.308 barrel life

[dappmgmt]

Wanted to get a sense from some of the higher volume shooters out there what they are seeing in terms of barrel life out of their .308s.

I know quality of barrel has a lot to do with it and suspect quality of ammo and basic maintenance also play a role, but in general when are you seeing your barrels go off?

Thanks!

 

[Diablo]

Re: .308 barrel life

I have one .308 nearing the 7k point, still going strong.

Never used handloads with this particular rifle, just Federal 168gr Gold Medal Match and some Black Hills 168s.

Expect that using hot handloads would reduce the life some, but that's why barrel-makers continue to build barrels so it's no big deal.

Just get out and shoot as much as possible. When the accuracy drops off, get it re-barreled and do it again.

 

[hessian]

Re: .308 barrel life

I got 15k thru custom shop 40x. Shoots 0.2 any day.

 

[greyson]

Re: .308 barrel life

My FN SPR A3g meet a FBI RFP for 10,000 rounds while still shooting tight groups. MY point is my rifle specs for 10,000 rounds. Probably much longer. Note: mine is chrome lined, but I think it's gilding the lily practically.

You show up here with a 308 you ACTUALLY shot out...major man points.

No worries.

Regards,
Greyson

 

[jpspeeddemon]

Re: .308 barrel life

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: greyson</div><div class="ubbcode-body">My FN SPR A3g meet a FBI RFP for 10,000 rounds while still shooting tight groups. MY point is my rifle specs for 10,000 rounds. Probably much longer. Note: mine is chrome lined, but I think it's gilding the lily practically.

<span style="font-weight: bold">You show up here with a 308 you ACTUALLY shot out...major man points.</span>
No worries.

Regards,
Greyson </div></div>

My quest begins.

 

[FCS]

Re: .308 barrel life

This question is asked repeatedly and there is no one answer that fits.

Palma shooters typically set back or rebarrel at 3500 rds as rifle will no longer hold 1 MOA at 1K.

How you shoot rifle and YOUR accuracy requirements play a HUGE part in when YOU determine the barrel is no longer giving you acceptable accuracy.

Barrels are consumable, don't get to hung up/attached to your barrel. Keep a spare so you can send to smith for quick rebarrel when the time comes. Barrels are cheap, ammo isn't. Lets say you get 3000 rds out of a barrel, shooting factory ammo at $1/rd you have $3000 in ammo vs $600ish (blank plus smith fees) in a custom barrel installed on your action. 5 to 1 so when barrel isn't giving you accuracy you want/need and accuracy doesn't come back after a good barrel cleaning, ammo adjustment (if a handloader), scope checks out okay then why waste ammo....put a barrel on it and carry on.

YMMV

 

[dappmgmt]

Re: .308 barrel life

Thanks for the feedback y'all.

I appreciate the insight and perspective.