When do YOU deem a barrel to be shot out?

[Cactus kid]

Just curious on the metrics some of you guys use to determine if a barrel is toast. If accuracy is you metric, what accuracy standards to you use? Example - How big would a 10 round group have to be for you to pull a barrel? How much velocity loss to you accept before replacing the barrel? Any rationale on why the metics you choose would be appreciated.

 

[hunting1]

When accuracy is no longer consistent or acceptable.

 

[WSMHNTR]

It really depends on the rifle and your personal preference. I have customs with loads that consistently shoot in the .3 - .4 range for three including cold bore. I've re-barreled in the past once these rifles no longer held sub .75 at distance and velocities were becoming erratic

 

[Cactus kid]

When accuracy is no longer consistent or acceptable.

I’m looking for specifics- what exactly is not acceptable? 1” 10 shot groups? 3” 10 shot group?

 

[Ozarkansas]

For a big game gun, given my current inability to practice long range shooting, I wouldn’t even notice a barrel was shot out unless the groups opened up substantially at 100-200 yards. I wouldn’t bother swapping the barrel unless accuracy got worse than maybe 2.5 MOA for 5 shot groups. In other words, not accurate enough to hit a deer’s vitals at the distances I hunt

But realistically, until my kids grow up I’m not going to be shooting enough to burn out any barrels so it’s a moot point for me.

 

[RockAndSage]

I’m looking for specifics- what exactly is not acceptable? 1” 10 shot groups? 3” 10 shot group?

This may not be the answer you want to hear, but it really depends on what you need that gun to do, and what you personally are capable of.

Every variant of that answer I can think of all comes down to "when the gun is no longer capable of doing what you need to do with it."

Do we expect or need a hunting rifle to be capable of F-Class or PRS accuracy? Nope. Similarly, a genuinely precision AR is generally going to be too tight with its match-grade tolerances to have maximum reliability in all conditions in downrange/field environments. Give up a little accuracy for more reliability, less weight, etc...and that changes your expectations and requirements for accuracy for a given gun. And, when that barrel needs to be changed out.

All that ambiguity aside, finding your own personal answer for an individual gun starts with tracking your data. Know what the gun's capable of in hard numbers and photos, with associated data like temperature, altitude, etc, and what you personally are capable of with it. Get yourself a solid baseline for it, and that gives you certainty when you start seeing that data change over time.

 

[Wrench]

It will typically start tossing flyers on the 600 and still do 80% of what it's supposed to on the 1-200. Once the 600 starts to get more than 20%.....off it comes.

 

[Firestone]

I have noticed velocities dropping off before accuracy goes. Once that happens I pull them

 

[Cactus kid]

All that ambiguity aside, finding your own personal answer for an individual gun starts with tracking your data.

100% agree with everything you stated. I’m looking for what each rokslider personally thinks a barrel should be swapped- I know my answers, just wondering what the consensus is.

 

[RockAndSage]

100% agree with everything you stated. I’m looking for what each rokslider personally thinks a barrel should be swapped- I know my answers, just wondering what the consensus is.

Ah, got it. For me personally I mostly shoot accurized field-grade ARs (not match rifles, but premium guns), and nicer but not custom bolt-action hunting rifles, all of which tend to be about 1.5 MOA. I'm also not quite an MOA shooter at this point, either, in the conditions I practice in (I don't do much bench shooting). Recognizing personal capability I think is pretty important in conversations like this. All said, my limits are some combination of excessive numbers of fliers or their severity, or general group sizes excluding fliers getting above around 2 MOA.

 

[TaperPin]

Just curious on the metrics some of you guys use to determine if a barrel is toast. If accuracy is you metric, what accuracy standards to you use? Example - How big would a 10 round group have to be for you to pull a barrel? How much velocity loss to you accept before replacing the barrel? Any rationale on why the metics you choose would be appreciated.

As the rifling start to disappear near the chamber I assume it’s not long before it’s toast and have typically sold the gun to a friend who was tickled to have it, even knowing it wasn’t going to be a forever barrel. A gun is worth a lot more if it’s sold before the barrel is completely gone.

One rifle went from dime sized groups to nickel groups and it was sold to a friend who was happy to have it just for the barrel maker’s name stamped on it, but that barrel will only get worse and he was fine with that. Velocity was still just fine.

I hadn’t thought of in these terms, but I suppose you could say when a hunting gun’s accuracy gets 1/4 moa worse I start loosing interest in it, because it’s noticeably on it’s way out and will only get worse - the larger groups make a person question everything from the shooter to ammo to scope and it’s hard to have confidence in something that’s going downhill.

If a heavy prairie dog gun can’t outshoot a good thin barrel deer rifle, something is wrong and that barrel has to go. Likewise, if what is intended to be a long range hunting rifle, can’t shoot as well as the trainer, something is wrong.

 

[Jmort1754]

I have a CA mesa 300 prc that is at 1350 rounds down the tube 800ish with hot load of N570, I can tell you that I noticed the accuracy going about 300 rounds ago, then I noticed velocity loss. It will be going out for a new barrel shortly.

 

[Vern400]

I shot 5 shot groups, 4 of them, and the largest was 0.82 oc at 100 yds. Now 3000+ rounds later it's close to 1.25 averages.

I'll spend a few hours cleaning it down to bare steel, send about 20 down the pipe to get it happy again and check it. It's my favorite rifle and I'll still hunt with it, and I won't miss. I don't think it shot out by any means. It's got a terrible carbon ring, and it's got some pits according to the borescope. I think my foul weather hunting took its toll over so many years.

But I will go ahead and order a new barrel. When it comes in I'll get my gunsmith to do 100,000 mi tune up. I'll use black cerakoted stainless steel and this barrel will Outlast me.

 

[wyosam]

Depends on the gun, and the use. If my 6 Dasher won’t hold .75 for 10 shots, and velocity is starting to wander, it’s time to spin on the next one. Others might be twice that or more. How much has it deteriorated from its prime
? Does it still do what I need it to do?


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[Fireflyfishing]

I know my answers, just wondering what the consensus is.

What’s your determination?

I have a 300 WSM giving me headaches right now. Very best I can get with it is 1.5 MOA @ 100. I have many other .30 cals that shoot under 1 MOA. So this thing is a money pit with me try to figure out if it’ll get better. I’ve gone through the gun with a fine tooth comb and the last thing it could be is the barrel. I haven’t noticed a decrease in velocity yet.

 

[wapitibob]

I burned over .100" off the lands on the last one so it's used to form virgin brass. Current barrel is at 200 rounds and 600 yard groups are good. When 600 and 1,000 open up I'll swap it out.

 

[Pdog06]

I usually base mine on accuracy loss, but it also depends on if I am using it as a single shot or a mag fed gun.
With a single shot I can just seat the bullets farther out as the throat wears and those barrels will last longer as long as I adjust with it as it goes.
I am currently doing this with a 22/250 barrel I have. It currently has almost 2000 rapid fire rounds on it and firecracking for the first 6” of the barrel. I have seated the bullets out twice in the last 1000 rounds. Once for .020” and this last time another .030” further. Accuracy tightened right up when doing this, although I’m running out of case neck so this next prarie dog trip in a couple weeks is probably the last hoorah for this barrel.
Now I also have a 9 twist 22/250 barrel around 3500 on it, and when using my normal 55gr vmax I can’t get within .150” of the lands…lol but it still shoots 3/4” groups. Since it’s a 9twist I may start shooting some longer and heavier bullets in it to see if it has a little life left, otherwise I will have a pair of matching tomato stakes for the garden. Or donate them to my local gunsmith to cut up and use the material to make some muzzlebrakes.

 

[Lawnboi]

When it no longer shoots acceptably.

It dosnt need to be completely burned to reach that point. Components and my time are not worth shooting a barrel that no longer shoot acceptably to me. Really depends on the barrel for me and what I’m using it for.

My match gun, once I can’t consistently hit 1moa targets at reasonable ranges in reasonable conditions, it’s gone.

A volume/practice 223 I may be happy if it keeps them 1.5moa at 100 consistently.

 

[Jimbee]

Is barrel "burn out" a slow, steady process? Does a barrel continually get worse or does it just get less accurate, lose some velocity and just kinda exist in that state for awhile?

 

[Cactus kid]

Is barrel "burn out" a slow, steady process? Does a barrel continually get worse or does it just get less accurate, lose some velocity and just kinda exist in that state for awhile?

Great question and one I don’t have an answer to. It seems to me that when a barrel goes south, it seems to drop velocity in a short time frame. I’ve never shot them past this period, would be interested to know.