243 Barrel life

[BobLeeSwagger223]

I have been looking at a used HS Precision 243 fluted varmint model. The main thing that worries me is barrel life. I don't know how many rounds have been fired through it. I noticed on the 243 page on the main site there is talk that 243 is a hard caliber on barrels and noting barrel life could be around 1500 rounds! I shoot quite a bit and don't want to buy a rifle that will need to be rebarreled every other year!! Also if "shot out" means 3/4" groups then it wouldn't be terrible, but I know when some barrels go they just throw bullets everywhere.

Thank you for any advise

 

[WyleWD]

I'm not sure how much you shoot as "quite a bit" has a lot of latitude in it.

I have one that went out in approx. 1400 rounds. It was a factory barrel. I've seen sporter weight factory barrels shot out in just over 400 rounds with the 243.

If you take it PDog hunting and put say 2 hundred rounds a day through it for a week, it won't last long. If you shoot say, 2 or 3 shots a day on the average, it will last a long time.

And of course it depends on how much you are pushing your loads, use of moly etc. etc.

All this being said, my safe will NEVER be without one or two of em. They are that good. WD

 

[fdshuster]

Bob: I burned out 2, 243 Winchester barrels, so do have at least a little first-hand knowledge, not "I think". I keep a log book on each of my rifles so know the exact # of rounds fired, load combinations, etc. First was a chrome moly Douglas 1-10 twist. It lasted 1400 rds. until replaced with a stainless Shilen, also a 1-10. It was done at 1450 rds. They both were excellent 'til around 1K rds. when they started to copper foul more, and would throw an occassional unexplained wild shot. Both got progressively worse and around the 1400 round count would not hold m.o.a. with 5 shots at 100 yd. Still good for a deer sized target, but not for my purposes. That's when I became involved in the 6BR and never looked back. My standard load for the 243's was 37 grs. of IMR 3031 with the very accurate 75 gr. Sierra #1510. All firing was slow, single shot. Good ctg. if you "need" that much, I do not.

 

[LWolken]

The reality of the matter is your probably gonna get 800-1000 rds of good barrel life then depending on your definition of accuracy it may satisfy you for another 400-800 rds.

Lance

 

[fdshuster]

And, an additional note: If I were buying a used one I would check out the condition of the bore, especially the throat area, using a Hawkeye borescope. Worth it, even if you have to pay a small charge for the use of the borescope. better than buying a pig-in-a-poke. Not saying it's the case here, but I've known several who will buy a new varmint rifle, shoot the hell out of it, then sell it, add a few bucks to what they got for the well-used one, and go out and buy another new one. They don't believe in re-barreling.

 

[chuckles]

There are reports that 243 barrel life can be extended by utilizing H1000 or N165 with projectiles in the 105/107 grain class. However, my experience with 243 Win barrels (9 of them) suggests that HP competition barrel life is about 1600 rounds.
Of course accuracy life depends upon the standards required for your specific type of shooting. I think that barrel life is (primarily) a function of the the number of lbs of powder used. Find out what gives you the best accuracy and shoot that load. The 243 Win is a great cartridge, not too finicky, easy to load, and fun to shoot.
Good luck,

Chuck

 

[jghoghunter]

I have a 16# bench gun in 243 set up to shoot the 115 bergers. I rechambered it at 730 rnds because I wanted to shorten the barrel and move my balance pt.. That was this spring I now have 1338 rnds. down the barrel, out of the last 50 rnds before I put away for the winter 2 five shot groups at 100 were .068 and .079 a 5 shot group at 200 in competion at .304 and a 10 shot 5" group with a 100 score at 1000 yds. I would say your going to get more than 1300 rnds out of it. Thats a broughton bbl. shooting 42grs. of rl-22, 115 bergers and cci 200's. This is just my experience.

 

[BobLeeSwagger223]

Wow thanks for all the replies!

I would put from 600 to 1000 rounds through it per year. I do shoot prairie dogs but have (3) 223's for that. So I wouldn't be over heating it. I am looking for something with a bit more range/wind resistance than a 223 but I DO NOT want much more recoil.

The HS has a removable Vias muzzle break. Which was one of the reasons I had picked that one, for less recoil but more range. I do reload so finding a load isn't an issue.

The major hang up I have is how long would it last me before I need to shell out the money for a new barrel. As long as it would shoot 3/4" groups at 100 yards I would be happy. If "shot out" was 1" at 100 I would still be happy. Anything over that I would be disappointed.

Thank you for all the advise

 

[Raptor]

I would have it bore scoped. Even if you got it and it shot .75 at 100yds it may be on the way south. It may only shoot that for a hundred or two rounds then start throwing your rounds all over the place.

I always shy away from buying a used 22-250, 243 or swift if I want to use them for anything other than a doner action. You never know how people shoot them. Like one of the guys said you can ruin any of the above in a weekend in a good dog town.

 

[bozo699]

I've known several who will buy a new varmint rifle, shoot the hell out of it, then sell it, add a few bucks to what they got for the well-used one, and go out and buy another new one. They don't believe in re-barreling.

I have had this same thing happen in a 22-250 Its the chance you take on that type of rifle if your not willing to have a bore scope ran through it. If you get it cheap enough who cares, have it rebarreled. shooting 600-1000 rounds a year your only going to get a couple of years or so out of it anyway @ best. Barrels are just the price of having fun. If you had to pay a smith to put a krieger on it you would be into it about $550/by two years of fun= about .75 per day. That calculates into pretty cheap fun to me.
Wayne.

 

[Scott Harris]

I'm up to 2500 rounds on my current F-Class barrel. I usually shoot 140 rounds per match because my son shoots the same rifle with me. Also, I clean it every other match or so....about 280+ rounds. It is shooting in the 580s for my matches: I think the barrel is still capable of more than I am. I run 39.5 grains of H4350 at about 2930fps. Been using the same brass all along and primers have nice round edges to them. So, if you don't push things to the red line, I think you can get over 2000 rounds on average. It also depends on how good a shooter you are and how far out you are shooting. For me, I'm not tossing the barrel until it is obvious to me it's shooting poorly. Right now, the wind has way more impact than any perceived degradation in the barrel. Moving forward, I'm gonna get several barrels nitrided: heard that can increase barrel life quite a bit.

 

[Rustystud]

3000 fps is the magic number in 6mm. 3000 and under and you can get 3000+ rounds out of a 243. Over 3100 fps and your barrel life will half.

This is why the 6mm BRX and 6mm Dasher are so popular they shine between 3020 and 3080 fps. Barrel life is 3200- 3600 rounds.

Nat Lambeth