PRS Talk 6.5 CM barrel life?

[ffgats]

I already have 2 Bolt action rifles all 2 are Tikkas T3X in 223 and 308, and just curious of about the caliber above 6.5CM. I heard and read that the 6.5 is a barrel burner, and accuracy will start to deteriorate around 2.5k to 3k rounds. My question really is how much accuracy is lost , lets just say the gun will shoot around .250", will it double or triple? I'm not pro, so sub moa at 10k rounds is still acceptable for me. Anybody has 10k rounds and the barrel can still get sub groups. thanks
btw, new to the SH, hopefully I'm on the right forum

 

[drwood96]

Serious question, how much do you really shoot? How many rounds to you have on your Tikkas?

Yes, the expect life of a 6.5CM is in the 2.5k to 3k. Some get 3.5k shooting mild factory loads. Two things start to happen when your barrel goes; your velocity will drop and become erratic then you’ll start to see fliers that you know were not your fault.

If you are interest in getting a 6.5CM then I say just do it and worry about barrel life when or if you get to that point.

 

[Dthomas3523]

You won’t get 10k rounds. Buy a .308 and/or .223 if you want barrel life.

6.5cm is 1800-3500 depending on many factors.

 

[ffgats]

I just bought Tikka s 223 and 308 this summer , since AR’s are now banned here in Canada , all I can shoot now are the Tikka 223 and 308,
I say 200 rounds a month for 308 and a little over for 223.
Thanks for your feedback gents

 

[BigBlastin300win]

How long would a 6.5cm tikka t3x ctr 20" barrel last? I would think they would should fine with a lot more round then that. I was hoping to get 5-10k

 

[drwood96]

How long would a 6.5cm tikka t3x ctr 20" barrel last? I would think they would should fine with a lot more round then that. I was hoping to get 5-10k

As stated above, there are many factors. If you are only hunting using factory ammo then 4k ish should be doable. Heavy range session, LR matches with high round counts, and hot reloads will reduce that number to the 2-3k range. Also, everyone differs as to what counts as a shot out barrel. Going from a .5 moa to 1 moa rifle in a short range hunter really isn’t an issue but is one on a LR match rifle.

 

[BigBlastin300win]

Thank you that was a great answer and thank for not laughing at me like "1moaoff" did

 

[LawnMM]

If you're asking, you'll never burn it out.

 

[HellcatActual]

I took mine to 4K and almost half of those were hot recipes. I probably when 1K too far with it, now looking back and tracking my data. I can almost pin point the exact stage the accuracy went to shit and then spent 1K trying to get it back. waste of time and components but I wasnt ready to screw on a new pipe at the point and had a season to finish out.

lesson learned.

 

[1moaoff]

I laughed because about 5 seconds of searching will yield the answer. That question has been asked here soooooo many times. If a laugh below your question or comment bothers you im sorry. I did not respond in any way you won't see here every day all day.

 

[todd]

Barrels are consumables just like bullets, powder, primers and brass. Shoot it how you’re going to shoot it, until it doesn’t shoot to your expectations any more, then replace the barrel. Simple.

 

[Darkside-Six]

If you’re the causal shooter type...couple hundred rounds per year, then don’t worry about it. If you shoot matches or just all around shoot a lot, few hundred a month, then start looking for a new barrel when you hit the 2500 mark. I’ve shot out a dozen or so 6.5 barrels and they all went between 2500-2800 aside from one that made it to 3100. All of them still grouped great at 100 yards but velocity dropped way off.
Realistically, unless you’re shooting a really hot load, you shouldn’t have any problem making 2500 on it, but like I said, when you start hitting that area start looking/thinking about another barrel.

 

[b6graham]

if you're concerned about a $700 barrel when shooting $10,000-$15,000 rounds work of your '10k' barrel life your priorities are way wrong

also...200 rounds a month. that's at most 1 barrel a year and again ammo costs FAR outweigh a barrel