Browning is posting an article showing average 22-250 barrel life to be no more than 750 rounds, then claiming that their "chrome-plated bore" technology doubles barrel life. 750 rounds seems awfully short to me. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Click on the chart to view it larger, after going to (Browning home page) at:

http://www.browning.com/products/features/detail.asp?id=79

Article title: 223 WSSM vs the 22-250 Rem.

In 2003, Winchester Ammunition, Browning and Winchester Firearms introduced two of the most exciting varmint calibers to come down the pipe in decades—the 223 and 243 Winchester Super Short Magnum (WSSM) cartridges. These new cartridges brought wildcat performance to the factory level, providing varmint shooters, as well as light big game hunters, with a stepped-up level of small caliber performance. Along with the successes of these new cartridges, however, came some interesting challenges.

We live in a most wonderful time. Technology has provided us with tools and toys that previous generations could scarcely dream of. Included in this smorgasbord of technological achievements is our ability to communicate far more effectively than at any other time in history through the Internet. Unfortunately, along with the good aspects this technology provides, on occasion, the specter of misinformation rears its ugly head.

Even before the first Browning firearm chambered in WSSM calibers hit the dealer’s shelves, Internet chat rooms were buzzing with speculation and information about the new WSSM calibers. Whether it was intentional or misguided matters not. What does matter is that we take this moment to dispel the misinformation and provide you with the facts, and the data to prove the truth about these very cool, potent little calibers.

Anyone with a moderate level of shooting experience knows that if you push a bullet down a bore at extreme velocities, wear and tear is increased. The WSSM calibers are no exception to this rule. Again, enter the world of technology. With modern manufacturing techniques, we have been provided another wonderful tool—the ability to economically chrome-plate our rifle bores; something the so-called “experts†knew nothing about before jumping both to conclusions and into chat rooms.

The 223 and 243 WSSM cartridges are said to “burn up†barrels in as little as 300 rounds. Nothing could be further from the truth. Test results show that even in non-chromed barrels, the wear performance of WSSM calibers is equal to the beloved 22-250. In chromed barrels, the wear resistance is doubled (see chart). It should also be noted that Browning has never sold a rifle in 223 or 243 WSSM without a chromed barrel. As an added benefit, the smooth surface of chromed barrels makes cleaning them significantly easier.

Browning and Winchester have combined to provide hunters and shooters with 284 years of innovative products. We do not take this legacy for granted by introducing products whose performance falls short of the expectations of those who have relied on us—and literally kept us in business all this time. In short, WSSM calibers aren’t your granddaddy’s cartridges and we sure aren’t providing you with your granddaddy’s rifles to shoot them in.

We thank you for taking the time to read and digest this information. Remember what the high school band teacher used to preach, “When in doubt leave it outâ€. Of course, in the case of firearms and ammunition technical information, when in doubt, go get the facts.

I think they have something to sell!

Isn't it amazing how these new barrels that have come out these days of such advanced technogy wear out so quick? We had an old Remington 742 .308, that had no telling how many rounds ran through it, checked out and the barrel had very little wear in it. It was used for 15 years. Remington then was telling everyone that 1000 rounds was about the life, but after 3000 rounds many were still going and wasn't wore to much. I know the first M-16s without the crome lining would destroy a barrel real quick, but I mean 1000 rounds on full auto was hard on it. Don't think 750 rounds through a real good 22/250 barrel would finish it, but what do I know.

I've seen a few 22-250 varmint barrels shoot the throats out in 1000 - 1200 rounds. Even worse were the swifts. The hot gases from such rounds will quickly erode the throat compaired to say a 308.

I've put over 4000 rounds through a .308 barrel in one season and it still shot well. I've seen a Chandler M40 Sniper rifle that had over 4,000 rounds through it and would still hold MOA out to 600yards.

They are probably low balling the barrel life, but the 22-250 can burn them up quick.

Gary

quote:

....then claiming that their "chrome-plated bore" technology doubles barrel life.


It should also be noted that Browning has never sold a rifle in 223 or 243 WSSM without a chromed barrel. As an added benefit, the smooth surface of chromed barrels makes cleaning them significantly easier.

All that I read in these lines (and others in the article, but I wanted to edit it down somewhat), is MARKETING.

Aim your ads at the easily impressed (usually by mostly irrelevant stuff), and sell to the masses....

Pure BS...they are trying to increase their profits...

I think alot also has to do with how "hot" you're loading it. If you're pushing max velocities regularly then yes, bbl life might be surprisingly limited.

I wonder if you'd see a big difference if you dropped that velocity down just about 100 fps below "maximum"... I wonder how much longer a bbl might last? You might be surprised at the difference... Any opinions?

Steve???

quote:

I think they have something to sell!

I know that they have something to sell.

Checked my notes from my varmint days, we burned the throats out of several .220Swifts barrels at around 1000 rounds. A couple 22-250 barrels went at around 1000-1200 rounds. For awhile I was shooting .223 only because I couldn't make it a year w/out having to pull the barrel on the Swift or 22-250.

Here's a good article by Craig Boddington on the subject:

Barrel-Burners
What is the real relationship between bullet velocity and barrel erosion, and what does it mean to you?
By Craig Boddington

http://www.gunsandammomag.com/gun_columns/notes/0412/

quote:

Steve???

The name says it all! SWIFT!!

4,400 fps with a 40 grain bullet!

4,300 fps with a 45 grain bullet!

4,200 fps with a 50 grain bullet!

4,100 fps with a 55 grain bullet!

4,000 fps with a 60 grain bullet!

And a new barrel every 250 rounds with any of the above!!

I played with all the above loads for quite a few years, thinking that faster was better. It was when I reached my "moderation days" that I finally decided that pushing a 50 grain bullet at around 3,900 fps improved accuracy around 400%, and barrel life forever.

I tired several powders in hundreds of different loadings, and finally decided that in my Winchester, IMR-4064, at a weight of 38.7 grains did exactly what I wanted.

On paper it printed 5-shot groups at 200 yards of less than 1/2 inch, and on varmints, it was totally devistating out to 400 yards!

The .220 Swift Winchester has been inactive for a few years, since I do most of my small critter shooting with the .22-250 Remington. But on occasion, I still break it out, lay on the livingroom floor, and play "make-believe" ... I haven't missed a critter yet in my game. Even the one little prairie dog I "hit" at well over 1,000 yards ... grin ...

If you really want the ultimate .22 caliber, then get yourself a good heavy-barreled Swift, and put a good 36x Leupold scope on top of it.

Steve,

Not sure if it was your intent, but your post was inspirational. You've got me pumped up wanting to go shoot varmints!

Well, I'll have to rely on memories for now as my wife and family take priority and what little time I have to spare goes towards big game.

Gary

One thing that is not discussed that may lead to misinterpretation of this discussion is what is the criteria for saying a barrel is "burned out". Are you making this decision based on changes in group size? Are you using a bore scope and visually inspecting the throat and then pronouncing the bore "burnt out"? If it is throat erosion, then perhaps by definition the Weatherby long throated chambers are "burnt out" before even being fired. I am hoping that it is group size that you are using. Even then, define how large the group has to be to be considered from a "burnt out" barrel. There are plenty of inexperienced folks who read these postings who could learn more from your postings if you would define some of your concepts further.

My Ruger Mk II VT shot out its .22-250 bbl. in 1300 rounds. Loads were max as the rifle liked them best but the bbl. was never allowed to become hot as it was used solely at the range. I tried to cut the bbl. and rechamber but erosion extended too far. This disgusted me of the caliber and I since rebarrelled to .308.

quote:

Originally posted by ricciardelli:
Pure BS...they are trying to increase their profits...

Steve,

Well said, plain, pure and simple!

cheers
seafire

There seems to be, already, quite allot of information on barrel life here:
https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums?a=search&...Type=1&search=Search

Guess I'm lucky. 30 years ago I bought a MKX barreled action in 22-250. When I stopped tracking it 10 years ago the number of shots was in excess of 7000. It was never over heated and loads are several grains below max. It shot .75MOA new and does the same now.

All those of you who think Browning is selling snake oil may want to reconsider when you learn that FN (Browning and USRAC's parent) has perfect a bore chrome plating process that provides bore durability in exceoss of 10,000 rounds (for 308 Win) and provides honest 1/2 MOA accuracy.

The FN Special Police Rifle (an accuraized Model 70 CRF) is so barrelled, is so accuracte, and is the FBI's sniper rifle of choice.

You all would do well to research this a bit better before calling bullshit.

You might be right about some calling something bullshit. But what I call total bullshit is any firarms company in America, browning or who ever, that will not even talk to me, plain ass American citizen, about their special rifles. I can get one made that will do just as good as most they have. Ruger wouldn't even talk to a man who had one of their Law enforcement .308 rifles. Tey told him he wasn't suppoded to have it. Well Bullshit on that! It was only a .308 that wouldn't hit a bull in the ass at 100 yards and he wanted to talk to them about it. The firearms companies act like a bunch of Nazis when it comes to old plain citizen wanting an accruate rifle. The Feds are scared that us old deer hunting fellers might get a rifle that will actually hit something without spending $2000,00 to correct it. That is why so much junk is coming out. It brings down the ability of plain John to hit a moving target at 1000 yards. Well anyway, that reminds me, must call tomorrow and get my new custom .308 on the way before they are made obsolete by law!

I don't think anybody is calling bullshit on the chrome process, rather the low numbers Browning is calling for non chromed barrels. Chrome does extend barrel life, so does reducing the pressure of your loads. I wonder how their barrels stack up in evaluation by an air guage though as I'm skeptical that dimensions will match those of a lapped match grade barrel. Probably doesn't matter much for a BG rifle but I've not heard of many barrels in the BR circut being chromed.

Chrome, chrome, chrome...

"'Tis a puzzlement..." - The King Of Siam

They took the chrome off the outside of my automobiles;

Then they took plastic and attempted to make it look like chrome on the inside of my automobiles;

They claim chrome plated cases are harmful to your dies and chambers;

It is an insult to be called "chrome-dome" if you are bald;

They are trying their damndest to remove chrome-moly barrels from the market;

And now they have "discovered" that chrome plating a bore will greatly increase barrel life and shrink groups.

Well, you guys who believe that USRAC and FN are the god's of firearms, good luck to you. And don't drop the tablets on your way down from Mt. Sinai. Because if you do, the god's will find a way to give you ten new and improved ones...made by European corporations, of course.

We use one particular rifle that started life as a 220 Swift. We have put just over 2500 shots with 40gr HV bullets (4400fps to 4500fps)through it over a six year period. When I rechambered it to a wildcat (22x64 aka 22-06 Easling) it still held well under an inch at 100. Now it has done a further 400+ shots at 4700fps-4800fps in testing and hunting. If I load carefully it gives me half an inch at 100. We have never shot it hot and it has a very ordinary chromemoly barrel from Truvelo in South Africa on a commercial FN (98)action.

A customer of mine culls venison for a living. He ruined a Shilen match barrel on a 22-250 in a couple of nights' of shooting by shooting it so hot that the barrel could raise a blister.

Depends on how you use it and what you put down the barrel I suppose.

Old Elk Hunter,

It's been awhile since I've done much varmint shooting, but for me it's always been harder on my barrel than when shooting paper because of barrel heat. At times it almost becomes like "Rattle Battle" and you must force yourself to slow down.

I cannot speak for others, but my first tell tale sign was actual accuracy loss (gradual at first, but can accelerate quickly). This would be followed by a bore scope to inspect the amount of rifling loss and scoring or checking (for lack of a better word) of the barrel in the throat and the first couple inches of rifling. At some point the rifling would erode away and score far enough down the barrel that average accuracy would no longer meet my standard to reliably hit the sized targets intended at the desired range. When the barrel gets hot, it seemed to erode at a much faster rate than when you allow to cool between shots.

It's not a given that all 22-250 and 220Swift barrels will go quick. My father-in-law uses the same 220Swift he bought in the 70s for groundhogs. He can hit bottle caps at 200 yards w/ reasonable reliability and I'm fairly confident that he has 2000-3000 rounds through it. But, he never lets it get hot to the touch and he never shoots max loads. This rifle may last the rest of his life.

I on the other hand would easily shoot over 2000-3000 rounds in a year. In my experience, the 220 Swift followed by the 22-250 would always erode at a faster rate than a 223 or 308. I could shoot the stink out of a 223 all year long and it would hold up, the 220Swift would need the barrel redone to make the year.

I would never berate the Swift or the 22-250 as they are just too much fun, but I think if someone expects that such barrels will last as long a 223 or 308 barrel they may be mistaken.

Gary

I would agree that what we're questioning as "BS" is their claim of so few round down a normal 22/250 tube before it reaches tent stake status.
I guess my next question would be to HPShooter. Are you speaking from first hand use/evidence, or are you quoting Browning/Winchester/FN's information release? This type of process information just begs the next question...What would TiN coating do to the barrel, that stuff is hard and smooth, and nearly indestructable???

Dittos Steve, Ditto!

quote:

Originally posted by Ackley Improved User:
Browning is posting an article showing average 22-250 barrel life to be no more than 750 rounds, ....

I really don't understand some of your all's posts.

If Browning says their barrels wear out in 750 shots, who are we to argue with them?
---

I've NEVER seen a barrel wear out that fast, but then I do not shoot them when they are hot. Of course, it could be because I don't have any Browning Barrels either.

I wish all makers would switch to chromed barrels. The military have been using them for years on things like FN Mag's simply because it does extend the barrel life and it also protects it from rust to a degree. I am not sure how they chromed the barrels on the M16's, but on the FN Mag's they were hammer forged...

Hmmmmm, Chrome Lined barrels

They are better if you don't clean very often.

quote:

If Browning says their barrels wear out in 750 shots, who are we to argue with them?

quote:

Although every barrel is unique, in general, a chrome-lined barrel will be less accurate than the match barrels DoubleStar uses as it's standard.

From the link above. Ask and ye shall receive!

Assuming Browning uses the same test for all barrels and has the same criteria we can't argue.We don't know the criteria, therefore don't know their definition of "worn out".Chrome plating is not new ,IIRC the Jap Arisaka in WWII was chrome plated.It does reduce "erosion".As some have commented rapid fire wears barrels much faster as does the highest velocities.

I have a Remington 700 V.S. that was built in 1968. It has the original barrel & when I do my part will shoot well under a half inch at 100 yards. I am not burning the house down with the velocities but it is accurate.

Guys:

As to chrome lined barrels, if any of you remember, the military had a hell of a lot trouble with the M-16 chrome lined barrels during the Viet-Nam war. It seemed for some reason the chrome just peeled out of the bores. As to the current crop of USRAC crome lined barrels, wasn't it just a year ago they recalled a slew of the 223WSSM'S, et al, because of the same problem. Just some food for thought! Also comparing the 308 and 223 to the Swift and 22-250 as to barrel life is like comparing a gasoline engine to one that burns Nitro Methane.

I have considerable experience with the 220 Swift. I bought my first one, a Ruger in 1974. I shot it until 1995, before The groups began to open up to around an inch. What a shock, I used good shooting and cleaning practices, and it only lasted 21 years. I sent the rifle back to Ruger and had them rebarrel it, it now shots 1/2" groups with 38/RL15/Nosler 55 Bal Tip. I now have 650 rounds thru it, YIKES, I will need a new barrel in about 100 rounds!
I guess I will throw it away next month after I shoot 100 P-Dogs over in New Mexico, LOL!

Jerry