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1000 yd caliber best barrel life?
- Thread starter Schw15
- Start date
Who replaces .308 barrels at 5k? I thought they lasted forever.
Considering how much the ammunition costs to burn out even a 3000 round barrel it’s replacement cost is really minor.
Palma shooters are nominally looking to replace barrel at 300-3500 rds.
Barrels are “cheap” relative to $ in ammo to wear out a barrel. When you are getting uncalled fliers at an increasing rate, barrel is most probably shot out.
Some barrels last longer, some barrels never really get going.
Cartridge for 1000 yd for a specific game?
Cartridge for learning LR shooting in general?
Factory ammo or will you be reloading, having custom ammo loaded?
Barrels are “cheap” relative to $ in ammo to wear out a barrel. When you are getting uncalled fliers at an increasing rate, barrel is most probably shot out.
Some barrels last longer, some barrels never really get going.
Cartridge for 1000 yd for a specific game?
Cartridge for learning LR shooting in general?
Factory ammo or will you be reloading, having custom ammo loaded?
6 BR is sweet rd, great bbl life but does get beat up at 1k on windy days.
284 is solid rd for 1k when set up for heavier bullets.
300 WSM set up for 215 / 230 hybrid acts like a 6BR on ‘roids, need 3.100” ISH OAL and 338 LM AICS mags if you want to run from magazine.
Honestly .308 (I know I know, that's not a popular caliber around these parts lol) would give your your longest barrel life. Nothing wrong with running it at 1,200yds but I cant talk to anything past that, as that's the farthest I've taken factory 308 (175 SMKs). I've never run or done handholds so I cant talk to that side of things. It also forces you to be on your game, which I thought was the whole point...but I'm not a competitor nor a reloader. I just go pew and nicely ask the projectile to hit the target.
Given the 300WM & 6.5x55 already in rotation, definitely add a 308 with a chamber matched around a 185 Juggernaut.
2700ish from a 26” barrel w/temp stable, single base, extruded powder.
185 Juggernaut you really don’t want that much freebore. If running 200.20X, maybe want 0.170” of freebore but that’s way too much for Juggernaut even for single loading.
185 Juggernaut w/BT / bearing @ N / S,
0.060” ish FB is all you need / want for 185 Juggernaut. Can’t comment on 200.20x as I haven’t made up a dummy rd for that one to get measurements on.
I can go 1-1.5 gr heavier charge weight before I’m seeing signs of pressure.
Lapua Palma has been the “preferred” brass but I’m pretty confident Peterson / Starline SRP brass would be right there also.
I do see variation in load depending on barrel mfg’er used, chamber variations, etc and one does need to work up slowly to verify safe, no pressure in their specific rifle.
2650 from a factory Win 70 HBV, 26” bbl w/FC’13 brass and 185 Juggernaut, exact same load is 2570 from a custom, Bartlien barreled, 18” rifle. Was doing some testing on how we’ll load optimized for custom rifle would do in factory barreled rifle with longer freebore...did fine, little slower but accuracy was there.
How many rounds are you shooting a year? If you aren't competing, I wouldn't even worry about barrel life. Worry about ammo cost, maybe, but if you are shooting a caliber with a barrel life of 2500-3000 rounds and you are only shooting 300 rounds a year out of that barrel, that gives you around 10 years of barrel life. If you're shooting double that, you get 5 years. Everyone likes to say they shoot 1000 rounds a year, but a lot of people don't. My 7mm RM is maybe halfway through its life, and my dad is always going on about barrel life and not shooting it too much so I don't have to buy another barrel. I've had it for more than 5 years now, I could care less about that barrel at this point lol
Pretty decent numbers. So maybe 3-5 years on that barrel with current numbers I'm guessing? .308 is probably the best bet for barrel life as stated before. You're just trading barrel life for ballistics though with your 6.5. .308 has some of the best barrel life for long range, but also a lot of cartridges with better ballistics. If you're a good shot and can consistently hit with a .308 at 1000 yds, you're good to go. If you're making some misses with your 6.5 because of a bad wind call, expect those to happen a bit more with the .308
You guys assume that everyone not shooting benchrest is shooting 2 MOA steel plates. In NRA Highpower and F class any rifle that won't hold X ring elevation at 600 gets rebarreled. That's 1 MOA for sling shooters and half that much for F class
Anyone who is even somewhat serious about either of those two NRA disciplines will easily burn through 1000 rounds a year (or more) between practice, club matches, regionals, and a trip to Camp Perry or Camp Atterbury for nationals.
I’m at 4050 rounds on my factory .308 RPR. Still seeing 1/2 moa. The 190 SMK has been very good to me out to 1000.
Yup. And I bought an unused factory barrel someone took off for $100 that I’ve just had in my safe for almost two years just ready to go. The only action it’s seen is whatever testing Ruger performs at the factory and a new oiling from me every few months. Good to go!
Here is a neat tool I made to calculate shot cost when considering barrel life/barrel cost and $/round. Just put in your costs/caliber and go:
Shot Cost Calculator
Shot Cost Calculator
lost count on our rpr think around 6000 rounds shot . As long as it still shoots well I cannot complain too much , no matter how hard I try . can't wait for the next 6k +
I'm having a pretty good time shooting 224 Valkyrie in both AR and bolt. 1000 isn't difficult and I like the challenge over the bigger calibers. The 80 and 88 eldm are proving to be very effective bullets.
Barrel life is reported to be good but jury is still out for me.
Barrel life is reported to be good but jury is still out for me.
I tend towards 284, it’s not going to outlast 308 but it’s got good barrel life and far better ballistics (though I shoot out of long action not short). If you want to go better barrel life but still a bit better wind cheating think about things like 7 saw or even 7-08.
Take a look at 7-08 with the 162 eldm with a very reasonable speed of 2650.
It would totally be acceptable at the places I shoot.
My buddy’s with 308’s struggle.
It would totally be acceptable at the places I shoot.
My buddy’s with 308’s struggle.
Everybody has different opinions regarding cleaning and maintenance, and how that effects barrel life as well. When it comes to my rifle, I fully clean it every couple hundred rounds. However, it should be kept in mind that the barrel is easily replaceable. The bolt/ action, not so easy. It’s more important in my process to clean the bolt, action, and throat. It may be easier for me to say this cause I shoot a .308, but to me, the bore is actually the one thing that can wait.
.308 will get you to a grand and probably will provide the longest barrel life but....
An ‘06 with a 208-215 grain bullet will do it easier and provide a longer barrel life than a 6, 6.5 or 7mm. An ‘06 should go 5k or more before needing rebarreled
An ‘06 with a 208-215 grain bullet will do it easier and provide a longer barrel life than a 6, 6.5 or 7mm. An ‘06 should go 5k or more before needing rebarreled
