How long does a 308 barrel last in competition?

[wolley]

About 5,000 rounds.
Krieger barrel, .298 x .3075, 30". Always Varget and always 46g for a 155 and 45.6 for a 168(Berger Hybrid)
Took this barrel to the Berger SWNs. It shot only OK for the Friday Palma Match. Shot very poorly for Friday's 1000 agg. I took it to the Hawkeye tent and borescoped it. It was horrible! Severe erosion in the throat to lead transition. Chunks missing from the lead area.
Found an eroded spot about two inches past the throat (inclusion?). Fire cracked for as far as the bore scope would reach.
Sunday it would shoot an X and then an 8 at 5 o'clock. It did this several times and then started throwing 8s with an occasional 7 wide right. 179 and 180 for the two 1K matches on Sunday.
I originally thought it was sitting at 4K rounds until I got home and went through my bullet purchases over the last 3 years. Turns out it is probably a little over 5K.
I picked up a certificate for a Krieger from the door prize table but it is at least 4 months out. Have a Bartlein 1:12 5R inbound from Grizzly.

 

[Steve Blair]

Keep better records and buy a borescope.

 

[chkunz]

I have shot out many Douglas 308 four grove 1 in 12 barrels and a few 1 in 10s. These barrels were used on the M14 with mostly 168 grain Sierras with 41 grains of IMR 4895. I have run as many as 8000 rounds thru them but believe they will no longer shoot master class scores at 600 yards after 4000 rounds. I would start the year with a new barrel so I would wind up at Perry with approximately 2000 rounds on the barrel and good zeros. Then I would finish shooting the barrel for the rest of the year and the scores would be ok at 200 yards even after the 6000 rounds but start to drop off at 600 yards after about 4000 rounds or so. I clean after each match but do not over do the cleaning.

 

[M14AMU]

I've got a NM M14 I won lots of junk with and it's got a tat over 10,000 rds through it and last time I shot it was two years ago from 300 yards on the standard NMC target and after two ten shot strings I had two cleans and 12Xs!!

 

[MrMajestic]

I've got a NM M14 I won lots of junk with and it's got a tat over 10,000 rds through it and last time I shot it was two years ago from 300 yards on the standard NMC target and after two ten shot strings I had two cleans and 12Xs!!

That barrel don't owe you anything....

 

[chkunz]

I've got a NM M14 I won lots of junk with and it's got a tat over 10,000 rds through it and last time I shot it was two years ago from 300 yards on the standard NMC target and after two ten shot strings I had two cleans and 12Xs!!

I think a lot of people blame the equipment or the wind on their poor performance. They have 3000 rounds on the barrel and have a bad day at 600 yards so they blame the barrel and remove a perfectly good barrel. Or they have a new barrel and shoot a 7 and blame the wind.

 

[gaboon]

Rule of thumb about 4000 to 5000 rounds.

 

[Steve Blair]

Rule of thumb about 4000 to 5000 rounds.

[br]
Would that not depend upon what you are trying to hit?

 

[rminut]

I think this is why people have backup rifles. Driving for many, many hours to attend the biggest match out west with you don't know how many rounds on the tube?? sorry but after 3500 I would never travel with that rifle, it owes me nothing but would never see past 600.

One thing to look at also is that Varget has a very high burn temp, so does H and I 4895. 4064 and VV150 are far cooler and with what guys are getting for barrel life in 243's using H1000, it might be worth looking at a cooler powder? 4064 used to be THE powder before Varget and I'm finding it shoots great. A little extra life would be just a bonus.

 

[gaboon]

Rule of thumb about 4000 to 5000 rounds.

The Op ask for competition.

 

[Steve Blair]

Rule of thumb about 4000 to 5000 rounds.

The Op ask for competition.

[br]
Are targets the same size in Palma rifle and F-TR?

 

[rminut]

Rule of thumb about 4000 to 5000 rounds.

The Op ask for competition.

[br]
Are targets the same size in Palma rifle and F-TR?

here we go.....

 

[Steve Blair]

here we go.....

[br]
Only if people make it that way. The point is that precision expectations vary depending upon discipline. When I shot Service Rifle with an M1a, I certainly would not expect nearly the same accuracy required for mid-pack in F-TR. Even shooting a Palma rifle, I agree with you and would not trust a .308 over 3500 rounds. It might do Ok and it might die catastrophically. People can anecdotally point to individual barrels performing acceptably well past typical expectations but that does a disservice to someone who drives 2000 miles and is unable to hold the ten ring. [br]
I keep a close eye on my barrels with a borescope and also examine what is happening in competition. My .300 WSM goes ~1500 and the .284 Shehane ~1700. But, I don't wait until they reach those round counts to assess them.

 

[wolley]

I shot this barrel 500 rounds ago.
Put a scope on it and shot it from bags at 200 yards. It hammered a .844" 10 shot group! I figured it would be good for a bit longer. I guess I was mistaken.
I don't own a borescope. Waiting on a less expensive option. The Hawkeye profit margin is about 200% and I refuse to support that.

 

[Steve Blair]

Wes, [br]
I have a Hawkeye and I've been waiting to see this one in the flesh. [br]
http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/?s=borescope&submit=Search

 

[ShootDots]

Wes, [br]
I have a Hawkeye and I've been waiting to see this one in the flesh. [br]
http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/?s=borescope&submit=Search

That is what I have been waiting for! This will take the shooting arena by storm!

 

[spclark]

Wes, [br]
I have a Hawkeye and I've been waiting to see this one in the flesh. [br]
http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/?s=borescope&submit=Search

That is what I have been waiting for! This will take the shooting arena by storm!

Let's all hope it's not another "LabRadar" promise!

http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/GunCleaning/borescope.php

(Say's May now, not March....)


Lyman's been around for decades, ought to have learned something about promoting something they can't deliver in that time. 'Course I've had a (virtually) NIB DPS1200 Mk1 sitting around in the original box now for some years.

My hope now is that their software is Mac-friendly, or the VMWare I use to run my SCATT will "pay off "even faster....

 

[DennisH]

My last barrel made it 3,500 rounds.

Interesting experience. One match I couldn't keep it in the 10 ring. I always was in the 9 ring. I couldn't figure it out. I shoot 3 308's, and one day while disgusted, I thought, I thought, this rig has over 3k rounds down the pipe.

When I went home, I check all my records. Again, 3,500 plus rounds down this tube and it loved Bergers .050 off the lands! I CHANGED BARRELS. Long story short. I ended up using the same powder load, the same bullet, the same brass (I didn't open any new boxes), but the thing that got my attention and others, is the fact this barrel wanted the bullets kissing the lands and .002 off with the same powder and primer. I put 1,000 rounds down this pipe now and it's still on.

Hope this helps, Dennis

 

[Scott Harris]

My 308 is showing firecracking at 3000 rounds. It has performed well so far, but I'm pulling it off for replacement immediately: I'd rather pull it off with a little life left than to waste time & money shooting poor scores in matches.

 

[alf]

A different perspective....

My first Hunter Benchrest rifle was in 308 Win, 14"twist, and was dead in the water at 2400 rounds.

If you're satisfied with 1/2 MOA and don't mind battling it out for last place, you probably could double your round count.....