In your opinion, what would you say is the average accurate life of a well taken care chrome-moly barrel?
By accurate I mean that what now shoots in the 0.5" range will not exceed 1.0".
By well taken care for I mean cleaned periodically, and never let to get too hot while shooting at the range.
One is a .223, another is a 22-250, and another is a 6.5-06 Imp.
Thanks.
Montero

Looking at my serria 3rd edition page 132 they say with boat tail bullets you should get around 10000 rds with good care with flat base bullets 3000 to 5000

A lot depends on loads and cleaning methods, but I'd guess you could count on .223:5000 rounds, 22-250:1500 rounds, 6.5-06 IMP: 500 rounds for max loads.

If you drop back 10% from max loads you can at least double the numbers.

Don

Don G;
500 rounds for the 6.5-06! you mean only 500? no mistke?
I feel like a fool. Should have asked before ordering the job...
Regards,
Montero

Don't kick yourself too much. As was said earlier, a lot of variables come into mind when discussing barrel life. The ones you have control over are cleaning methods, reloading components, and firing method.

Cleaning methods are important; you want to get your barrel clean without damage. The methods differ greatly; IMHO, you should NEVER put a metal bristled brush down a fine bore. Some folks will disagree, I'm sure. I clean as follows: 1 patch, literally dripping with Hoppe's #9, straight out the muzzle. Remove the patch--this will sweep the loose fouling from the bore. Remove rod, and wipe down. Next, a tight patch with Sweet's, one minute working through the bore, last pass out of the muzzle. Remove and wipe. Dry patch to remove the Sweet's, check and clean chamber and lug recesses, too. Then finally, use one oil saturated patch, through the bore 3-4 times, followed by two dry patches. Done deal.

Make sure to use a bore guide, too. Remember--YOU CAN RUIN YOUR RIFLE WITH THE FIRST CLEANING IF YOU DON'T USE A BORE GUIDE. Get a good one, too-don't scrimp.

As for reloading, it is my understanding that ball-type powder burns cooler, and cleaner than extruded. Extruded powders in hot loadings blast away at the all important leade, or throat, causing erosion. More importantly, regardless of what powder you use, stay away from the full throttle loads. My .220 Swift, for example, is easily capable of breaking 4100 fps. Why bother? I do not load faster than 3600-3700.

Firing technique is perhaps the most important. You can have the best cleaning technique, and use the finest components, but it won't be worth a tinker's damn if you machine gun rounds through your bore. 3-5 minutes betweens rounds, during break-in, and then no more than 3 round groups, 2 minutes between rounds, 10 minutes between groups. Want to rapid fire? Buy an AR-15 with a chrome barrel. They're built for it.

Take your time, and good luck! Your barrels will last a lifetime if they are well cared for.

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Happiness is a 200 yard bughole.

Montero,

The numbers I gave were estimates based on NRA long range practice. These guys load as hot as they can stand, as velocity works out to less windage. I looked at all that and decided I could use a 308 Win and suffer the wind!

Also, different rifles act differently with long throats (the throats erode out, the rest of the barrel is good for several thousand rounds.) You can usually re-polish the rough throat once and restore pretty good performance. If the chamber is perfectly concentric you can keep MOA average for maybe 1500 rounds on the 6.5-06.

Your mileage may vary - a lot!

I still want to build a 6.5-06 someday.

Don

Hello
These were all good points. Another is the quality of the barrel you are working with.

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Safety & Ethics,Accuracy, Velocity, Energy
Joe M

Army ammunition tests found that boat tail bullets will give an average barrel life of 10,000 rounds, if you don't try to melt the barrel and clean it properly. This was with .30-'06 ammunition. One of my Springfield Armory M1As with a chrom-moly .308 Winchester barrel has 3,258 rounds thru it and it still shoots sub-MOA. I don't rapid fire it, my handloads are on the mild side and I clean it properly. I fully expect it to last 10,000 rounds.

Apart from what's allready mentioned powder type and speed can have an effect.

Very slow powders can have a 'shot blasting' effect on the throat and hotter burning powders (read double base) can have a detrimental effect. Likewise heavier and hence longer bullets with more bearing surface produce more friction and heat.

I see I disagree with Powderman re ball powders vs extruded and effect on throat erosion. My understanding is ball = double base = more heat = bad.

Whatever the theory, I know of a reputable custom gun smith in the UK who swears customers using Varget etc halve the lives of their barrels. In one case a .308 went from 5000 rounds barrel life (at match rifle loads) with N150 (single base) to 1,500 rounds barrel life with N550 (double base.

Wihtavuori swear they have tested exhaustively and found no clear difference.

Nothings ever cut and dried in this life. Enjoy your 6.5 for what you bought it for and if it wears out too soon rebarrel it for another of the excellent 6.5s that last a bit longer.If you didn't buy it for ultimate velocity and are merely using it as .270 alternative then if you don't load it to the brim with the slowest powders I don't see why you shouldn't get .270 type barrel life - I don't hear many complaints about them.

[This message has been edited by 1894 (edited 05-11-2001).]

Dear Montero- I built myself a 264 Win Mag in 1974 while in Hawaii. I used this rifle almost exclusively until 1996, when the barrel finally gave up the ghost. The barrel was a McGowan xx 24" CM in the #2 contour. I used only one load for all these years. 73.3/H-870 and the 140 Sierra Gameking bullet- CCI 250 primers. This load gave me a chronographed 3090fps. I have documented over 4300 rounds with this barrel. I was religious in the cleaning but not overboard. I also NEVER fired the rifle rapid fire. Three-four shots was the average. I agree VERY strongly with the gentleman who said barrel quality was of the utmost importance.Harrys` barrels have always lasted me and my customers and the accuracy was always excellent. If you are making a 6.5-06 and follow the basic rules of barrel break-in/care you should be just fine. One or two of the others suggested cleaning methods and I see no reason to be redundant there.Remember, velocity is NOT King. ACCURACY is.Aloha, Mark[in Ore]kailuacustom@aol.com