243 Ackley barrel life
- Thread starter white121
- Start date
If it's just an estimate you're looking for I would say approx. 1300 to 1400 rounds if you never let the barrel get hot. If you're shooting PD's it could be done in as little as 900 rounds. I have 600 rounds through my Hart barrel and there is definately signs of fire cracking in the throat area, it's still shooting exceptionally well but I think, one more PD hunt and she'll be history.
AckleymanII
Gold $$ Contributor
For many years, my p. dog hunting partner and I shot the 243 AI as our longer range and windy day guns. We each carried two per trip on our two week trips, and made 4 trips per year. We put 1000 rounds per gun on each trip for a total of 8000 rounds of 243 AI fired per year between us.
I had my own reamer ground with minimum spec, .268 turn neck, zero freebore, and .2435 throat.
We had p. dog towns to shoot that were up to 13 miles long practically no one shot the towns but us.
Our load that we shot was 48.0-48.5g of Win 760, in a Rem 7/08 case, with a CCI-250 primer with my custom 70g Bullets@3850 fps out of 28-30 inch Hart Barrels.
In our shooting at that time, we would dump out a box of 50 and fire about as fast as you could load single shot and aim. At 50 rounds, we would grab another rifle. An average of 650-1100 rounds per day was normal shooting, depending on the weather conditions.
Our kind of shooting was very hard on barrels. We over heated the barrels constantly, and cooled the barrels by running water down the barrel.
Per 1000 rounds of HARD shooting, it was reasonable to get .070-.100 of leade growth.
We would set back the barrels at 1800-2000 rounds, never going over 2000 rounds. Set backs would be anywhere from 3/4"-2" depending on how the over size reamer pilots would fit in the barrel.
We shot unturned blanks, for the simple reason that they could be chopped off and re-chambered for at least twice, and some three times, the third time being a 6 BR. I ordered all my Hart Blanks 30" in length and finished lengths were usually 29".
Here's the deal, heavier bullets generate heat over a longer period of time. We used to shoot heavier bullets with 4350 and could not believe the leade growth. Shooting the 85's at 3550 out of the same barrels, would take out another .050 of leade. Also, it seemed that the lands would be thinned for further down the barrel.
Shooting the 60's at 4400 fps with Win 760 was less errosive than the 85's at 3550...go figure. The only thing that we could figure was that the heavier bullet was held in the throat area longer, thus cooking the barrel in this area...total WAG on our part.
One thing for sure, the 243 AI shooting the 70g weight of bullets is so accurate it is scary, over a wide range of powder charges and powder types.
I have yet to use my full length sizer on the 243 AI's with the 70's at 3850 out of those long Barrels. I changed from the 48.5g with the CCI-250's to 49.5g of 760 with the Win Mag primer and velocity jumped to 4030 fps still shooting bug holes. I just settled on 48.5g of 760 or AA2700 at 3850 because it is so easy on cases.
To be more specific on how long a barrel might last if you did not "set back" the barrel often, a lot would depend on several factors. One factor would be how long the leade or Freebore was on the reamer that cut the original chamber. Another major factor would be the type of powder you used and the weight of bullet that you shot. Of course, the type of barrel that you use may play a role. Firecracking sets up much faster in the chrome moly barrels vs the stainless barrels that we shot heck out of on p. dog towns.
Good luck and thanks for listening to my ramblings
I had my own reamer ground with minimum spec, .268 turn neck, zero freebore, and .2435 throat.
We had p. dog towns to shoot that were up to 13 miles long practically no one shot the towns but us.
Our load that we shot was 48.0-48.5g of Win 760, in a Rem 7/08 case, with a CCI-250 primer with my custom 70g Bullets@3850 fps out of 28-30 inch Hart Barrels.
In our shooting at that time, we would dump out a box of 50 and fire about as fast as you could load single shot and aim. At 50 rounds, we would grab another rifle. An average of 650-1100 rounds per day was normal shooting, depending on the weather conditions.
Our kind of shooting was very hard on barrels. We over heated the barrels constantly, and cooled the barrels by running water down the barrel.
Per 1000 rounds of HARD shooting, it was reasonable to get .070-.100 of leade growth.
We would set back the barrels at 1800-2000 rounds, never going over 2000 rounds. Set backs would be anywhere from 3/4"-2" depending on how the over size reamer pilots would fit in the barrel.
We shot unturned blanks, for the simple reason that they could be chopped off and re-chambered for at least twice, and some three times, the third time being a 6 BR. I ordered all my Hart Blanks 30" in length and finished lengths were usually 29".
Here's the deal, heavier bullets generate heat over a longer period of time. We used to shoot heavier bullets with 4350 and could not believe the leade growth. Shooting the 85's at 3550 out of the same barrels, would take out another .050 of leade. Also, it seemed that the lands would be thinned for further down the barrel.
Shooting the 60's at 4400 fps with Win 760 was less errosive than the 85's at 3550...go figure. The only thing that we could figure was that the heavier bullet was held in the throat area longer, thus cooking the barrel in this area...total WAG on our part.
One thing for sure, the 243 AI shooting the 70g weight of bullets is so accurate it is scary, over a wide range of powder charges and powder types.
I have yet to use my full length sizer on the 243 AI's with the 70's at 3850 out of those long Barrels. I changed from the 48.5g with the CCI-250's to 49.5g of 760 with the Win Mag primer and velocity jumped to 4030 fps still shooting bug holes. I just settled on 48.5g of 760 or AA2700 at 3850 because it is so easy on cases.
To be more specific on how long a barrel might last if you did not "set back" the barrel often, a lot would depend on several factors. One factor would be how long the leade or Freebore was on the reamer that cut the original chamber. Another major factor would be the type of powder you used and the weight of bullet that you shot. Of course, the type of barrel that you use may play a role. Firecracking sets up much faster in the chrome moly barrels vs the stainless barrels that we shot heck out of on p. dog towns.
Good luck and thanks for listening to my ramblings
I would estimate 1200rnds of barrel life -max.
This because accelerating throat loss here would make it difficult to keep in tune from one range trip to the next.
Sounds like a miracle barrel that can hold tune for 2K rounds of retreating lands, without seating adjustments..
Heavier bullets are generally in the barrel longer, and require more powder.
I suspect there is no right answer for you, other than to consider responsibly reported barrel life from other cartridges. Then add or reduce life fairly proportional to 4x the difference in powder amount burnt.
That is, double the powder,in the same bore), reduce life to 1/4th.
There is a reason for so many reduced load cartrides created to 'fix' the 243. It holds too much powder, for that bore, as it is..
This because accelerating throat loss here would make it difficult to keep in tune from one range trip to the next.
Sounds like a miracle barrel that can hold tune for 2K rounds of retreating lands, without seating adjustments..
Heavier bullets are generally in the barrel longer, and require more powder.
I suspect there is no right answer for you, other than to consider responsibly reported barrel life from other cartridges. Then add or reduce life fairly proportional to 4x the difference in powder amount burnt.
That is, double the powder,in the same bore), reduce life to 1/4th.
There is a reason for so many reduced load cartrides created to 'fix' the 243. It holds too much powder, for that bore, as it is..
JayCutright
Silver $$ Contributor
I shoot a 243 wildcat I call the "243Cutright",it has a little less capacity than your 243 AI.I run 115DTAC's at 3150fps out of 30" brls in the IBS1000yrd game.Ive noticed a slight loss in accuracy begining to develope at just over 800rds & so far have never used 1 in competition over 1200rds.I did replace a 1200 rd brl 2 days after setting a range score record in Mn.,score of 99-4x grouping some where around 6" & that wasnt a bad group that day)so it wasnt junk.I guess it depends on what your standards are for accuracy.When I get to 1000rds I like to have a new brl sitting there ready to put on.To answer yer question: 1200rds is it for me.
Upgrades & Donations
This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.