Author Topic: which varmint calibler has longest barrel life (Read 1359 times)

C.J · « **on:** January 06, 2005, 05:08:02 AM »

im curious to know which would have the longest barrel life .223 rem, .22 250 rem, 243 win, 25-06 the reason i ask is cause i want to get a rifle i can shoot mainly coyotes with and also shoot alot of targets and the odd varmint it will be a heavy barrel and i just dont want to replace the barrel every couple years

PA-Joe · « **Reply #1 on:** January 06, 2005, 05:13:05 AM »

Until you start pushing over 3500 fps they will all have about the same.

SD Handgunner · « **Reply #2 on:** January 06, 2005, 06:03:52 AM »

Of the 4 cartridges you listed the .223 should offer the longest barrel life. Rifles barrels last a long, long time. The real problem lies in the Chamber Throat, and heat is the biggest kulpret in terms of erroding a barrel throat. With that said then it would seem that the cartridge that uses the least amount of powder would provide the longest barrel life. Granted there are other things that go in to it as well, not the least of which is the individual barrel and the steel it is made from.

Larry

Ramrod · « **Reply #3 on:** January 06, 2005, 11:01:44 AM »

C.J., generally, the cartridge loaded to the lowest pressure and velocity will have the longest barrel life. In this case the .22-250 would have the shortest, but you are not likely to shoot out the barrel with less than several thousand rounds if you take reasonable care of it.

Lawdog · « **Reply #4 on:** January 06, 2005, 11:20:37 AM »

C.J,

What 'SD Handgunner' and 'PA-Joe' has said is true. Wearing a barrel out takes time - burning a barrel out can be done quickly. Just live on the ragged edge of maximum loads and it doesn't take long, say 1,000 rounds or less(usually much less). My old Ruger M77V(tang safety model) in .25-06 has over 2,500 rounds thru it and the throat is still in excellent shape. A Remington M722 .243 has about 3,000 rounds thru it and the bore is in great shape. Same goes for my .224 Weatherby Magnum(the ballistic twin of the .22-250) and when I retired it, it had over 2,200 rounds thru it. I retired it because of it's collector's value made it worth more to do so. If you keep the velocities down to within reason any of the four cartridges you stated will last a very long time. Take your pick, but for what you stated I would go with either the .223 Rem. or the .22-250. Lawdog

C.J · « **Reply #5 on:** January 06, 2005, 01:09:24 PM »

thanks for the quick responses i like to stay a coulpe grains below max when reloading for a couple reasons mainly safety and i suppose any of the calibers would be fine so far im leaning toward the .223 cause im in a rural area so what is the maximum range for a quick clean kill on yotes with the .223 iv heard 300yds or so is this a reasonable max distance or will it kill out past that

Ramrod · « **Reply #6 on:** January 06, 2005, 11:51:47 PM »

The .223 might be capable of killing past 300, but wind and drop work against making a clean hit. 250 is a more realistic range, as you can forget about drop if you sight in a couple inches high at 100 yards. If you plan on much long range shooting, the .22-250 or one of the larger calibers is what you want.

SD Handgunner · « **Reply #7 on:** January 07, 2005, 04:38:47 AM »

While I have no way of verifying this I have always been told that slower burning powders errode a throat at a slower rate than do faster burning powders. ie pick a powder that is on the slow end of what is acceptable for a given cartridge.

Larry

Donaldo · « **Reply #8 on:** January 07, 2005, 09:31:02 AM »

In most cases the throat area is the first to go with the hot loaded calibers you listed. Some rifles like the Savage can have a bit of the breach cut off and the chamber re-cut to extend the life of the barrel.

Ramrod · « **Reply #9 on:** January 07, 2005, 10:41:38 AM »

Donaldo and SD Handgunner are both correct, but it does take alot of rounds to erode the throat if you are not loading to the max. Anyone shooting that much usually reloads. If accuracy falls off because of erosion, it can many times be restored by simply seating the bullets further out.