Hot barrel - what temp to stop shooting rounds

[Acyr]

Here in Phoenix, we shoot all summer on the 1000-yard range with no shade. Our barrels never cool much at all. You definitely can't touch the barrel. Velcro mirage band holders start sliding around on the barrel
I haven't seen any reduced barrel life because of it.

 

[D-4297]

@Acyr is correct . I put my Kestrel on my Mat and forgot it . Came back about fifteen minutes later and it was registering 135 Degrees . Since I shoot a moderate .308 load with a 200gr Berger , and I'm averaging 3,500 to 4,000 rounds on a barrel , I can't see where there is any "heat" issue involved . I usually run my "string in about 12 -13 minutes when competing .

 

[danny]

I shoot a 6 dasher, 31.8 gr of Varget, 2880 fps.
I shoot two, 5 round strings and rest the barrel using a barrel cooler.
I shoot about 50 rounds each range trip.
Am I being to conservative and should I shoot more rounds between rest periods?
I have seen those temp stickers which give a ball park temp of the outside of the barrel.
Are those worth the money?
Also, at what temp would you stop and cool the barrel down?
Thanks

If the barrel is getting flaccid, it got too hot!

Danny

 

[Doug Beach]

If you drive real slow, your brakes and tires last forever. If you don’t, they don’t.
Do the shooting you want to do, and change your barrel when it’s worn out.

 

[Jerry Snyder]

Here in Phoenix, we shoot all summer on the 1000-yard range with no shade. Our barrels never cool much at all. You definitely can't touch the barrel. Velcro mirage band holders start sliding around on the barrel
I haven't seen any reduced barrel life because of it.

I shoot at Ben Avery. I would like to meet you and just observe and learn. I shot USPSA for 20 plus years and just started shooting rifles. The competition bug never left me.

 

[marchx]

The tragedy of f-class consists in having to shoot a string within 20 minutes no matter what. During summer season your barrel temp will exceed 120F for sure. There is no time for cooling it unless you have a container with dry ice with you.
Therefore, i skip July-august matches. I hate shooting in constant heat. In Europe we have like 27-32 celsius in summer. I’d rather go fishing.

 

[Fast14riot]

I stop shooting when my condition changes. Period. The travesty of F/Class is long strings of fire, 22 rounds at minimum, and I might click down 1/8 or so during a long hot string, but otherwise I would rebarrel if I saw significant change during a long fast run. The key is to not cook rounds in the chamber. I only close the bolt when I'm ready to shoot.

 

[danny]

The tragedy of f-class consists in having to shoot a string within 20 minutes no matter what. During summer season your barrel temp will exceed 120F for sure. There is no time for cooling it unless you have a container with dry ice with you.
Therefore, i skip July-august matches. I hate shooting in constant heat. In Europe we have like 27-32 celsius in summer. I’d rather go fishing.

Other types of competition feature long strings of rapid fire; Highpower Rifle, and even more so, Across-the-Course.

Danny

 

[marchx]

Other types of competition feature long strings of rapid fire; Highpower Rifle, and even more so, Across-the-Course.

Danny

You are right Danny. In summer time it comes down to who has a thicker barrel. Not my thing.

 

[demarpaint1]

The tragedy of f-class consists in having to shoot a string within 20 minutes no matter what. During summer season your barrel temp will exceed 120F for sure. There is no time for cooling it unless you have a container with dry ice with you.
Therefore, i skip July-august matches. I hate shooting in constant heat. In Europe we have like 27-32 celsius in summer. I’d rather go fishing.

I'm not a fan of the heat either. I'm patiently waiting for September for things to cool off here.

 

[Turkeytider]

One of the best things one can do is open the bolt and put the rifle vertical, barrel straight up in the shade if you have some. Serves as a chimney for hot air. Combine that with whatever else ( fan, wet towel, chamber cooler, etc. ). The range where I shoot faces south, so it gets the summer sun until noon or so. Amazing how much faster barrels heat up in the sun vs. a cloudy day .
Another thing to do is cover the barrel with a white towel when not shooting. Be sure and remove it. Ask me how I know !

 

[butchlambert]

One of the best things one can do is open the bolt and put the rifle vertical, barrel straight up in the shade if you have some. Serves as a chimney for hot air. Combine that with whatever else ( fan, wet towel, chamber cooler, etc. ). The range where I shoot faces south, so it gets the summer sun until noon or so. Amazing how much faster barrels heat up in the sun vs. a cloudy day .
Another thing to do is cover the barrel with a white towel when not shooting. Be sure and remove it. Ask me how I know !

Ask me also!

 

[Acyr]

I shoot at Ben Avery. I would like to meet you and just observe and learn. I shot USPSA for 20 plus years and just started shooting rifles. The competition bug never left me.

Check out Desert Sharpshooters Calendar
You can email me also desertsharpshooters@gmail.com

 

[SKWERLZ]

I'm in my driveway fireforming 30BR in a 6MM barrel. It is damn hot after 20 rounds. I have about 81 rounds to go.

My buddy fire formed a bunch of 300 Norma improved the other day!
I can only imagine what It looks like in that barrel!

When it’s painful to touch I usually stop.

 

[K22]

If we are talking range practice, I try to mirror my practice sessions in the manner in which the rifle will be used. For me it's hunting situations since I am not a competitor. Therefore, the cold / cool barrel shot is the critical "money" shot for me. Therefore, I allow the barrel to cool between practice shots. Typically, it takes me about an hour to shoot a 10 to 12 shot string in the summer, shorter, in the spring, fall and winter.

For load development, I follow the same process. Also, I do not try to test too many loads in one range session because shooter fatigue / concentration can significantly affect the results.

 

[Shooter13]

I'm in my driveway fireforming 30BR in a 6MM barrel. It is damn hot after 20 rounds. I have about 81 rounds to go.

LOL fireforming barrel doesn't matter, comp barrel, 10 shot string and cool the barrel! Good luck getting them all done.

 

[RabbitSlayer]

I asked this question several years ago and when you can't touch it was the answer.

unless you have a barrel shroud or gloves, you don't want to get burned anyways.

Like some others, I also shoot in high temps sometimes and no shade. The barrel can be too hot to touch from just the sun. When the garmin overheats and shuts off its time to leave is my new rule lol.

 

[jelenko]

Across-the-Course.

Yes!

You probably already know, but for others -

We have four 10 shot strings that are fired in around 60 seconds. The first and second strings are usually shot within 3-4 minutes of each other. The third and fourth strings are shot 10-15 minutes later but again within 3-4 minutes of each other.

 

[David Milisock]

I shoot a 6 dasher, 31.8 gr of Varget, 2880 fps.
I shoot two, 5 round strings and rest the barrel using a barrel cooler.
I shoot about 50 rounds each range trip.
Am I being to conservative and should I shoot more rounds between rest periods?
I have seen those temp stickers which give a ball park temp of the outside of the barrel.
Are those worth the money?
Also, at what temp would you stop and cool the barrel down?
Thanks

In my opinion you rate of fire is as much as I would do as a maximum, you're maximizing your fire in my opinion if you want maximum barrel life.
A temperature sticker is a waste of effort at your rate of fire.
Worry about rate of fire more than temperature.

The problems with barrel temperature in my experiances have been multifaceted, they have been from movement of zero due to temperature changes in the barrel, mostly from smaller diameter and or improperly bedded barrels and or actions. Also throat erosion from rapid shot strings. The former can be worked with, the latter is a ruined barrel.

Barrel temperature depends on ambient temperature, in a desert environment in the sun your barrel in my experiance is too hot to touch. However the chamber throat is unfazed as is the entire barrel.

Shooting a rapid fire 10 shot string on a 52,000 PSI load and a 65,000 PSI load are two completely different things. Ad to that a massive case capacity and things go bad quickly even in slow fire conditions a barrel life of under 1,000 rounds is not uncommon. However shooting 4 shots a minute even in my 6MM Remington at max pressures 65,000 PSI allows me to still get 2,500 rounds out of a barrel.

This is why for my long term general purpose rifles I select smaller case capacity and lower chamber pressures, like 52,000 PSI. I expect that my 6MM ARC fired in no more than 5 Shot strings with be in the family 50 years or more before the barrel needs replaced, even with a stainless steel barrel. My AR15 A2 with a chrome lined barrel is already over 30 years old and with handloads still shoots 1" groups at 100 yards.

 

[Jerry Snyder]

One of the best things one can do is open the bolt and put the rifle vertical, barrel straight up in the shade if you have some. Serves as a chimney for hot air. Combine that with whatever else ( fan, wet towel, chamber cooler, etc. ). The range where I shoot faces south, so it gets the summer sun until noon or so. Amazing how much faster barrels heat up in the sun vs. a cloudy day .
Another thing to do is cover the barrel with a white towel when not shooting. Be sure and remove it. Ask me how I know !

I made a mirage shield which was about one inch to long. The muzzle brake ripped it off the barrel (well almost), so I cut it down and made it fit one of my shorter barrels. I must have looked cool, because everybody was watching what happened.....