outing (especially when not a lot of shooting has transpired), or cleaning just for the sake of cleaning, should be avoided as it is wholly unnecessary and CAN BE more detrimental than beneficial.

 

[Rob01]

Re: How many rounds through a 300wm before....

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: mcc308</div><div class="ubbcode-body">If you don't want to answer then don't. I Didn't ask for an exact scientific number of rounds. Just wondering about how many rounds before a bbl starts to go south. I am thinking about getting one but don't really want to go through the trouble if I am only going to get 600 rounds. If some of you experienced 600 or 1000 or 3000 or what ever. You can just say that and how you were shooting it.

"Cleaning often doesn't make a barrel last longer and can actual damage it if not done right". So shooting a dirty bbl makes them last longer??

Sorry if you got the impression that I am new to shooting and cleaning guns. I am not. Yes I am new to this site and thought it was a valid and intresting question for me and possibly other members here. After all how do we get our post numbers up??</div></div>

Questions like this and this question exactly gets asked alot here. Just a few of many from a quick search
http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=3110688

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=989529

https://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=945573

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=3094257

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2785224

And there were more. Under the Shout Box on the right is the Custom Search Engine. A good place to start unless you really want to just bump post count.

Not that I don't want to answer but it's that you can't get an accurate answer. The 600-3000 is a good number because it can last anywhere in there for what you want but depends on many factors.

And yes shooting a barrel dirty can make it so the barrel isn't damaged due to improper cleaning. With today's steels, powders and bullets the bore doesn't have to be cleaned every 10-20 rounds. It actually can hurt accuracy as you are stripping away the fouling both powder and copper which can make the rifle more accurate and you just have to put it back in before the barrel starts shooting again.

 

[seanh]

Re: How many rounds through a 300wm before....

as mentioned, about 1500rnds to stay competitive. So, get a bbl with a straight taper then set it back a turn every 1500 or so...cheaper than a new bbl.

 

[JB02]

Re: How many rounds through a 300wm before....

What range do you intend on shooting your groups? Unless you plan on regularly exceeding 1000yds I doubt you need a 300WM for this purpose. If you want a rifle to punch paper, look at 6mm and 6.5mm offerings.

Magnum rifles are barrel burners. Does it really matter if the numbers tossed out are 600, 1000, or 2000 rounds? Barrel life is not nearly as good as a 30-06, 308 Win, 223, or even a 6.5CM or 260 Rem. However, the cost of 300 WM ammo, even if you reload, far eclipses the cost of a new barrel by the time you have shot one out.

 

[nchunter243]

Re: How many rounds through a 300wm before....

How many licks to the center of a Tootsie-pop? haha sorry man but this varies ALOT based on you. In terms of bbl life for magnums I use 1200 rds as a rule of thumb, that is for normal hunting/3 shot groups then let cool/not raping my bass and throat life. PS dont be a dick to Rob he has crazy knowledge that helps alot of us, and if you were nice he might share his .243 knowledge and you could run a short action caliber to beyond 1000

 

[mcc308]

Re: How many rounds through a 300wm before....

Thanx guysfor all the info. Afew of you understood the question and gave me exactly the info i was looking for. Thank you again. It helpa alot.
I wasnt being a dick to anyone!! I have plenty of experience with many different calibers. Again I know how and when to clean a bbl. And you wont convince me that cleaning is bad for a bbl. Correctly anyway. I might be a little intrested in hearing about a 243. Experiminted with it 15 yrs ago didnt impress me then.

 

[MikeeBooshay]

Re: How many rounds through a 300wm before....

I can only offer experience on two 300 WM barrels, one gave up the ghost at roughly 800 rounds, the TRG 42 lasted 2700. On both of them, when it went south, it was in a hurry. From OK to bad, about 20 rounds. Have a buddy with roughly the same number on a TRG 42 ( 2700 ). I think that is the high side, the lower number is more likely.

If you don't like the barrel life from the 300 WM, you damn sure ain't gonna like the 243. I buy those barrels a couple at a time, and chamber them together. If I have one get close to bad, it's a five minute swap with the right tools. Unless you are doing your own machine work, setbacks are not economical. Paying for a setback and chamber, is usually half the price of a new barrel. You won't get that much more life from that setback.

 

[105amatt]

Re: How many rounds through a 300wm before....

Use the search box, stop being an a-hole.

 

[mcc308]

Re: How many rounds through a 300wm before....

Thank you MB that was very helpful info. And thx to all you guys with good info. our experience has helped me greatly in making a decision about a 300wm.
Once again Merry Christmas to all!!

 

[Guest]

Re: How many rounds through a 300wm before....

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: mcc308</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Hey guys just wondering how many rounds you can put through a 300wm
before it looses its best accuracy? </div></div>
Last 300wm (10T 26" Rock barrel) had 5440 rds when I thought it was done as it would not hold 1.5 IPHY at a grand. Came home and was stripping it for a re-barrel when I found the rear scope ring loose. Put her back together and went to the range, 5 groups of 5 each with the largest at .75 and smallest at .25 IPHY at 300. Driving home I was wondering the, what if's, time frame 2009. Better to re-barrel now I thought. Sent the old barrel back to Rock Creek they did a full inspection and the report was posted on the Hide. Long short it was still good for another 1-2K rds, per the Mfg.

It was never a safe queen, I've put it into the truck many times and it burned my range bag. Most stuff I shot was in the 3000-3150 range, with some over 3200fps. It was never babied at all, as to me its just a tool. With Bergers you have to chase the lands, SMK's are much more forgiving.