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View Full Version : Barrel life of a .223 PC Carbine?



jeffc2x
07-18-2010, 10:41 PM
How many rounds should it be good for?I've heard more than 1 person say that cleaning a barrel alot hurts more than helps.Wearing it more than actually shooting it.
Jeff ;D

sinman
07-18-2010, 10:44 PM
many of thousands, more or less depending how you abuse it. I have the ability to put on a new barrel when ever so if I want I can get mine cooking hot and not care. But to keep it sub moa you should be able to get a lot of rounds out of it if you are nice.

82boy
07-18-2010, 11:42 PM
How many rounds should it be good for?I've heard more than 1 person say that cleaning a barrel alot hurts more than helps.Wearing it more than actually shooting it.
Jeff ;D


This is somewhat true, but not totally. Cleaning with improper tools will wear out a barrel fast. Benchrest shooters clean their barrels after every 5 to 10 rounds, and they can get 3000 rounds out of a barrel.

Most of them do the same thing, they always use a bore guide, and a one piece rod, They clean with patches and bronze brushes. They usually start out pushing 2 wet patches down the bore, then 10 strokes with a bronze brush, followed up with dry patches, and then a patch coated with oil or graphite. I would say the reason they get the barrel performance that do is due to their cleaning regiment.

My experience is that a factory savage barrels shoots its best when dirty. I would say the main thin is don't get them overly hot, and be careful with cleaning but that 223 barrel should last a long time. (few thousand rounds)

King Ghidora
07-18-2010, 11:56 PM
How hot is too hot anyway 82boy? I often wonder about this with some of my guns. I know it has to vary between barrels and calibers and other things but I still wonder. For example if I shoot maybe 30 rounds through my LRPV in an hour is that going to get it too hot? I don't think I've shot that many rounds that fast but I've probably come close. I don't want to wear my barrel out faster than it should wear out.

82boy
07-19-2010, 12:46 AM
How hot is too hot anyway 82boy?
if it is glowing red then it is too hot.

Heat also has to do with the temperature, and angle of the sun. I know I have shot matches in November when it was warm and when the sun would start going down it was like a torch on the barrels. I would say that 30 round in an hour would not be bad, heck there is times I have shot 20 rounds in 7 minutes in a match set up just trying to figure out wind. I would not say this is good, but it never seamed to hurt it. I would say it is personal judgment. Shooters kill barrels in dog towns where they shoot hundreds of rounds an hour. I would say that limiting shots to a string of say 20, 25 rounds and letting the barrel sit about 10 minutes in-between strings would be what I would recommend.

King Ghidora
07-19-2010, 01:35 AM
That's pretty much what I try to do. I like to let the barrel cool down after shooting about 20 rounds but I like to shoot the 20 rounds fairly quickly so I can remember what I'm doing right and wrong from shot to shot.

About the only guns I've really had hot were semi-autos. I can heat up my SKS in about 30 seconds if I try. I mean it will literally get hot enough to make the stock start smoking. :o It's still as accurate as it ever was though and I've put thousands of rounds through it.

jeffc2x
07-19-2010, 10:57 AM
I'd say if the barrel is too hot to lay your hand on for a second or two,it's too hot.Yeah I've had my handguards on my AK smoking too.
THANKS JEFF

laportecharlie
07-19-2010, 12:01 PM
My Prairie Dog hunting partner has a CZ 223 carbine that has at least 25,000 rounds through it and it still kills PD's out to 250 yards or so. It is not unusual for him to shoot 35 to 50 rounds an hour all day long with no apparent adverse effect on the barrel. It is the powder burners like the 22-250 that really get a .224 barrel hot in a big hurry. Poor cleaning practices do far more damage to a barrel than shooting does.
Charlie

jeffc2x
07-19-2010, 01:04 PM
My Prairie Dog hunting partner has a CZ 223 carbine that has at least 25,000 rounds through it and it still kills PD's out to 250 yards or so. It is not unusual for him to shoot 35 to 50 rounds an hour all day long with no apparent adverse effect on the barrel. It is the powder burners like the 22-250 that really get a .224 barrel hot in a big hurry. Poor cleaning practices do far more damage to a barrel than shooting does.
Charlie
:o That's alot of rounds!Sounds like it still very accurate. Is it a bull barrel?
JEFF

laportecharlie
07-19-2010, 03:22 PM
No, it's a sporter weight, carbine length. It's accurate enough that he shot a PD yesterday @ approx 200 yards with only the head showing. I think he was just very lucky!
Charlie