6bra vs 6ppc barrel life..?

[chevytruck_83]

whats the saying? “The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know” ?
From the moment I started reloading 308 and 223 I’ve been chasing those one hole groups. Like a lot of guys on this site I started researching and realized the Remington 700 could be built into a “tack driver all day long” My first build somehow landed me with a Clarence Hammonds 6ppc that till this day shoots incredible. However the barrel life is short so I hardly ever shot it. Then I found myself chasing accuracy and barrel life in all the latest greatest calibers from 6.5 creedmoor to 6 creedmoor and even 30br. One of my recently built rifles is a 6bra that I’ve read promises unlimited barrel life. Then today I realize holy smokes side by side it’s dam near identical to the 6ppc I’ve been to scared to burn the barrel out of. What gives? Why is the 6ppc said to last 1000 rounds or less but the 6bra is supposed to last a lifetime? The 6ppc load is 68 grains while the 6bra is 105.

 

[JMayo]

6bra doesn't last. A 30br does.
Im getting near 2k on my match 6bra barrels.

 

[TAJ45]

By ratio and proportion, a 6BR is good for abt 2500? Not being smartaleky.

 

[BartsBullets]

What JMayo said! 6BRA barrels wear out just like any of the other 6MM barrels. Not sure where you read 6BRA lasts a lifetime But they don’t. If you want to learn to shoot small stop worrying about barrel life and go shoot!

For a competitive 6BRA barrel I usually get 1200 to 1400 rounds.

Bart

 

[INShooter]

Barrels are just like the bullets and powder you shoot in them, they have a life span. What good is a nice barrel if you don't shoot it? Enjoy it's life and then get a new one.

 

[mike a]

What JMayo said! 6BRA barrels wear out just like any of the other 6MM barrels. Not sure where you read 6BRA lasts a lifetime But they don’t. If you want to learn to shoot small stop worrying about barrel life and go shoot!

For a competitive 6BRA barrel I usually get 1200 to 1400 rounds.

Bart

And I'd be happy to use that 1400 round barrel on my F-Open rig for another 1000. Mike

 

[Dave Way]

I have three barrels for my 6BR Ackley. Barrel number 1 has 1,185 rounds through it. It has possibly lost it’s edge. The last two 10 shot groups at 1K were mid to high 5’s but that was in a match in less than ideal conditions. I will test it this spring in perfect conditions to determine what it has left.

Barrel number 2 has 455 rounds on it and is probably in it’s prime. It really wants to shoot but I need to nail down a load as the bullet it liked is no longer available. It took 6th in two gun at IBS Nationals but I need to start over.

I’m just breaking in barrel number 3. It has 111 rounds on it. It wants to shoot too, low ones at 100 yards, but I am waiting for conditions to shoot 1K ladders.

I have been told that “peak accuracy” falls off after about 1,200-1,400 rounds or so with the BR Improved as Bart states. Time will tell.

Dave.

 

[ebb]

If you want to shoot it like you used to shoot your Red Rider BB gun and still shoot Little small groups and have barrel life, I only see 2 choices 30 PPC or 30 BR. Yes I know there are a dozen variations of the 30 PPC and a few of the BR, but for all practical purposes They are the same as the 2 I mentioned. I have a old school 6PPC and when It needs a barrel it will come back as a 30PPC. Maybe Mikes version.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Barrels are components

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

If you want to shoot it like you used to shoot your Red Rider BB gun and still shoot Little small groups and have barrel life, I only see 2 choices 30 PPC or 30 BR. Yes I know there are a dozen variations of the 30 PPC and a few of the BR, but for all practical purposes They are the same as the 2 I mentioned. I have a old school 6PPC and when It needs a barrel it will come back as a 30PPC. Maybe Mikes version.

Sal Bonilla sent this to me a couple of days ago. I think that's a .131 agg!
Not bad! Not bad at all!

 

[ebb]

Ive shot a .087 group as measured by friends. But an Agg is something different. I don't see how you guys do it. When shooting 5 groups of 5 shots each I would have way too much time to figure out a way to screw it up.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Ive shot a .087 group as measured by friends. But an Agg is something different. I don't see how you guys do it. When shooting 5 groups of 5 shots each I would have way too much time to figure out a way to screw it up.

Me too!

 

[WyleWD]

Ive shot a .087 group as measured by friends. But an Agg is something different. I don't see how you guys do it. When shooting 5 groups of 5 shots each I would have way too much time to figure out a way to screw it up.

Heck don't worry about needing a lot of time , it really doesn't take much time at all to mess one up. LOL. WD

 

[Tommie]

Still trying to wrap my brain around a 6BRA outlasting a PPC.

 

[mikecr]

A barrel can live forever. Accurate barrel life is a different matter all together.
Often reported is anything between the two, because in order to know accuracy potential is leaving you have to find it to begin with. Many don't.

I'm sure most people find peak accuracy with a 6PPC. It's easy to find, and as easy to see it leave. Around 15yrs ago I polled BRC forum for accurate barrel life of 6PPC. That is, competitive barrel life. Nobody reported over 1,000, with vast consensus being 800-900rnds. They could count on cases lasting for 3 competitive firings.
These were folks who knew the best from their loads, and could see it slip right to the relay. They held no delusions about extending this. So they could setback for ~200 more if it shot so well, or screw another on and move on.

How many would notice a 1st real slip regarding the 3/8 to 1/2moa needed to be 1kyd competitive? Maybe the ~5% competitive among 1kyd shooters..

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Still trying to wrap my brain around a 6BRA outlasting a PPC.

Would you guess a slug of copper going 2900fps at 50kpsi would cause less damage than a slug of copper going 3400fps at 75kpsi?

 

[Tommie]

Would you guess a slug of copper going 2900fps at 50kpsi would cause less damage than a slug of copper going 3400fps at 75kpsi?

Ok I see. Had no idea the 6BRA is loaded to only 50K PSI.

 

[Murray Brook]

Is the PPC really loaded to 75 kpsi?

 

[mikecr]

Is the PPC really loaded to 75 kpsi?

No, the competitive 6PPC is.
It's a teeny tiny little capacity, with a good amount of barrel steel around the chamber, in an aftermarket action, burning a small amount of a fast magical powder, that just happens to burn the coolest.
It's pressure is driven deep into diminished returns, which also equals diminished variance of returns. So while the powder may be metered instead of measured, and primers jammed into pockets, and cases smashed into higher capacity variances with FL sizing, all combined means nothing to that kind of pressure peak, and results measured at point blank ranges.
This also works to provide total burn and amazingly low muzzle pressures, even in ~21" barrels with very low twist rates, so that light flat base bullets release exceptionally clean. In 10.5lb gun it doesn't twist or hop or recoil much.

Now you could dramatically increase the accurate barrel life of a 6PPC, up to ~3600rnds, with a drop in load pressure. That would be well beyond useful 6BR Imp life, but then whatthehell are you gonna use that 6PPC for? It would be about as useful as a non-competitive 30BR.

Improved 6BRs hold a different evolutionary path. Plenty of other uses.
Declare the load and I'll declare the accurate barrel life for it, born of math and less subjective. Or PM me and I'll email you a spreadsheet to see how it turns out the way it does.

 

[Murray Brook]

@mikecr PM sent