setting back a barrel

[swadiver]

so, I am thinking of setting back a Criterion .308 barrel that has about 3900 rds through it. it has been an extremely good shooting barrel. this would be used for short range practice/fun. i would be shooting 150 to 175gr class of bullets with light to moderate loads for 100 yd accuracy

my question is, what kind of accuracy life can one expect from a set back barrel. since this is a "new" chamber, do you normally get new barrel life expectancy from a set back?

thanks

 

[Tim Singleton]

I haven't seen that
I would say with that many rounds you would see little improvement over what it's doing now.
If your going to have to pay for the set back
I would say save your money

 

[swadiver]

yes i will have to pay. hmm...

 

[Tim Singleton]

The first few inches in front of the chamber and the remainder of the barrel are what they are. A new chamber won't help those areas.
IME it never has yielded what I hoped it would

 

[msinc]

It depends on why you are setting it back....If it was a 22-250 or 243 that some idiot scorched the throat in a few hundred rounds and you can plainly see it in a borescope then yeah...I have done it and it returned the barrel to the way it shot new. Just did a 204 Ruger. On the other hand, if it's a 308 with a lot of rounds and the throat is not burned then I wouldn't bother. You would generally set a barrel back to get past a burned up throat. Same as a recrown...if the muzzle is not damaged then a recrown wont do anything.

 

[Ggmac]

It's generally not worth it , unless you have the tools and knowledge to do it yourself . Even then the results will be less than the barrels orig accuracy level .
In my opinion , it's a fireform , practice piece or tomato stake .
Barrels are like tires on a truck , you got good mileage out of that one !

 

[Alex Wheeler]

I will not do set backs on barrels with many rounds on them. Its hard on the reamer. Either the hard carbon or hardened area of the steel that the fire cracking occurs, what ever the cause I have hurt reamers and had to send them in for sharpening. Plus I dont like indicating off someone elses work. That said, it can be very successful, but my opinion is dont wait until you see a fall off in accuracy or it may be too late. At over 3000 rounds I wouldnt recommend it.

 

[AckleymanII]

"I dont like indicating off someone elses work"....now there is a mouth full!!!!

 

[swadiver]

well, i think i have my answer..........looks like a new barrel for me.

thanks all.

 

[500Stroker]

well, i think i have my answer..........looks like a new barrel for me.

thanks all.

^^^^^^ What you said.

 

[ImBIllT]

Lots of PPC and BR shooters used to do it. Certainly not all, or even most, but plenty did. There is even a BR shooter that supposedly started cutting his used barrels in half because he was beaten by barrel he had thrown away that was subsequently set back by the shooter that beat him. Like a PPC and BR, a 308 doesn't burn a lot of powder for its bore volume so there is a reasonable chance that most of the barrel is still good. On the other hand, there is a reasonable chance that the barrel wear was caused by something other than burning up the throat, so you wouldn't be fixing that problem. Unless someone with specific experience can tell you otherwise, it's a crap a shoot. If you can get your chamber job done cheaply then it's worth a try. My opinion has always been that a known exceptional barrel is a better bet than a new questionable one. Is it a custom barrel? If you buy a new barrel are you looking at a custom barrel or a take-off? If the budget only allows a take-off barrel or setting back your current one, I would lean toward setting back a current one that once shot well. If a new custom barrel is in the budget, then setting back your old barrel may be throwing good money after bad.

 

[Terry]

I have barrels that were set back. The old chamber was cut off, then a new one made.
These are 6 Dasher barrels with about 1,200 rounds on each. I'm happy. The ones that shot well still do.

 

[lawrence97]

I have barrels that were set back. The old chamber was cut off, then a new one made.
These are 6 Dasher barrels with about 1,200 rounds on each. I'm happy. The ones that shot well still do.

I have done the same with my 284 shehane barrels with 1200-1500 rds. I don't use them in big matches but they are good to fireform or shoot local matches and it's free practice on my lathe. I start with 30-32 inch barrels and after set backs I am around 28-30 inches.

As for accuracy, they don't shoot any different than when new. The velocity is down a little but I noticed that the shorter barrels seem to have a wider tune window and are easier to get shooting.

If you are going to spend the money on someone to chamber your barrel, I suggest you use a new barrel and get your money's worth! If you have a buddy with a lathe and nothing better to do, then a set back would work out!

 

[billlarson]

I HAVE FOUND MOST OF THE TIME ACCURACY IMPROVES......... so long as you set back enough to get a new throat and take about 1" off muzzle.........
bill

 

[Will Henry]

I think a setback is useful for a barrel which has a relatively low round count but which has lost just a little of it's former "gilt edge" accuracy. For instance, I set back a 6ppc with about 1000 rounds through it because it was no longer shooting those .120 groups when conditions were good and the set-back worked; for a while. A barrel with 3700 rounds through it might get set back and re-chambered but I wouldn't expect match accuracy from it. I don't know that I would do it at all if I had to pay for the work. WH

 

[swadiver]

nope, not gonna do it. new barrel it is

 

[ImBIllT]

nope, not gonna do it. new barrel it is

Probably the right decision if the work wasn't going to be free or cheap, especially if the new barrel will not be a take-off barrel.

 

[swadiver]

nope, this will be a new barrel, for F/TR practice at 100 to 200 yds. i have had good luck with the Criterion pre fits in the past, so i will go that way.

 

[DRNewcomb]

There's a lot of things people don't really do any more: Fix TVs, sew their own clothing, set barrels back. The labor costs exceed the savings. Now, if you have your own lathe or a cousin who owns one, that's another matter.