Barrel Life for RPR in 6.5 CM

[rckendall]

Just out of curiosity, I'm posting the life span of my rifle to see if others have had similar results. My barrel is totally junk now at 935 rounds. My friend has over 2500 through his and it is still shooting well.

Is mine abnormal? I have shot mostly handloads with Berger 140 gn Hybrids at 2750 fps. This isn't a hot load.

I ordered a replacement from White Oak Armament and I think I will be happy with that. I could have spent more but didn't feel I would be gaining much, considering the platform.

I did contact Ruger and they were not interested at all and told me that I could send it in and they would evaluate it. No thanks.

Richard

 

[rardoin]

I would expect a bit more accuracy life out of the barrel using those loads. If you have access to a borescope it may be worth a peek. You're cleaning routine may not be as complete as you think; it may be shooting poorly because of fouling. As to whether it is worth the $ to get a great aftermarket barrel, you would be surprised with the capability of the RPR with a quality barrel....I know I was.

 

[rckendall]

I didn't mention it, but I did use a bore scope to make my final determination. My buddies didn't believe it was shot either. At one point near the throat, there is only one land left, the others are gone. At the muzzle end, one land has very heavy copper deposits and the others are clean.

I have the Lyman scope/camera so I was able to get images of the bore. I struggled to get them and they aren't in perfect focus, but they do tell the tale.

 

[ballisticdaddy]

Richard,

As you know my RPR is a Gen 1 with about 2,700 rounds and still fairly accurate using almost the identical load and components. Not sure if Ruger started to source their barrels elsewhere or maybe you just were unlucky enough to receive a poorly produced one. I personally would send it back to Ruger but agree there is probably nothing they would be willing to do to help. Looking forward to seeing what the new WOA barrel shoots like.

 

[mike a]

2225 through my factory 6.5 cm barrel before it started throwing fliers. 900 through my Kreiger 26" now and it does .65 moa. Which is good enough for me. Sadly I won't rebarrel again as the action/bolt lugs gall to easy. Moving to a custom action, tired of wasting my money. RPR is nice just not a 10,000 round action. Mike

 

[rckendall]

Mike,
I agree completely, the platform isn't worth investing too much money into. I bought it as a cheap, easy to shoot training rifle. I have been using it in all my 600 yard and 1000 yard shooting, but I now have custom build for LR. This has become my MR rifle until I can put together something better. I think with the WOA barrel it will work well enough for the time being. At some point it will get set aside and used for a loaner for new shooters, etc.

Richard

 

[JBT47]

Mike,
I agree completely, the platform isn't worth investing too much money into. I bought it as a cheap, easy to shoot training rifle. I have been using it in all my 600 yard and 1000 yard shooting, but I now have custom build for LR. This has become my MR rifle until I can put together something better. I think with the WOA barrel it will work well enough for the time being. At some point it will get set aside and used for a loaner for new shooters, etc.

Richard

Good plan.