Barrel OK for a PD Hunt?

[bobcat1506]

I’m looking for someone with some experience to give me some guidance here. I’ve got a Remington 700 varmint in 223 (about 3k-4k rounds) and I suspect its barrel is going out. The groups are opening up, I’m getting more flyers, and it’s starting to foul faster. It’s no longer a consistent sub-MOA shooter (with hand loads it used to consistently shoot .50”-.75” groups and now it is shooting closer to .80”-1.30” groups). I’ve tried cleaning it with Iosso bore paste but saw no improvement. I am thinking of trying some JB bore paste but doubt it would make much difference.

My prairie dog trip is only 9 weeks away so rebarreling isn’t really an option at this point. I normally use this gun out to about 300-400 yards and then switch to my 22-250 for anything beyond that. Should I take this gun on the trip or leave it at home? How quickly is the accuracy going to degrade over the next 500-700 rounds? Will it be able to limp through the trip or would taking it along be a big mistake? Thanks in advance!

 

[stinnett1981]

I’m looking for someone with some experience to give me some guidance here. I’ve got a Remington 700 varmint in 223 (about 3k-4k rounds) and I suspect its barrel is going out. The groups are opening up, I’m getting more flyers, and it’s starting to foul faster. It’s no longer a consistent sub-MOA shooter (with hand loads it used to consistently shoot .50”-.75” groups and now it is shooting closer to .80”-1.30” groups). I’ve tried cleaning it with Iosso bore paste but saw no improvement. I am thinking of trying some JB bore paste but doubt it would make much difference.

My prairie dog trip is only 9 weeks away so rebarreling isn’t really an option at this point. I normally use this gun out to about 300-400 yards and then switch to my 22-250. for anything beyond thatShould I take this gun on the trip or leave it at home? How quickly is the accuracy going to degrade over the next 500-700 rounds? Will it be able to limp through the trip or would taking it along be a big mistake? Thanks in advance!

Send the gun to a smith and have him look at it. If it needs rebarreled then have it done. If you dont get it back on time then just use your .22-250.

 

[Minesweeper3433]

I would bring it with me and restrict it to what it can hit say <200 yards? save wear and tear on the 22-250 till you get back. Then send off the 223 for a new tube.

 

[RJinTexas]

You could always take it along and relegate it to no longer then around 200yd. I'd be very concerned going with only a 22-250. I have always found that my my 22-250 heated up to quickly for high volume shooting. You could always purchase a pre-chambered barrel there all your gunsmith would need to do would be the ream out the last few thousands to properly head space it. I know I'd never go on a p-dog shoot with only one rifle.

RJ

 

[m500]

A barrel swap is not out of reach. You could go with a barrel nut like a savage. They call them a remage. The barrels and nuts are specific to remingtons to match their thread pitch. Jim briggs lists them in stock. His # is 763/682-4296. Going this route may require clearencing the stock for the nut. This may or may not intrest you, but ether way good luck with your hunt.
http://savageshooters.com/SavageForum/index.php/topic,17351.msg129134.html#msg129134

 

[BigHorn WBY]

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/188028/shilen-match-grade-barrel-remington-700-223-remington-1-in-14-twist-varmint-contour-26-chrome-moly-in-the-white

 

[alf]

Take it. A 1 MOA gun still works.

The next few rounds through i,t you aren't gonna see a drastic change in accuracy, especially when the wind blows 30 MPH.....

Have you seated the bullets out further to chase the lands?

 

[brian427cobra]

I doubt your barrel is shot out, 8k rounds down it then maybe, redo load development, I bet a bump in powder charge will bring it back to life.

 

[WillinDenver]

We don't know what bullet you're using or the seating depth. But I would go with seating the bullet out further. I had a 223 AI go South right at the time I didn't want it to, I had over 1,200 rounds loaded for a couple pd trips. I just used my RCBS collet bullet puller pulled them out just a little and reseated 30 thousands out and the groups tighten right up. I even had some the I tighten the collet down to much and thought they wouldn't work, they did. Went on two trips before I had the barrel re-chambered, to the 223 AI again. That rifle still shoots lights out, at least for prairie dog shooting, less than 1/2 inch.

My guess you have room to seat the bullets out further, try 8 or 10 and see. It'll be quicker in the long run.

Will

 

[bobcat1506]

I know I probably could get it rebarreled but my concern is load development and having enough time to find something that I’m happy with. I don’t want to find myself in a worse situation than I am in now.

Another reason I think the barrel might be going out is three weeks ago when I pulled it out of the safe I noticed some “crud” in the barrel (chome-moly). I pushed some patches through with Butches Bore Shine and pulled 8 or 10 patches of rust out. I had cleaned it only a few weeks prior and I don’t know if I left some solvent in the barrel or forgot to oil it or what before putting it away. The next two times I shot it the groups fell apart with the same hand loads I’ve been using for a while.

My varmint load is 50 Grain V-MAX bullets .010” off the lands in Lake City cases over 27.3 grains of Varget with CCI 400 primers. I have been chasing the lands, over the last 3 years I have bumped the seating depth out about .035” to keep them at a .010” jump. The gun is 15 years old but I’ve only been keeping records for about the last 3. I did switch a few months ago to the 50 grain Z-MAX as they are cheaper and seem to shoot just as well .010” of the lands.

Should I try bumping the powder charge or loading the bullets into the lands?

I think my plan is to limp I through the trip and use it for < 200 yards and rebarrel it when I get back. I don’t want to go to Wyoming with only a 22-250 for 3 days of hunting.

 

[JASmith]

The .223 Rem and .308 Win are frequently good for top (.25 moa) accuracy for about 3000 rounds according to http://www.gunandgame.com/forums/general-rifle/128454-throat-erosion-2.html but start to open up after that.

They also indicate a somewhat longer accuracy life if the barrel generally produces .5 moa groups early in its life.

So, your symptoms suggest you have reason for concern. The longevity of the barrel seems to be kind of the same as discussed in the reference. Swapping a barrel and working up new loads that you will have more confidence in than with your current rig will take a fair bit of time.

Given the time constraint, you may want to take your .223 and follow the advice folks are giving and use the 22-250 for shorter ranges than you might otherwise have done. A way to fathom what that range is is to note where you start seeing misses that can't be explained by shooter error, wind, etc. compared to you previous hunts.

 

[H2OBUG]

My 700 BDL-V .223 is in about the same shape. My shoot is in mid May I loaded 800 rounds for it and i am going to use mine. When I get back I will send it off to have it redone. I look at it like this it might get a bit worse but it should be good for one last stand.

 

[Hetta]

I know I probably could get it rebarreled but my concern is load development and having enough time to find something that I’m happy with. I don’t want to find myself in a worse situation than I am in now.

Another reason I think the barrel might be going out is three weeks ago when I pulled it out of the safe I noticed some “crud” in the barrel (chome-moly). I pushed some patches through with Butches Bore Shine and pulled 8 or 10 patches of rust out. I had cleaned it only a few weeks prior and I don’t know if I left some solvent in the barrel or forgot to oil it or what before putting it away. The next two times I shot it the groups fell apart with the same hand loads I’ve been using for a while.

My varmint load is 50 Grain V-MAX bullets .010” off the lands in Lake City cases over 27.3 grains of Varget with CCI 400 primers. I have been chasing the lands, over the last 3 years I have bumped the seating depth out about .035” to keep them at a .010” jump. The gun is 15 years old but I’ve only been keeping records for about the last 3. I did switch a few months ago to the 50 grain Z-MAX as they are cheaper and seem to shoot just as well .010” of the lands.

Should I try bumping the powder charge or loading the bullets into the lands?

I think my plan is to limp I through the trip and use it for < 200 yards and rebarrel it when I get back. I don’t want to go to Wyoming with only a 22-250 for 3 days of hunting.

Find a gunsmith with a bore scope and see if the throat is toast or not. If it isn't, take others advice and try some different bullets and seating depths to see if the accuracy comes back. You didn't mention the twist on your barrel, but maybe longer/heavier bullets would be the place to start. It shouldn't take very long to find a load that works or figure out that the barrel is shot out. FWIW I just limped an old #1 through one more p-dog shoot that has well over 10,000 rounds through it by seating the bullets out further.