barrel life

[str8meat]

accuracy was good last year and this year seems to be gone. gun is 15 years old factory barrel, just no consistency. has had alot of rounds through it. could the barrel be shot? win m70. from wally world when i didnt know better. judt looking for answers to rebuild or junk whole setup.

 

[DrMike]

What cartridge? How hot do you normally load for it? How many rounds approximately per year do you likely average through the rifle? These are the type of questions you would need to answer. I have a 7mm RM that has well over 3000 rounds through it; it still delivers sub-MOA groups. I babied it, kept it clean and didn't shoot it hot. I've witnessed other 7 RMs that had the throat eroded in about 1500 rounds. Some overbore cartridges can significantly erode the throat in as few as 400 rounds (think 243 WSSM, 257 STW, etc.). It is not unusual to see some 7 STWs, 7 RUMs and such needing a new barrel after 1000 rounds. If it is a standard calibre (30-06, 270, 308, etc.) that hasn't been abused, I would think it unusual if it is shot out at this point. Perhaps it needs a thorough cleaning, taking it back down to the metal.

 

[Mblaster]

A fellow firefighter had this problem and It was foung to be the crown on the barrell. I don't know if thats is your problem.
Mb

 

[str8meat]

300 wm. she has had some hotter one through her and is cleaned. i am guessing round count close to 1200. just seems like no matter what i feed her cant get her to tighten back up. wondering if chaeper low end barrels are put on low end guns to be sold at low end stores? i mean it would be different if the local gun shop bought oodles of rifles to sell on a nation wide chain.

loads have consisted of
68 imr 4831 200 ab
73 imr 4350 180 sierra
72 imr 4350 165 horns
77.5 retumbo 210 matrix
77 h1000 2100 ab and 210 matrix
71-73 rl 22 180 ab
the rest just factory rounds

 

[str8meat]

running a vx 2 6x18x40 on her

 

[BK]

I can't imagine it would make economic sense for a manufacturer to have to inventory multiple levels of barrel quality. That being said, I've been wrong before!

I think if it were my gun, I would:
Clean the heck out of it
Check the muzzle crown, repair if needed
Chech the bedding, see if something has gone afoul. Winchester doesn't have the best bedding system from the factory... Just a dab of hot glue.

If you have access to a bore scope, that would tell you just about everything you need to know.

If you burned a bunch of loads through it quickly, it would not surprise me if the throat were toast, particularly with a .300 Mag.

If it is toast, make me a deal on it... I'll take it off your hands if it's CRF! (I need a Mashburn donor!)

 

[Guy Miner]

Yes, a .300 Win mag can eat a barrel in 1200 rounds.

Now - is that what's happened with yours? Dunno... A look through a bore scope would reveal the condition inside that bore. Pay particular attention to the throat and the first few inches of the lands & grooves.

Crown damage is always a possibility too.

Sometimes a barrel can be set back, re-chambered and re-crowned for additional life. This is common among target shooters.

Just thoughts... Guy

 

[CatskillCrawler]

I think you should have some good years in her at 1200 rounds. As mentioned, muzzle crown condition would be near the top of my suspect list. I would make sure there's no copper build-up too. I had this happen to rifles when I never worried about copper. Suddenly they both went awry within a year. Took almost a month to get them copper free and they now shoot better than I can remember. Your throat may also be eroded enough now where you may need to change your OAL.

 

[Guest]

I'd look at four things, in this order:

Copper/carbon fouling - get some BoreTech Eliminator and run three soaked patches, wait 10min, run one soaked patch, and repeat the "wait 10, 1 soaked patch" until the soaked patch comes out clean. Might take a few days. Seriously.

Crown - check for burrs and have it lapped if need be.

Scope mounts - be sure they're tight and square.

Scope - I know the Leupold guys love their scopes, but in my experience the failure rate is very high. Inconsistency is a hallmark of scope failure. Swap for a known-good scope and compare.

I bet one or more of these remedies fixes the problem.

 

[JD338]

Can you tell us exactly what/how you clean the bore?

I am thinking it needs a good cleaning with Sweets 7.62 copper solvent and Butche's Bore Shine.
If it doesn't shoot well after this, and you have checked the beeding screws and scope mounts/rings, time to get it to the gun smith.

JD338

 

[SJB358]

Same as Jim/Dub said. Get some JB's or Iosso and scrub it down. Chances are there is alot of life left in it. Check the bedding and crown with a Qtip. I bet you'll be able to square it away with the cost of supplies..

 

[Woodycreek]

What cartridge? How hot do you normally load for it? How many rounds approximately per year do you likely average through the rifle? These are the type of questions you would need to answer. I have a 7mm RM that has well over 3000 rounds through it; it still delivers sub-MOA groups. I babied it, kept it clean and didn't shoot it hot. I've witnessed other 7 RMs that had the throat eroded in about 1500 rounds. Some overbore cartridges can significantly erode the throat in as few as 400 rounds (think 243 WSSM, 257 STW, etc.). It is not unusual to see some 7 STWs, 7 RUMs and such needing a new barrel after 1000 rounds. If it is a standard calibre (30-06, 270, 308, etc.) that hasn't been abused, I would think it unusual if it is shot out at this point. Perhaps it needs a thorough cleaning, taking it back down to the metal.

400 rounds with the 243 WSSM? Really?

 

[BK]

Ooh, that doesn't sound good for an AR!

 

[Oldtrader3]

All barrels hammer forged, 4140 CrMo same specs, no seconds or economy barrels. My .270 Win is at about 3000 rounds and has some light erosion frosting in throat, but no accuracy effect yet.

 

[DrMike]

Long story short, before I replaced the barrel on my 300 WM, I'd check for other issues (cleaning the barrel, crown, bedding). Unless one has consistently ridden it hard and put it away wet, it should give better barrel life. Brian, I can't lay my hands on the report on the 243 WSSM, but Hornady states concerning the 223 WSSM, "We examined the throat of the rifle with a bore scope after approximately 350 rounds and the erosion was significant." Similar reports have been posted on the 243 WSSM. Also, failure to maintain cleanliness on the barrel and pushing hot loads can ensure that any number of cartridges erode the throat very quickly. I have personally witnessed a surprising array of rifles that suffered this fate, all because owners failed to heed the cautionary statements that came with their rifles.

 

[SJB358]

Long story short, before I replaced the barrel on my 300 WM, I'd check for other issues (cleaning the barrel, crown, bedding). Unless one has consistently ridden it hard and put it away wet, it should give better barrel life. Brian, I can't lay my hands on the report on the 243 WSSM, but Hornady states concerning the 223 WSSM, "We examined the throat of the rifle with a bore scope after approximately 350 rounds and the erosion was significant." Similar reports have been posted on the 243 WSSM. Also, failure to maintain cleanliness on the barrel and pushing hot loads can ensure that any number of cartridges erode the throat very quickly. I have personally witnessed a surprising array of rifles that suffered this fate, all because owners failed to heed the cautionary statements that came with their rifles.

Just like any hot rod, if your going to run it fast, you gotta be prepared to maintain it like the High Performance machine it is. Keeping them cleaned up really well seems like a good way to keep em shooting well. Either way, I have yet to shoot anything out yet, but I am looking forward to it!

 

[Woodycreek]

I heard that the 223 WSSM was a barrel eating machine. 50-55 grain pills at 4000-4100 FPS and poor barrel maintance will do that. Looking at 105 Amaxs around 3000-3100 in the one I have on order. Maybe try some 70 BTs also. Don't think that should be that bad on the barrel.

 

[SJB358]

I think you'll get plenty of use out of a barrel with the way we shoot. I don't think we put a whole lotta volume through them anyhow. With some decent maintenance on them, they should have a decent life span.

 

[str8meat]

she got a complete scrubbing of sweets along with clp. we will retest later. crown is in great shape. its either the barrel or the scope.

 

[Anonymous]

Before I went shot some rounds I likely re-tighten the mounts and re-mount the scope.

I had a Kimber .308 that went from MOA to 6" strings. A loose rear scope mount was the culprit.

Tightened it back up and right back to MOA.