KSdeerhuntr

What do you guys know about burnt out barrel's in the 22-250? Is this caused by rapid shooting or does it always happen over time by shooting this high velocity catridge? How do you tell if the barrel is burnt out and is there anything you can do to prevent it? Also I have a Savage Model 12 FVSS heavy fluted barrel will this help some and what would it cost to replace this barrel?

kinny

I partly answered this question in your other post, but if you want some more info... I have read that rapid shooting by itself does not wear out a barrel, it is more a function of how long the powder burns in the throat of the rifle. For example a heavier bullet with a slow burning powder willhave a longer burn timein the throat and cause more damage/erosionthan a light bullet with a quicker burning powder. How fast you shoot or how hot you get the barrel does not make a significant difference. I am not sure I buy into this theory completely (especially the part about the heat not making a difference). Either way the only way to not burn the barrel out is to not shoot it much. I could tell when my barrels were shot out two ways: 1)the gun would shoot all over the place and 2)the first 4-6 inches of the barrel looked more like a 12 gauge shotgun than a rifled barrel. I suppose you could by a factory replacement barrel (for a couple hundred dollars?) if money is tight, but the best way to go is to put a premium barrel (Hart, Shilen, Lilja, Pac-Nor, Krieger, Douglas, Clay Spencer...) on it. Accuracy will be better, cleaning is MUCH easier, and life of this new barrel will be farlonger than a factory barrel. This will cost you around $600.

bigcountry

Throat errosion is the easiest way. But you wan to look at the throat with a borescope. You might start seeing heat cracks.

Another thing to look for is rounded over or rough rifling.

stubblejumper

Throat erosion is caused by a combination of heat and pressure.Large capacity overborecases that burn more powder will erode throats at a faster rate than small capacity cases with the same bore size.As well rapid fire that causes the barrel to heat up excessivelywill accelerate throat erosion significantly.Letting the barrel cool between groupswill extend barrel life.If your accuracy begins to deteriorate it may be due to throat erosion but it may also be to copper deposits in the barrel.

jmfa1957

Once you've satisfied that your accuracy problems are caused by throat erosion and not simply by copper fouling, you might try some David Tubb Final Finish bullets. These are abrasive bullets that you need to handload; they can often extend the useful life of a barrel whose throat is eroded a bit. I have used them in brand new barrels and they definitely helped with accuracy.

Here's a link that describes them...

http://www.jarheadtop.com/article_finalfinish.html

You can buy these bullets in various calibers from Midway, or from the site above in .308 and .223 caliber only. Again, these are bullets ONLY, not loaded ammo.

Roskoe

In addition to throat erosion and copper fouling, there is also thedreaded "hard powder fouling" that can cause a drop off in accuracy. I would generally expect a .22-250 barrel to last about 2,000 rounds under less than ideal conditions, and more than 3,000 rounds under optimum conditions. If you can gain access to one of those Hawkeye bore scopes, like Big Country recommended, you can eliminate or confirm throat erosion right away.

mossy33oak

this is exactly what I have always been told. I would first use a good copper remover (benchrest, schwedes (sp?) ) to try to get your barrel back to original condition, if accuracy is still bad, then take to a good smith and let him check the rifling/throat with a scope. It can be difficult for a person who doesnt know what they are looking for to use a scope properly. Do you reload? if so you can monitor throat errosion by using the stoney point oal guage and constantly check your seating depths. If you notice you are seating your bullets further out to retain the same distance from the rifling you have throat errosion.