Barrel Life SOLVED

shadowstalker · 09-11-2008, 10:02 AM

I'm having some problems with my .338 (and I'm fairly confident it's the scope), but it got me thinking (usaully ends up bad); How many rounds should you be able to put through a Browning Stainless A- Bolt .338 Win Magnum before you start to see accuracy issues? This rifle has been a great shooter until the last 2 times out, and I've taken very very good care of it.
Would appreciate any and all thoughts.

fishgetter · 09-11-2008, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadowstalker

I'm having some problems with my .338 (and I'm fairly confident it's the scope), but it got me thinking (usaully ends up bad); How many rounds should you be able to put through a Browning Stainless A- Bolt .338 Win Magnum before you start to see accuracy issues? This rifle has been a great shooter until the last 2 times out, and I've taken very very good care of it.
Would appreciate any and all thoughts.

I do not know the exact numbers but it is a ton, I have a 300 win mag that has close to 1000 rounds through it and it is still tight, I would look at the scope first.

good luck

cwh · 09-11-2008, 10:24 AM

I would look at a lot of other things before worrying about the barrel wearing out that dramatically.

Are you doing something different than normal at the range? New bipod, sandbags, taken up drinking 4 red bulls a day?
Have you taken the scope all the way off and re-torqued all the screws?
Are you shooting the same ammo/loads as before?
Are you cleaning the rifle between trips to the range, and if so, how?

Yamhillbilly · 09-11-2008, 10:24 AM

might be a warped stock shifting pressure on the barrel causing it to shoot differently?

wapiteaser · 09-11-2008, 10:43 AM

How many rounds do you shoot before it start wandering? You shouldn't have any significant movement until the barrel starts warming up. Then it could be stock, action, or other. If it is right off the start, the scope would be my guess. Check base tightness and ring tightness.

Hunt'nFish · 09-11-2008, 10:45 AM

9x out of 10 it's a problem w/ the scope or mounts.

As for barrel life.....more damage can come from cleaning rod wear at the muzzle than shooting. Always push the rod from the breach end. NEVER from the muzzle.

To answer your question.......thousands and thousands.
Hunt'nFish

Blowing Smoke · 09-11-2008, 11:29 AM

Copper fouling????? I have bought 5-6 guns over the years where people said they are clean and won't shoot like they use to. Use Barnes CR-10 or Sweets 7.62 copper remover many other's work just not as fast. I have had to clean some guns no joke 6 hours to remove all copper , just make sure to use good oil afterwards to protect your barrel and shot 1-2 fouler shots and try again for accuracy. Barnes and todays bonded bullets leave alot of copper buildup left in the barrel, this is one side effect with those premium bullets, best wishes..........BS

shadowstalker · 09-11-2008, 11:29 AM

I'm checking the scope and mounts tonight after work. I just wasn't sure about the round number before the rifling gives out. I'm at most, around 500. I figured it had to be more than that, just looking to eliminate possibilities.

shadowstalker · 09-11-2008, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blowing Smoke

Copper fouling????? I have bought 5-6 guns over the years where people said they are clean and won't shoot like they use to. Use Barnes CR-10 or Sweets 7.62 copper remover many other's work just not as fast. I have had to clean some guns no joke 6 hours to remove all copper , just make sure to use good oil afterwards to protect your barrel and shot 1-2 fouler shots and try again for accuracy. Barnes and todays bonded bullets leave alot of copper buildup left in the barrel, this is one side effect with those premium bullets, best wishes..........BS

I ran a copper remover through it when it started wandering last week, and last night (the first shoot since than) it was the worst. But that is good to know about the Premiums because I've never shot anything through that rifle than Fedral Premium Accubonds and Partitions, and 1 bow of Winchester Supremes. I'm still planning on eliminating the scope tonight. Its a Bausch and Laumb 2.5-10 that is 13 years old, and may not have been up to the punishment of a .338

ICHTHYDEMON · 09-11-2008, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadowstalker

I'm having some problems with my .338 (and I'm fairly confident it's the scope), but it got me thinking (usaully ends up bad); How many rounds should you be able to put through a Browning Stainless A- Bolt .338 Win Magnum before you start to see accuracy issues? This rifle has been a great shooter until the last 2 times out, and I've taken very very good care of it.
Would appreciate any and all thoughts.

It really depends on how well the barrel has been taken care of. Its entirely possible to burn out a barrel in far less than 500 rounds.

If you're like the guys that show up at the range the night before the season opens and put 2 boxes through your rifle in 15 minutes,you'll be buying a new barrel.

If you let your rifle cool down between groups,it'll last a long time.

It doesn't sound like you abuse the barrel though.

adobe wall · 09-11-2008, 12:03 PM

It varies depending on the type of cartridge and the amount of bearing surface on the bullets you shoot, plus the type of barrels. Kreiger cut rifled barrels are legendary for long service life, up to 2x what you'd expect to get out of a button rifled barrel.

One of the top F-class shooters I know shoots 240 grain bullets out of his .300 RUM and only expects to get 800 rounds out of his Lilja barrels with that rifle/caliber/load combo. A .30-06 or .308 match rifle should get 4k rounds of excellent barrel life. .223s using heavy bullets start to get watched closely at 2500 rounds but should make it to 4000, a Kreiger in that same rifle will often go 6 to 7000. An 80 grain .223 bullet has a whole heckuva lot more bearing surface than a 55 grain bullet.

First sign will be uncalled fliers at long range. As wear progresses you'll get more fliers and at shorter range. Shoot the rifle long enough and it will throw rounds even at 100 yards.

The only hunting rifle I shot the barrel out of was a 7mm Mag, and I didn't keep a log book on it like I do with the competitive rifles. I'm certain that the rifle didn't go much over a thousand rounds, if even that many. Bench sessions can easily burn up a lot of rounds.

If you know the rifle is throwing fliers you can get a smith to take 3/8" or so off the chamber end of the rifle and rechamber it, this will clean up the throat and give you some additional barrel life. Depends on the barrel contour of course. If you let the rifle go too long and it's become a shotgun, just rebarrel it.

Odds are it's not the barrel but you can burn up a lot of $$$ diagnosing a barrel that is shot out. Fire a 10 shot group at 200 or 300 yards. Remove the scope. Remount the bases, borrow a known good scope and fire another 10 shot group. If you get similar unsatisfactory results, I'd at least consider the possibility that the rifle barrel is gone.

If sighting in a rifle, or checking the zero, takes a couple of boxes of ammo you can get a fairly high round count a lot faster than you'd think. What HnF said about improper cleaning is spot on, you can damage the rifle more by cleaning it than hunting with a fouled barrel all season.

If you do rebarrel the rifle or get a new one, keeping a small notebook on it can really be an eye opener. Just record the rounds fired, and any unusual events (like a broken extractor or blown case).

hth, aw

DogZilla15 · 09-11-2008, 02:38 PM

Make sure you tighten all the screws holding metal to wood. If you haven't bedded the action out to the recoil lug and free floated the barrel, you ought to consider it.

DogZilla15 · 09-11-2008, 02:41 PM

Forgot something. It relates to the bolt cleaning topic. If the firing pin isn't hitting the primer hard enough, accuracy will suffer. Clean the bolt and maybe change the firing pin spring if the rifle is more than a few years old.

hillbillygoat · 09-11-2008, 02:54 PM

"Copper fouling"

I almost scrapped my 7 mag due to this. I'm talking like 12 - 14" group at 100yds. Cleaned with good solvent several times a day for a week and it went sub moa again. I had given up on it. 13 elk and 16 + deer though, I couldn't let go.

ehunter · 09-11-2008, 06:54 PM

I had a simialr problem with a 06 this year I switched to Honrady ammo and after about 30 rounds I was getting flyers went home and copper cleaned it and it was great again. Probably scope but copper fouling will affect it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hillbillygoat

"Copper fouling"

I almost scrapped my 7 mag due to this. I'm talking like 12 - 14" group at 100yds. Cleaned with good solvent several times a day for a week and it went sub moa again. I had given up on it. 13 elk and 16 + deer though, I couldn't let go.

Flatfish · 09-11-2008, 09:43 PM

if you killed the tube, please send an autograph.....Chuck Norris would like one too.

To burn out an elk rifle would take an adequate amount of powder, and a reserved parking place at the spine surgeon.

shadowstalker · 09-12-2008, 08:10 AM

Heres the latest: I broke the rifle down and pulled the scope last night and cleaned everything to the 10th degree. When I had the stock off I noticed that the forward screw for the sling was protruding above the stock about an 1/16", but it didn't look like it was touching the barrel. I pulled the screw and filed it down and put the rifle and scope back together, and went down to the range. With 3-4 minutes between shots and getting it close at 50 yards, I started walking it over to 2" high at 100yds. I ended up with 2 of the 3 touching, and the 3rd shot 3/8" away before the range closed. It had to be the forward sling screw, but I think breaking everything down and cleaning as thouroughly as I did helped as well.
Thanks for all the great advice and tips Gentlemen.

ORsouthpaw · 09-12-2008, 08:23 AM

I alway place a small soft nylon washer under the head of my forward sling screw. It does two things:

1. It keeps the screw from protruding into the barrel bed.
2. It acts like a lock washer and keeps the screw from rotating.

If you filed the screw make sure to put some type of coating over the raw materal. Steel will rust and if it's brass it will tarnish and likley promote oxide along the bottom of the barrel.