Fast twist 223 barrel life

[vmaxpro]

I have a 7 twist 223 that I shoot 75 amaxs at 3000fps. It also shoots 40gr vmaxes at 3700fps extremely well but Im worried about barrel life shooting the 40s. Should I just stick with 204r I have? Am I worried about nothing?

 

[Bradley Walker]

.223 IS CRAZY EASY ON BARRELS.... 8)

I wouldn't give it another thought... 5000 rounds later you might need a new barrel...

 

[Kings X]

I bruned a 6-1/2" twist out in 1800 rounds. 80 SMKs at 2800.
Go figure

 

[vmaxpro]

Damn really? I dont even let the barrel get warm. Im at 1000 rounds now and my distance to the lands hasnt even moved.

 

[jbpmidas]

A friend burned out a 30", 7 twist in 1900 shooting 90's at 27-2800.

 

[vmaxpro]

Is it the throat burning up?

 

[K22]

No disrespect to the other poster but there appeares to be so much conflicting information out there on these fast twist 223's (7 & 8").

I don't know the answer to your question but my advice is to shoot your rifle with the loads that work well and that you enjoy to shoot. A replacement barrel is not a significant cost item compared to the cost of the ammunition you will expend wearing out the barrel. Life is short - enjoy it to the fullest - wearing out a barrel is a symbol that you are enjoying you hobby to the fullest.

 

[vmaxpro]

Good point lol.

 

[Klong]

The reason for so many differing opinions is because everyone has diferent expectations for their accuracy. I shoot highpower rifle and the 10 ring is 2 MOA, so as long as it will hold near 1 MOA I am good. All of my rifles are AR15's and with all of the major barrel makers, they shoot out around 3,000 rounds. This is where I start to see accuracy issues at 600 yards. Most of the barrels that I shot out would still hold near 1 MOA at 300, but you start to see unexplained fliers at 600 yards. I have shot out 6 or 7 barrels. How you clean them can make a difference in life also.

If you want one to shoot tin cans at 200 yards, it will probably go 6000+ rounds.

 

[FroggyOne2]

My .308 Palma barrel will barely hold the ten ring at 1000 yards, it has 3200 rounds on it. My .223 that I shoot the 75 Amaxs in at 3125 fps, has 3300 rounds on it and it is still shooting lights out. Yestersday during the Palma Team match at Camp Perry at 900 yards Gary Hudson, whom was the coach, said the .223 that I was shooting was holding a 3" group at ten o'clock in the X ring. After finishing the match, the bbl had 150 rounds on it since the last time I cleaned it.

 

[vmaxpro]

Wow thats a pretty stout load!! Good to hear though. Sometimes you get a barrel so accurate you just want it to last forever! Froggy, do you mind pm'ing me your load specs id love to hear it!!

 

[lpreddick]

i once saw a chart relating barrel life to powder burned. in all calibers the slower burning powders resulted in reduced life. i believe in all calibers the heavier bullets usually use slower powders. the powder charge seems to be greater as the bullet weight increases and twist increases. i'm suspecting that "useful" barrel life decreases as bullet weight increases/powder burn rate slows/ twist rate increases. exceptions exist but a 6-284 shooting a 105 berger vld will "burn out" before a 6mmbr shooting the same bullet.

 

[Beau]

I have a 7 twist 223 that I shoot 75 amaxs at 3000fps. It also shoots 40gr vmaxes at 3700fps extremely well but Im worried about barrel life shooting the 40s.

I wouldn't worry about the 40s.

Light bullets are much easier on barrels than heavy bullets. When my .223 quits shooting heavy bullets, I load it with light flat-base bullets and shoot it another thousand rounds at short range.

I believe that it is dwell time in the throat that kills barrels. Heavy weight and quick twists make it harder for a bullet to get moving. Light weight, slow twists and lubrication (e.g. Moly, Danzac, etc.) make it easier for the bullet to get going.

 

[KevinThomas]

Beau nailed it here; you're worried about the wrong bullets. Heavier projectiles are considerably harder on barrels than lighter ones, and that's true across the board. As far as making a great shooting barrel last forever, that's easy. Just don't shoot it. They're nothing more than perishable tooling and they wear out with use. When it's gone, I can promise you, you can almost ceretainly find another that will shoot every bit as well. Just the nature of the game.

 

[manitou210]

I took off a 30 " 1/7 SG twist 6 grove Tru Flite last spring and put on a new barrel the same to break in and will put the old one back,after bore scoping it has a little fire cracking in throat lands are still sharp and have only moved very little longer. just before removing I fired a 5 shot group with 80.5 gr Berger's in .161"
I can tell you if you stay away from double base powders like VT 550 and many others, which by the way can cause you major problems on Hot days, it will help your barrel life and you do not need to drive 90gr at 2800 fps to work anything around 2700 to 2760 works
manitou

 

[bobcat93]

223 barrel life 3000-5000 rds..
Thats alot of shoot-n
Buy 2

 

[tbs]

I went past 10,000 rounds in a Colt 6700 HBAR shooting 68 grain hornadys. It still shot 1.5 moa, just like it did when it was new. It was rough running a patch down the bore but it still shot.
I cleaned it after every match and periodically ran some JB Bore paste on a brush wrapped with a patch.

 

[kevinbritvec]

I have a 7 twist 223 that I shoot 75 amaxs at 3000fps. It also shoots 40gr vmaxes at 3700fps extremely well but Im worried about barrel life shooting the 40s. Should I just stick with 204r I have? Am I worried about nothing?

You're 350 to 400 fps faster than what I use in a 20" barrel. That's not going to help.

 

[DGP4]

What's the point of shooting 40 grain vmax bullets at 3,700 fps? Is that the only load that shoots well? With a 7 twist, you should be shooting much heavier bullets. I imagine that at 3,700 fps the barrel will get very hot unless you allow a long cooling period. That heat is what will cause fire cracking at the throat of the chamber and kill the barrel's accuracy. You won't wear it out, but you will fry the chamber throat

 

[Longtrain]

Life is short - enjoy it to the fullest - wearing out a barrel is a symbol that you are enjoying you hobby to the fullest.

+1
I have a Tikka 595 with 223AI, 223 1:12, 223 1:8 twist barrels. I’ve been shooting them for a number of years and I’m not even close to wearing them out. When I get bored on how tight they shoot I switch to a different one and start again.

Don’t worry about it just shoot’em.