What is the expected barrel life on a 6mmARC???

[Raptor]

I have heard up to 4000+ rounds if you keep it at the recommended pressures. Some claim the same as a .223 because that was part of the Army's specs on the caliber.....

 

[JEFFPPC]

That would depend on your accuracy requirements. I would think it should be similar to a 6PPC. I have had barrels remain competitive to 2500 yrs shooting be matches. A gas gun with lesser accuracy requirements I would think minimum of 3000.

 

[204 AR]

I put 16-1800 rounds through it's wildcat cousin the 243 lbc and it showed very little cracking at the throat at that point. I could totally see 4k easily. That was with a steady diet of imr 8208 and 87 gr vmax.

 

[Hohn]

Let’s correct the misapprehension that the Army had “specs” for the 6 ARC. It didn’t and doesn’t. The Army is just accepting for investigation purposes a solicitation from Hornady.

 

[K22]

While I don't have specific info on that caliber, in general heat is the one of the big enemies of barrel life. In other words, your shooting regime can have a huge influence on barrel life.

If you shoot round after round in rapid succession which might be required in some shooting disciplines then you can expect shorter barrel life but that's just part of that sport. For those guys, barrel change out is no big deal.

But I also see this at the range all the time when it isn't necessary, i.e. guys shooting bolt rifles round after round until the barrel is so hot you can't touch it. If fact this is the rule not the exception of what I see at the two ranges were I shoot. Perhaps they're pressed for time or just don't know what they're doing to their barrel.

With me since I'm primarily a varmint and predator hunter who does spend a fair amount of time at the range in practical practice sessions, I'm only interested in the cold barrel shot. So I shoot at a fairly slow pace, allowing the barrel to cool between shots at the range and normally only shoot about 10 to 12 rounds in a range session which might take me over an hour depending on ambient temperatures.

While I primarily shoot 223 Rem bolt rifles these days, I have a few 243 Wins that have far exceed the "expert" claims on barrel life at least for hunting level accuracy. For example, my old Rem 700 has over 3,000 rounds and still hold a consistent 5 shot group little over 1 moa. I believe this extended barrel life is due to my reduced intensity shooting practices of shooting cold bore.

 

[David Milisock]

While I don't have specific info on that caliber, in general heat is the one of the big enemies of barrel life. In other words, your shooting regime can have a huge influence on barrel life.

If you shoot round after round in rapid succession which might be required in some shooting disciplines then you can expect shorter barrel life but that's just part of that sport. For those guys, barrel change out is no big deal.

But I also see this at the range all the time when it isn't necessary, i.e. guys shooting bolt rifles round after round until the barrel is so hot you can't touch it. If fact this is the rule not the exception of what I see at the two ranges were I shoot. Perhaps they're pressed for time or just don't know what they're doing to their barrel.

With me since I'm primarily a varmint and predator hunter who does spend a fair amount of time at the range in practical practice sessions, I'm only interested in the cold barrel shot. So I shoot at a fairly slow pace, allowing the barrel to cool between shots at the range and normally only shoot about 10 to 12 rounds in a range session which might take me over an hour depending on ambient temperatures.

While I primarily shoot 223 Rem bolt rifles these days, I have a few 243 Wins that have far exceed the "expert" claims on barrel life at least for hunting level accuracy. For example, my old Rem 700 has over 3,000 rounds and still hold a consistent 5 shot group little over 1 moa. I believe this extended barrel life is due to my reduced intensity shooting practices of shooting cold bore.

I agree! Barrel life (assuming a quality barrel) is directly linked to to rate of fire and load pressure. I chose the 6MM ARC to be chambered in my general purpose self loading rifle because of its standard 52,000 PSI operating pressure and the weight range of its tested projectiles.

I have cartridges for varminting and large game that operate at 63,000 to 65,000 PSI. I never shoot rapid fire in these rifles but I have had to rebarrel my 6MM Remington at a bit over 2,000 rounds. It's run hot 3,900 FPS with 75 grain VMAX.

My AR 15 5.56 never gets more than 3 consecutive shots, my M1 Carbines get handled the same way and they operate at 40,000 PSI. The AR is getting near 40 years old with a few thousand rounds through it. In Delta configuration at 300 yards it prints 1 3/4" with 68 grain Hornaday match bullets. The M1 Carbines are over 70 years old and both of them have thousands of rounds through them. A couple of spring rebuilds and the barrels are fine, in general well above 30 Carbine average accuracy. They both print 6" groups at 200 yards, centered on 9" paper plates with Korean era ramp military sights.

I've seen brand new rifles ruined on their first day at the range. ARs throated in 15 minutes. Remington ultra magnums shot until you can see the heat off the barrel from the next bench. The owner is upset because it won't group.

 

[K22]

I've seen brand new rifles ruined on their first day at the range. ARs throated in 15 minutes. Remington ultra magnums shot until you can see the heat off the barrel from the next bench. The owner is upset because it won't group.

I see it all the time - I'm at the range about 2 days a week, weather permitting, and at least 90+% of the shooters fire round after round even on bolt rifles. In many cases the barrel is so hot you can't touch it. This is especially pronounced in the hot summer months.

 

[AckleymanII]

I shot the 6ppc and the 6 BR on red hot P. dog towns and squirrel fields for years. When I changed from H322 to H335, barrel wear decreased significantly, same with AA2230. Another bonus from changing from H322 to H335 & 2230 was the cleaning frequency. The H335 and AA2230 could be shot in 300 round shot strings, where the H322 was in 125 round shot strings.

Barrel life of the 6 PPC was 10,000 rounds where the barrel was getting very rough and coppered badly, but the groups were still in the high 2's and very low 3's, jumping the bullets with an increased powder charge due to gas blow by.

We hammered the dogs on these virgin p. dog towns firing up to 5 rounds per minute with the 6 ppc, LBRP Panda's and Hall m's.

The 6 BR, 6 BRX with zero freebore with H335 velocity in the 3700-3800 in the BR and 4000+ with 60g Sierra in the BRX using H335 with 7 1/2, barrel life seems indefinite.

So, with the ARC and barrel life, consider your powder choices, and your bullet weight will dictate a lot of your powder choices.

Consult a Heat Index chart for powders, take it to heart.

 

[SG4247]

I get about 2000 rounds from my 6AR barrels.

They are loaded right at max pressure.

And I shoot a rapid fire match one a month, that puts 20 down the tube in about 30 seconds.

So, pretty hard on em.

 

[Lefty Trigger]

I shoot with a guy that 8000+ through his 223/556 service rifle and it still shoots awesome. However a lot of this is going to depend on the barrel quality and the rounds loaded, plus powder choice?

 

[David Milisock]

I see it all the time - I'm at the range about 2 days a week, weather permitting, and at least 90+% of the shooters fire round after round even on bolt rifles. In many cases the barrel is so hot you can't touch it. This is especially pronounced in the hot summer months.

I have several rifles with light barrels, nice to carry, time consuming to zero for field work. One in particular was a 30 06 Savage 110 with a light barrel, working a load took a year. After that it took 6 range sessions to get a cold barrel zero.

The rifle at 100 yards ALWAYS prints the first two rounds touching or very near touching, the third and subsequent rounds spread the group.

It's a perfect hunting rifle very light to carry, hits in a very predictable manner out past 300 yards for the first shot and a follow-up if needed.

 

[JSH]

Barrels are like tires, depends on how you treat them. The grocery getter may last multiple trips and last for years.
Hot rod or sports car, well we all know that answer.
Lol, drive it like ya stole it.

 

[David Milisock]

I shot the 6ppc and the 6 BR on red hot P. dog towns and squirrel fields for years. When I changed from H322 to H335, barrel wear decreased significantly, same with AA2230. Another bonus from changing from H322 to H335 & 2230 was the cleaning frequency. The H335 and AA2230 could be shot in 300 round shot strings, where the H322 was in 125 round shot strings.

Barrel life of the 6 PPC was 10,000 rounds where the barrel was getting very rough and coppered badly, but the groups were still in the high 2's and very low 3's, jumping the bullets with an increased powder charge due to gas blow by.

We hammered the dogs on these virgin p. dog towns firing up to 5 rounds per minute with the 6 ppc, LBRP Panda's and Hall m's.

The 6 BR, 6 BRX with zero freebore with H335 velocity in the 3700-3800 in the BR and 4000+ with 60g Sierra in the BRX using H335 with 7 1/2, barrel life seems indefinite.

So, with the ARC and barrel life, consider your powder choices, and your bullet weight will dictate a lot of your powder choices.

Consult a Heat Index chart for powders, take it to heart.

I've seen the heat issue with powder choices myself. Having 70+ year old self loading rifles made me keenly aware of heat. In my M1 Carbines traditional powders heated up the barrel, years ago I tried H110 which ran cooler and later Lil-Gun which gave great velocity and was even cooler than H110.

For my custom rifles I shoot as hot as I want, I'll just replace the barrel, but in self loaders it's prudent to watch the heat and to check your fire. Especially in older rifles where quality replacement parts are hard to come by and expensive.

 

[Raptor]

Thank you for all of the replies!! It is pretty much what I figured and have found over the years of shooting.

I shot the 6ppc and the 6 BR on red hot P. dog towns and squirrel fields for years. When I changed from H322 to H335, barrel wear decreased significantly, same with AA2230. Another bonus from changing from H322 to H335 & 2230 was the cleaning frequency. The H335 and AA2230 could be shot in 300 round shot strings, where the H322 was in 125 round shot strings.

Barrel life of the 6 PPC was 10,000 rounds where the barrel was getting very rough and coppered badly, but the groups were still in the high 2's and very low 3's, jumping the bullets with an increased powder charge due to gas blow by.

We hammered the dogs on these virgin p. dog towns firing up to 5 rounds per minute with the 6 ppc, LBRP Panda's and Hall m's.

The 6 BR, 6 BRX with zero freebore with H335 velocity in the 3700-3800 in the BR and 4000+ with 60g Sierra in the BRX using H335 with 7 1/2, barrel life seems indefinite.

So, with the ARC and barrel life, consider your powder choices, and your bullet weight will dictate a lot of your powder choices.

Consult a Heat Index chart for powders, take it to heart.

I am a big fan of H335 I have used it for years in all my 223s. I tried it in the 6mmARC but it was really slow!! It shot really well but was disappointed in the velocities.

 

[Raptor]

Thanks for all the replies guys!!! Really appreciated it!! This is pretty much what I have found over the years shooting a lot of comps. Thanks again!!!!!!!!

 

[AckleymanII]

I have not been disappointed with the speed of h335 in the 6 BR, 6 Dasher, or the 6 BRX with the slow twists and light bullets...amazing in fact.

Gene Harwood, NBRSA Director in 1987, sat a world record with the 6 BR, in Heavy Varmint, with his own 60g bullets using H335, 7 1/2, at 3700 fps. He really chewed me out on a squirrel hunt we went on when he saw me using H322. When I got home, I tried the H335....jeez...three shot groups in the 1's. After firing 100 rounds down barrel on the next squirrel shoot, he said, "now take the bolt out and look down the barrel". The bore looked like it had not been fired...not a trace of powder could be seen with the naked eye.

 

[Raptor]

I have not been disappointed with the speed of h335 in the 6 BR, 6 Dasher, or the 6 BRX with the slow twists and light bullets...amazing in fact.

Gene Harwood, NBRSA Director in 1987, sat a world record with the 6 BR, in Heavy Varmint, with his own 60g bullets using H335, 7 1/2, at 3700 fps. He really chewed me out on a squirrel hunt we went on when he saw me using H322. When I got home, I tried the H335....jeez...three shot groups in the 1's. After firing 100 rounds down barrel on the next squirrel shoot, he said, "now take the bolt out and look down the barrel". The bore looked like it had not been fired...not a trace of powder could be seen with the naked eye.

My problem is I am shooting the 85 to 90gr bullets. I think that may be the difference......

 

[AckleymanII]

Then go to Ball C2 for barrel life.

 

[Raptor]

Then go to Ball C2 for barrel life.

BLC-2 really sucks for temp changes. I used to use it in my 308s yrs ago and in the winter time it would drop like a rock!! I will mainly use mine as a calling gun for coyotes. so want to stick with a extreme powder if I can find the right combo.....

 

[AckleymanII]

Yea, I started hunting coyotes in '76. We used H380 in the 22/250's, 760 in the 243, and Ball C2 in the 222.

Solution is a Wintertime load, and heat of the Summer load, and we still use this kind of adaptation for barrel life and ease of cleaning.