Barrel life of a 222 Remington

[fatelvis]

Because I don’t own a borescope yet, and I only have about 1000 rounds down the tube, I was wondering how long the typical 222 Remington barrel will remain competitive, before being shot out. I shoot 300 yd F-class with my stock 222, with 1:14 twist. Thanks guys!

 

[Barossa_222]

Keep going. They are ruined when the don't shoot anymore. 5000 round +

 

[Ggmac]

Invest in a scope BUT use it as part of your cleaning process. The target will tell you when it's time .

 

[fatelvis]

I have never shot out of barrel before. It currently can shoot around .4 MOA. When it is time to replace, will it be immediately obvious, (1 moa)? Or will it slowly degrade, (.6moa, .8moa, etc)? I know it is a subjective thing, but I’ve always wondered if it was obvious.

 

[Greyfox]

I had a deuce with well over 10,000 on it that still won UBR Modified matches. When it began to go bad it would still shoot for 15 rounds or so before getting badly copper fouled. After cleaning it would shoot for another 15. When it goes you will know, but you will probably get tired of shooting it before it does.

Rick

 

[STS]

I remember Walt Berger winning the Unlimited nationals with a .222 that had more than 5000 rounds through it. That is a big task for any barrel.
Yiur barrel will likely stabilize at a certain accuracy level and not taper off significantly for several thousand rounds then start to foul badly when it gets rough.

 

[Eric Leonard]

shooting 300 yard F-Class with a 14 twist 222 seems like would be harder than it would look for sure,,

 

[fatelvis]

shooting 300 yard F-Class with a 14 twist 222 seems like would be harder than it would look for sure,,

I was using 53 grn Sierra flat base bullets over RL10X powder, and pushing them pretty hard. I ended up classifying mid expert with that rig and ammo. Lately I’ve been trying the Berger 52 FB bullets. They’re shooting really well. Hopefully I can break into the “Masters club” this year!

 

[K22]

At least 5,000 rounds maybe more if you don't shoot in rapid fire heating the barrel so hot you can touch it and you clean properly.

Mine went at little over 5,000 rounds but it would still hold about 1 1/2 moa. I started getting unexplained flyers. Rifle smith confirmed it was time to replace the barrel.

 

[jepp2]

I started getting unexplained flyers.

I also haven't shot a barrel out, yet. I had a 223 Sako Vixen with around 4K down the tube and started getting the "unexplained flyer". I talked with my smith and asked, what should I expect when the barrel goes? He said your groups will double in size, and shortly double again.

So I changed my cleaning routine on the Sako. I always clean every 50 shots in the field when prairie dog hunting, but I wasn't removing the copper at night. I was around 1700 shots through the Sako that trip, when I started getting the flyers. So the next trip, I would remove the copper at night. Barrel is still going strong. So now I de-copper my rifle every night during a hunt.

I have a 20P barrel with 4100 rounds down the tube. Just gave it a good inspection, lots of firecracking, especially in the groove. I'm sure it will not make it through next season but it is still shooting just fine.

 

[ebb]

Capt Bob had a 222 he called the ugly gun that had been set back 3 times. He said according to how many 8 lb jugs of H322 he had bought it had over 15000 shots through it. THE BARREL WAS GETTING KINDA SHORT. Had no recoil lug only a horse shoe nail driven into the stock behind the tang.

 

[Eric Leonard]

I consider a bbl shot out when it copper fouls so bad in 20 rounds or less that it starts throwing fliers,,,I have 3 6PPC and 2 6BR bbls that still shoot great for about 12-15 rounds but then they all take a good scrubbing with JB paste to get them back shooting,,

on my current 6PPC bbl I have changed my strategy in matches and have cut way back on sighters and have gone from avg 115-120 rounds a UBR match down to 92-96 rounds a match and try not get it hot even in a match,,I shoot the 100 yard match and clean and shoot the 200 yard match,,if I have to clean it ever target I am screwing on a new bbl,,