barrel life

[Baldy]

Just got me a new M77 in 22-250. Have shot some factory ammo using 40 gr Nosler BT's. The accuracy was great but the published velocity is around a screaming 4100 fps. Worked up some of my own loads using 34 gr of Varget and the same 40gr BT's. These chronograph around 3600fps, but are very very accurate. I guess I need some opinions. I will be shooting this thing a lot at prarie dogs. Probably around 2500 rounds per year. Am I going to gain much in barrel life by using my accurate mild handload at 3600 fps? Admittedly, I would be reducing the performance of this 22-250 to around that of a 223 Rem. I feel if I wanted 223 performance I should have just bought a 223. What say you guys? Should I let her rip at high velocity and forget about barrel life or load er down and try to get another year or two out of the barrel. I guess the pdogs wouldnt know the difference between 3600 fps and 4100 fps either way!

[skeet]

Hi Baldy, Welcome to Huntchat. Think You'll like it here. I have for quite a while. Lots to learn. As far as the loads shoot the light ones. You'll hit more P dogs and it'll kill 'em just as daid as the screamer. Load up some of the screamers for some of those ol holy crapo shots that are wayyy out there.Back when i shot groundhogs for funzies I usually tried to keep the velocity down a bit. Not as loud either. By the way...where are you in Nebraska? Moving to Wyoming soon myself.

[Jack]

Heat kills barrels.
If you shoot a lot, rapid fire, you can burn out a barrel in a day.
If you pace yourself, keep the barrel cool enough to lay your hand on, it'll last a lot longer- with either load.
Might last a bit longer with your slower handload, all else equal.

[BILLY D.]

baldy

i think you answered the question in your last sentence when you said the dogs would never know the difference between 3600 and 4000 fps+.

one thing to remember, you can always down load a 22-250 to be a 223 but there is no way to turn a 223 into a 22-250.

just food for thought.

good shootin'.

[Rocky Raab]

A warm (barrel) welcome from all of us.

Barrel life - as expressed by accuracy potential - is a very personal thing, I guess. A target shooter would throw away a barrel that shot 1/2" groups, but a deer hunter would hug and kiss that same barrel. A varmint hunter might be somewhere in between.

But the guys above are right: don't burn it and you'll have it a long time. Given reasonable care and you should get a good 10,000 shots out of a .22-250, even at full speed. But shoot it one day until it's smokin' hot, and that might be the end for that barrel.

Keep it clean, keep it cool and you'll keep it a long time.

[Mike Moss]

Good advice above.

The 243 will eat up barrels quite fast and in particular with a full charge load. The 55 gr load really does not have a special advantage over other potential 243 loads as it will drift a little more than longer bullets.

I suggest that you take at least two rifles and use the 243 for only long range shots were it would be superb.

Otherwise that 243 will not last til this October.

[Baldy]

Thanks for the replies guys. Now if the wind would quit blowing 50 miles an hour, maybe I could go zap some pdogs!

[skb2706]

Even tho I don't do it..........I say let 'er rip. No sense buying a Ferrari and drivin it like a Yugo.
Persoanlly I like to try to hit somewhere near middle of the road for my 22-250 ...not maxed out but not .223 levels either.

[Oleman]

Baldy

I use a load similar to your's a 50 gr. V-Max over Benchmark. It's as accurate as my old standby of IMR 4895 but faster. It pushes them at a little over 3900 fps. As for barrel ware well you know barrels do ware out. I'm not going to worry much about that. I've been using the load for a few years now and I guess I shoot 500 to a 1000 rounds through it a year. No signs of the barrel going away yet.

[Cal Sibley]

Take your time, pace your shots and that barrel will last a long time. We're lucky up here in Canada because our weather is not near so hot so our equipment tends to cool more quickly. Even at that I reach around and grab the barrel near the action. If it's cool enough I can keep my hand there comfortably then I'll take the next shot. If not I'll drink a cola, go for a whizz or smoke a cigarette. Anything but don't shot that hot barrel. New barrels don't come cheap today. Don't buy any more than you absolutely have to. Just one mans opinion. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

[Catfish]

Baldy,
Why are you shooting 40 grn. bullets in a .22-250 anyway??? If your not after the the fastest screaming thing you can find there is no reason. If your happy with 3,600 fps. a 55grn SBT will give you alot greater point blank range, about 30 yrds., it will also have alot less wind drift abt. (1/2) 61 in. at 500 yrds vs 31 in. I think you`ll be much happer with heaver bullets in the 250.

[Riposte1]

This is one area I have not touched on much. The only barrel I have shot out is a 5.56 and that one was due to too much ammo too fast I think.

Under normal use (when you are not shooting 5 shots a second), my impression is that what leads to short barrel life is throat errosion. Throat errosion, again just my impression, is related to the ammount of powder and pressure (naturally it is comlicated by the rate of fire)?

I am asking not telling. Is that too far off the mark?

Riposte

PS: I dont own a borescope but I have a .264 Win mag with about 10,000 rounds through it. It still shoots OK but I doubt the throat is very pretty.

[Rocky Raab]

What kills barrels is heat. Get the throat steel too hot and it burns, plain and simple.

How it gets that hot can get complicated.

The more powder you burn, the higher the heat potential of the burning gas, so heavy-charge loads create more heat.

The faster you shoot (rounds per minute) with any charge amount, the more heat gets deposited n the throat.

The lower the expansion ratio (volume of cartridge case plus bore volume compared to cartridge volume alone) the more pressure -and hence heat- is concentrated within the bore for longer times. This one may be difficult to imagine. But the bottom line is that big cases with small bullets create more throat damage than small case/larger bullet combos.

In this particular instance (a 40-gr bullet at a moderate 3600 fps from a .22-250) the load is not particularly intense. Pace your shots and you needn't worry about burning the barrel out for years and years.

[Riposte1]

Thanks for the prompt reply Rocky.

So, am I right in concluding that an intense "overbore" round (.264 Win mag, .220 Swift, .30/.378 WBY) might live a long time if one lets the barrel cool sufficiently between shots...or is that overly simplistic?

Thanks again,
Riposte

[Rocky Raab]

Not overly simplistic, but that's only one of the factors. You're still trying to funnel a whole lot of very hot gas down a fairly small hole, no matter how long between shots. So rounds like that will still be much more erosive than, say, a .308 or a .223.

Eroded throats and short(er) barrel life are just part of the price you have to accept for the high performance you get.

Still, with normal use, you should get 10,000 rounds before things go to pot.