Barrel wear on rifles chambered in .223?

[jwai86]

Many advertisements for used rifles include statements by sellers about how many rounds they've put through them. Such statements are difficult to verify, but assuming that you are using factory ammunition, how many rounds would you need to put through a rifle chambered in .223 before the resulting barrel wear starts affecting overall performance?

[AZZA'S HJ47]

General word of moth a 223 sound be good for 3500-5000 rounds ultimately going to depend on the cleaning and what the nut on the trigger is doing. I have a bore scope picture of my 223 and i think ive had 1000 rounds through it and not alot of diffrence from what i can see from new

[bladeracer]

Many advertisements for used rifles include statements by sellers about how many rounds they've put through them. Such statements are difficult to verify, but assuming that you are using factory ammunition, how many rounds would you need to put through a rifle chambered in .223 before the resulting barrel wear starts affecting overall performance?

It will depend somewhat on the rifle itself, the ammo used, the type of shooting, the cleaning regimen, and the weather it's been subjected to. But several thousand rounds at least before you would expect to see a measurable increase in group size - probably 10,000rds plus for most of us here in Australia before it would no longer head-shoot foxes at 300m. A roo or fox shooter who is burning a hundred rounds a week might wear out the barrel in a couple of years perhaps. Somebody who goes to the range once a month but shoots 200rds in an hour might burn it out sooner. The .223 is not what most would consider a barrel-burning cartridge. It only burns about 25gn of powder, or less with heavier bullets. But for a pure target rifle you might be wanting a new barrel within a couple thousand rounds, or less if you push it hard.

[MontyShooter]

I would have said somewhere between 10-20k for 223

[Pighunter]

I asked my friend in Arizona, he said the average AR-15 barrel life is about 20,000 - 25,000 rounds. He said a bolt action should last longer than that because they are generally not having 30 rounds put through them in quick succession, allowing the barrels to cool more and sustain less wear from copper jackets on the metal of the barrel. I'm not sure if all of that is correct, but he's been using AR-15's for over 15 years and bolt actions for a lot longer than that.

[Larry]

I would put the number at more like 3000-5000 rounds. In an AR-15 you may not notice the degradation of the barrel as much as a target shooter would. Target rifles may even get less depending on each particular barrel. Some are better than others.

[dnedative]

Depends what your shooting and how you clean it.
I remember seeing that M4 carbines in the US typically go 15,000 rounds before they are due for replacement, replacement because accuracy drops off enough where you cant qualify with it. Those things would get run hard and cleaned by people who dont give a f***.

Good barrel, looked after, 10,000 minimum I reckon before it starts to drop off.
If your shooting some sort of bench rest discipline, probably less.

[SCJ429]

I have a Tikka hammer forged factory barrel, when new it would consistently shoot groups in the 0.2 of an inch. After about 3,000 rounds I noticed I could not shoot groups better than 0.3 consistently. At 4,500 rounds accuracy was down to 0.4 of an inch and it copper fouled badly. It needed the copper to be removed after around 30 rounds to get it back to 0.4. I rebarrelled it after that.

[deye243]

I have a Tikka hammer forged factory barrel, when new it would consistently shoot groups in the 0.2 of an inch. After about 3,000 rounds I noticed I could not shoot groups better than 0.3 consistently. At 4,500 rounds accuracy was down to 0.4 of an inch and it copper fouled badly. It needed the copper to be removed after around 30 rounds to get it back to 0.4. I rebarrelled it after that.

This is how I see it also with a factory barrel and you are chasing fine groups still perfectly capable for Spotlighting out the window at night but I'm very much like you myself as soon as my barrel starts to open up there gone that's why now I buy howas I brought a tikka stainless varmint 1:8 twist and the only bullet that it woud shoot was a 55g so it went straight back to the shop 8 weeks after I bought it at least now with howas you can buy another barreled action cheaper than you can get a barrel fitted I have three howas here also half inch guns I used to own a 7mm mag it was also sub half inch and a 243

[northdude]

Ive heard that some powders can be more agressive than others on barrels as well. Not sure if true or not..

[jwai86]

Thanks for the replies. Barrel life being estimated in thousands of rounds helps put things in perspective when sellers say they have put less than 100 rounds through their rifles. Assuming they are telling the truth, that is a tiny fraction of a barrel's potential effective life.

[MontyShooter]

Just about every rifle advertised for sale has less than 100 rounds through it. Even though they often come with dies and brass etc.

[jwai86]

Just about every rifle advertised for sale has less than 100 rounds through it. Even though they often come with dies and brass etc.

Are you suggesting that such statements should simply be ignored?

[dnedative]

Just about every rifle advertised for sale has less than 100 rounds through it. Even though they often come with dies and brass etc.

And every used 4WD for sale has never been driven on the beach or off road

I generally believe it when it comes to 45-70 lever actions, lots of folk buy em who dont reload and soon come to the conclusion $80 a box for ammo is expensive.

[bladeracer]

Just about every rifle advertised for sale has less than 100 rounds through it. Even though they often come with dies and brass etc.

Are you suggesting that such statements should simply be ignored?

I would, it's as meaningless as mileage on a car advert - means nothing at all.
High mileage at least means it was enjoyable to drive, low mileage might just mean it's a pig so it always got left at home. Could be the same reason the rifle hardly got used.

[SCJ429]

If you are worried, get the seller to take the rifle to your gunsmith and get him to put a bore scope down the barrel. If you are buying a 300 RUM, with a round count over 800, you would expect to need a new barrel. A 308 WIn with 800 would be no big deal.

[22Whorenut]

As already mentioned, depends on expectation/demand of accuracy. A pro shooter who ran a group of pro shooters figured on around 10,000 rounds on HB Tikka’s. Interesting he felt he got a couple of thousand extra rounds by docking the muzzle 4 inches when accuracy started to cause misses. He needed MOA performance and his team bought 10 HB Tikka’s from Mialls every year.