When a barrel burns out....?

[Lucks]

I've never shot out a barrel.
My first LR rig was a GAP.308 and I've got around 4000 rounds through it and it still shoots one ragged hole.

My second rifle is a custom .260Rem with a Krieger barrel on it that has about 2000 rounds through it. It seems to still be shooting as good as it did brand new.... heck, maybe even a little better.
Most of what I've read on barrel life on a .260 is 2000-2500 rounds.
This concerns me because over the next three months I've got three competitions that I want to shoot with my .260. I'm sure that over the course of these competitions I will end up with 2500+ rounds through my rifle.
So, when the barrel goes out, will it be all at once, gradually over hundreds or rounds, or what?
I'm just concerned I'll be at a match and all of a sudden I can't hit anything because my barrel just shit the bed on me....

Any advice or experiences would be appreciated. Thanks....

 

[Swan]

Re: When a barrel burns out....?

Don't sweat it. Just keep checking for accuracy/lack thereof in between matches. There is no set number your .260 barrel will die. Some get 2000, some may get 2800. Depends on how all those rounds were shot.

 

[redbullitt]

Re: When a barrel burns out....?

Much of it depends on what kind of load you are running and the pace of your shooting. Like swan said, it WILL vary, maybe by a lot, from rifle to rifle.

It depends on what you are shooting as well. I mean, chances are that it will not become a 6 minute rifle lol. I think you will be just fine. Many barrels or rifles that get retired end up still being used, just repurposed to something that does not take the same precision.

What kind of competitions are you shooting?

Peace of mind is worth something. SO,

Maybe consider taking a backup rifle? Or at least be ready to run a different rifle at the later comps if you are not happy how the 260 runs?

 

[WDL]

Re: When a barrel burns out....?

If you measure COL to lands and have that info recorded, you can re-check to see if you are starting to get some throat erosion.

 

[Outback]

Re: When a barrel burns out....?

Yes build a secondary gat of another caliber similar like 6.5 Creedmoor. Use the same optics

 

[JAAM12]

Re: When a barrel burns out....?

Remember heat is what kills barrels. I have a friend who has a Rem 700 223 varmint that is still shooing great (1/2 or smaller 5 shot groups). He does not know how it can still shoot so well. The rifle is from the late 80s. It will out shoot his Sako 223 varmint model. He is 77 years old and retire living in the great state of TX. Shooting and hunting is his hobby.

John

 

[GunKnowledge]

Re: When a barrel burns out....?

Your barrel won't just up an go suddenly, tight groups to missing the paper, you'll notice a reverse exponential decay, not a step function.

Somewhere Winchester did a great job of graphing their WSSM barrel burnouts compared to other calibers, I think it was 223 WSSM vs 220 Swift. That graph is exactly what to expect.

 

[GunKnowledge]

Re: When a barrel burns out....?

I found it.

I lied, it was Browning, comparing 223 WSSM to 22-250, but same idea.

Your barrel performance should track like this. You'll have a couple hundred rounds to notice loss of accuracy.

http://www.browning.com/library/infonews/detail.asp?id=79

 

[BOLTRIPPER]

Re: When a barrel burns out....?

when the barrel goes ....you will experience a slow but noticeable degradation of accuracy ...the barrel will take more foulers to come into its own......there are throat maintenance bullets that will help snap back the accuracy in the downward curve to becoming a tomato stake......but in about 200 rounds or so....the groups will pattern not group.....

.308 can and will live a more charmed life, the .260 though seems to do well but do not respond well to frequent set-backs and shoulder bumps....it gets too costly for the subsequent rewards of limited accuracy .

 

[buffybuster]

Re: When a barrel burns out....?

As stated, heat is the killer.

IME when the barrel starts to go, what will happen is you start getting an unexplainable flier, just outside of the group. That is the first sign (unless you're chronoing every shot) the barrel is starting to slip. After that, it goes downhill (within a couple hundred rounds) and seems to stabilize again at ~1.5-2moa (which is worthless as a match rifle but OK for a hunting stick). At which point it either gets pulled or shot about 10rds a year.

 

[RTH1800]

Re: When a barrel burns out....?

I have shot out a few and for me at least, they go both ways. Some will fade away and others will just start keyholing and it is over right then.
JMO

 

[dar1246]

Re: When a barrel burns out....?

My last 260 I rebarrel was at 3500 rounds down the tube. Still shot good. But notice my groups opening up.

 

[Lucks]

Re: When a barrel burns out....?

Thanks for the advice everyone.
I have another barrel in hand for the rifle when this barrel goes out. It just is a tough deal because I don't want to rebarrel my rifle prematurely while it's still shooting good. At the same time, if it goes out on me during or between matches, I may not be able to have it rebarreled and back to me before the next match.
That graph Kswift posted is scary, it looks like accuracy can get exponentially worse over the course of just a 100 to 200 rounds. From sub-MOA to 4+MOA in 150 rounds or so....

 

[Wade]

Re: When a barrel burns out....?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Outback</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Yes build a secondary gat of another caliber similar like 6.5 Creedmoor. Use the same optics</div></div>

What he said.

One of his surgeons is in Steve's hands getting rebarrelled now.

 

[steve123]

Re: When a barrel burns out....?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Lucks</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Thanks for the advice everyone.
I have another barrel in hand for the rifle when this barrel goes out. It just is a tough deal because I don't want to rebarrel my rifle prematurely while it's still shooting good. At the same time, if it goes out on me during or between matches, I may not be able to have it rebarreled and back to me before the next match.
That graph Kswift posted is scary, it looks like accuracy can get exponentially worse over the course of just a 100 to 200 rounds. From sub-MOA to 4+MOA in 150 rounds or so.... </div></div>

I had a barrel burn out during the same match exactly 1 year apart.Not fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!It was a 6x47L.In the 2009 match it had approx 2400 rounds through it.In 2010 it had 1500.Man was I pissed.I couldn't hit a 1" smiley at 100Y during the end of the match but the day before I could drill out the middle of a 1" shoot-n-see.It was grouping 2.25 MOA when I tested it back home.

Get your new barrel on before you go to those matches!

 

[terrygood]

Re: When a barrel burns out....?

I shoot 308. I have some with 5000-6000 rds through them. I have worn out parts m1a, grands and ARs. Never had shot out a barrel. I always buy the best barrel I can with the rifle. Not a big fan of over cleaning either. Plastic brush wrapped with cotton patch coated with #9. I think once you move to the faster stuff things start to break down? Hot is hot and wont last long, but boy those long skinny bullets are nice.

 

[Joel989]

Re: When a barrel burns out....?

Speed Kills!