I can see using 223 for practicing off obstacles, or for positional, out to medium distances - BUT - the wind drift of 223 at some point out farther becomes a problem because we already should have it in our minds how far out to aim in the wind with our 6mm's which is usually much less.
Plus there's the extra cost of either buying another rifle, the mags, and scope, rings, ect, or buying a bolt, bolt head, barrel and mags for your existing rifle.
It seems modern PRS or NRL is mostly about who can hit in the funkiest of positions, or obstacles, etc, but back when I shot matches it was mostly about hitting stuff way the heck out there off a bipod. In other words using a 223 was not going to do much good.
In spite of the fact that 6x47 got pretty dismal barrel life it did great in the wind and that is what helped me do well and what I was 'used to' aiming out for in the wind. My best success was with 115 DTAC at 2950-3000 fps. I won a lot of Field course matches with it.
Even though my 6mmBR will likely get close to 3000 rounds barrel life, has less recoil, has lower ES, and is more accurate, it's enough different in the wind that I'll just barely miss steel with it??? That's from like 700Y and beyond.
If i can ask what you competitors in matches do with your barrels once you reach whatever limit you set trash it or what ? the one person said 1500 rounds switch them over to another gun or are they really shot out ?
These old barrels will sneak up and bite at the worst possible time! You old timers have to endure this story once again, sorry man, lol.
At a match in Utah my first 6x47 barrel was keeping all shots inside the 1" orange bull at 100Y on Saturday but on a similar stage on Sunday that barrel was toast, 2.25" groups, this was with 2400 rounds down the tube.
Thinking I was smart now, the exact scenario happened one year later, and I mean EXACTLY! but this time that barrel was at 1500 rounds!!! I got even more smart, lol.
Then I had a barrel melonited and it went off at 2900 rounds, but the bullets were smoking in flight, as pointed out by other guys shooting in the match. I actually finished high but some bullets weren't making to the target.
I never went to a important match with a barrel that had more than 1000 rounds through it afterwards. Smaller ones yes, but not big ones.
I think prefits are the way to go to save money. They are cheap enough that it's not so much a concern as it used to be for me. Before I was paying $800 ish for a shouldered barrel fitted by a GS. I paid $379 for that 6mmBR prefit which I installed, and it's a super good barrel.
