barrel life

[mdram]

just curious as to real world barrel life people have experienced

[tdbru]

mdram,
it will be long. SAAMI spec is just 50K PSI (as compared to the 6.5 Creedmoor @ 65K PSI). Pressure is kind of low because the bolt thrust in an AR couldn't be greater than the 5.56x45 that it was designed around. since the case head has more area then a 5.56x45, to keep the force the same the pressure had to come down. but that's good in terms of barrel life. If i recall, this is the same pressure category as the 222 Rem and the 6.5x55, both of which have very long barrel lives. i suppose if one did continuous magazine dumps that would shorten the barrel life significantly, as it would in 5.56x45 or any other AR caliber. i'm guessing here, so understand that, but with non abusive fire rates i'd expect around 15K useful life.
-tdbru

[Happy2Shoot]

mdram the answer is irritating and not really what you want to hear.

You have to define "death of a barrel" for someone to answer lifetime of a barrel.

A three gunner may say death is keyholeing (about 10k to 20k rounds for a non-chrome 5.56 that is only shot rapid fire), bench rest shooter death may be above 1/2 MOA (3k to 4k rounds).

How well does your barrel shoot now? How fast do you shoot it? How many rounds in a range session?

If your barrel shoots 1.5 MOA and 2 moa is still OK, and you shoot no faster than once every 30 seconds, and you shoot around 30 rounds a day, a low pressure, low charge weight caliber round like 6.5 Grendel may last 15k rounds.

Why do you ask?

If you are waiting to shootout your current barrel to get a better one, just do it now. The 6.5 Grendel is an heirloom cartridge, lol.

[mdram]

i really dont know how well it will shoot, i am the weak link
its much better than i can hold it to

yeah i know i need to define it, im really happy with anything under 1 moa
i shoot 100-200 per session over the pan of 3-4 hours, so im not running it too hard

was asking just because i was curious
btw its a pf bartlein, so im more than happy with it

[LR1955]

i really dont know how well it will shoot, i am the weak link
its much better than i can hold it to

yeah i know i need to define it, im really happy with anything under 1 moa
i shoot 100-200 per session over the pan of 3-4 hours, so im not running it too hard

was asking just because i was curious
btw its a pf bartlein, so im more than happy with it

mdran:

I liken it to a .308. Eight to ten thousand ought to be right. Unless you shoot a lot at 300 and beyond and on small targets (you are a competitive shooter), chances are you won't really see anything and will shoot it until you get interested in another barrel for some reason.

LR55

[mdram]

not competative, i do it for relaxation
but these numbers sound nice, i was thinking 5k.
will have to see

[Happy2Shoot]

If you do start to loose precision, try cleaning the barrel. I don't keep a clean barrel as a matter of habit, but sometimes they do get junked up. Starting life with a Bartlein barrel will help prevent fouling buildup. When I think it's time to clean I use:

https://www.boretech.com/products/c4-carbon-remover

https://www.boretech.com/products/cu2-copper-remover

[mdram]

If you do start to loose precision, try cleaning the barrel. I don't keep a clean barrel as a matter of habit, but sometimes they do get junked up. Starting life with a Bartlein barrel will help prevent fouling buildup. When I think it's time to clean I use:

https://www.boretech.com/products/c4-carbon-remover

https://www.boretech.com/products/cu2-copper-remover

well i cleaned it after the first 100, then at 500, nect will be at 1k. im horrible.................
zero copper that i could see, and carbon came out easily

[Kosh65]

[Klem]

Roughly 10K rds.

Based on how long until you see the groups start to blow beyond 1MOA with a Bartlein in an AR, shooting this calibre. This is a good calibre for longevity.

[diddlyv]

Remember a new barrel costs a whole lot less than the ammo it takes to shoot one out, if properly maintained

[VASCAR2]