brett1868 wrote:I hear on a regular basis how such and such caliber is a barrel burner but as yet I've never come across a hunter that's managed to burn one out. Sure, target shooters can wear out barrels but their tolerance for group size is far tighter then that of a hunter.
Plus the number of rounds a keen target shooter would go through compared to your average hunter. Pro culling is a different kettle of fish again.
Even shooting casually, say twice a month for 10 months of the year, a modest 24 rounds for club f-class per visit, a 3000 round barrel life will last you 6 years. Push it up to once a week and a prize meeting every month (say 36 rounds minimum) and you're 3000 round barrel life is down to about 2.5 years. If you are really serious then you won't be happy with the rifle's accuracy after a lot less than the 3000 but as Brett says, those 3000 rounds will last most hunters a lifetime. Lets say you shoot 20 foxes and 80 rabbits over your 10 fox/bunny hunting trips per year: that's 30 years of hunting.
In the above comparison, the moderately keen target shooter shoots as much in a month as the average hunter does in a year.
Yes, there are those that shoot a crap load more but there are also those who are happy shooting less.