Should I Be Replacing This Barrel?

[mjl650]

After cleaning the bore yesterday and checking with a bore scope I noticed the pictured line down one of the grooves. The line starts about half an inch from the end of the throat and is 3 3/4" long. A first I thought it was a crack but it looks like an erosion of the steel. The line is located at the 12 o'clock position of the barrel. What would cause this? The barrel is a .223 Remington 5R with approximately 450 rounds down the bore. I've been testing several different bullets and powders lately but non have shown any high pressure signs. At the first sign of any pressure I stop.

 

[Park ranger]

How does it shoot? Hold up for long strings dirty and hot?

 

[mjl650]

Was shooting around .5 moa at 300 yd until I tried the the Berger 73gr BT last time to the range. Averaging in the low 3s now. I don't compete so don't shoot long strings or let the barrel get very hot.

 

[watercam]

If it shoots, leave it alone. Don't let the bore scope freak you out. Perhaps those 73s need some tuning before you toss them aside.

 

[Mark W]

I would say it’s shooting pretty good for a factory barrel. I wouldn’t replace it for sure.

 

[gman47564]

A bore scope can be the greatest thing since sliced bread.. it can also be the worst thing since covid.. 95%of us dont really know what were looking at.. including me.. let your chrono and target determine when a barrel needs replaced.. loss of speed is a good sign its reaching the end.. and throat erosion is also something to keep a eye on.. use the bore scope for cleaning purposes.. all i see there is a barrel that needs cleaned.. my .02 cents

 

[joshb]

Ignore it and keep shooting. Let the target tell you when the barrel has reached it’s end. Use the borescope to check for cleaning. That line may be a tooling mark or a fault in the steel. No worries!

 

[Adam in WI]

I'm gonna go with no...

 

[mjl650]

If it shoots, leave it alone. Don't let the bore scope freak you out. Perhaps those 73s need some tuning before you toss them aside.

No tossing aside, the 73s are doing great. With 6 3 shot groups at 300 yards it averaged out to .32 moa and that was testing different powder charges. With more tweaking I think it can do a little better.

Okay I'll go with the consensus here and keep shooting it, just keeping an eye on the area of the barrel in question.

 

[newbieshooter]

I have an old 6BR barrel with 2400 rounds - still shoots great.
You wouldn't think so if you looked at the barrel:


I was taught to go by how it shoots - not how it looks....

 

[338 dude]

I have an old 6BR barrel with 2400 rounds - still shoots great.
You wouldn't think so if you looked at the barrel:

View attachment 1175815
I was taught to go by how it shoots - not how it looks....

Wow

 

[Ned Ludd]

Let's say you have two printed images in your hand. One is taken from the inside of a barrel with a borescope and it seems to show something odd. The second is taken of a target fird with th same barrel that shows pretty much one ragged hole. Which image carries more weight?


It's a rhetorical question.

 

[PatMiles]

Shoot it like you stole it!

 

[carlsbad]

Here is the throat of the 284 Win that won the CA State Palma Championship in March and hasn't been shot since. Teslong has allowed people to see things they didn't know existed before and have no way to interpret them.

 

[SmokinJoe]

That scratch in your barrel is not unusual and should be ignored unless it creates a problem with fouling, which I doubt it will. Just enjoy your accurate factory rifle, eh.

 

[X-Caveman]

I have an old 6BR barrel with 2400 rounds - still shoots great.
You wouldn't think so if you looked at the barrel:

View attachment 1175815 View attachment 1175816
I was taught to go by how it shoots - not how it looks....

Thanks for posting. I have a 6.5x47 BBL with similar round count that looks like that. It shoots better than some other barrels ever have. Folks, me included, tend to freak out over how something looks. I can see fire cracking in barrels with only a few hundred rounds on them with my Hawkeye. Took me a while to learn not to worry about it. It's normal.

 

[NorCalMikie]

HIDE THAT BORE SCOPE!!

 

[Texas10]

Ditto what Mikie says. Use it to verify barrel cleaning and carbon removal, and then be amazed how well the barrel continues to shoot once the alligatoring and fire cracking starts to set in.

I'm shooting that bullet too. What powder did you end up preferring?

 

[mjl650]

Ditto what Mikie says. Use it to verify barrel cleaning and carbon removal, and then be amazed how well the barrel continues to shoot once the alligatoring and fire cracking starts to set in.

I'm shooting that bullet too. What powder did you end up preferring?

23" 1 in 8 barrel with Varget between 23.7gr and 23.9gr seated .020" off the lands is where I'm at now. Speed is around 2675fps.

 

[Texas10]

23" 1 in 8 barrel with Varget between 23.7gr and 23.9gr seated .020" off the lands is where I'm at now. Speed is around 2675fps.

I'm using Varget also. Worked up 5 loads at .010 off in .3 gr charge intervals up to 25.3 grs. All shot .3 moa at 100y, groups when from horizontal, to vertical, to bughole. Don't usually see that. After getting back to the shop I discovered I'd shot those with a pretty big carbon buildup in the throat, so I was effectively shooting everything jammed, not off and probably getting the benefit of a very consistent starting pressure. Now I've got to go back and shoot the same loads with the throat clear of carbon, then try same loads with the bullet jammed.

Got lot's of time, lakes have been closed, range is open. Things could be worse. I could be one of those walking zombies that's got the virus but asymptomatic and spreading it all over the county. Shooting with a mask ain't so bad, but fishing with one is somehow just not right.