6xc barrel life

[Swarovski1]

Hi all.can anyone tell me what barrel life is on a 6xc.shot count

[The Gun Pimp]

Well, I'm currently running a 6XC - for F Class and 1000yd benchrest. I also have a few other 'sixes'.

 

Barrel life depends on usage. If you don't let it get really hot (F Class) it will generally go 50% longer than in benchrest. Powder is also a factor - double-base powders can seriously shorten barrel life!

 

A 6-284 will probably go 750 rounds in F Class where the barrel doesn't get really hot - or 500 in benchrest where it does get hot. My 243AI didn't last much longer than the 6-284 in benchrest but I've seen 'em go to 1200. A 6BR will go 2000 plus so I'm hoping for maybe 1500 out of the 6XC - fingers crossed!

[jcampbellsmith]

I've no idea. My round count is about 275 rounds. I suggest you ask me again in 2020. Best regards JCS

[Swarovski1]

Thank gp.what do you call getting hot.how many shots in what time space.my 6.5 06 must have done near 1000 shots .I did keep count to begin with but forgot once or twice and gave up.its still shooting really well.ive got to have done 25x24 shot cofs and alot of ammo testing.i just like making my rifles shooting alsort of ammo.ive wasted alot of the barrels life doing it but I like it.my cofs are 4 shot details.shortest detail is 20 seconds

[The Gun Pimp]

In 600 and 1000 yd benchrest, we'll put five - or ten - shots down as quickly as possible - that means 5 shots in 15 seconds. Prior to that, you'll have warmed the barrel with half a dozen sighters.

 

With F Class, it's fire one shot - target goes down - comes up 30 secs later - partner fires a shot - target goes down etc etc - so its one shot every 2 or 3 minutes. Barrel gets warm but not hot.

 

But, it's all down to expectations. You expect a 6PPC benchgun to shoot quarter-inch groups most of the time with the occasional 'one'. When it shoots in the 'threes' most of the time with the occasional quarter-incher, it's goosed, yet most shooters would probably be happy with that level of accuracy. A 6PPC benchgun is good (competitive) for 12 - 1500 rounds but if you built a 6PPC for general shooting it'd probably do 2500 and still shoot sub, half MOA.

 

Jcampbellsmith makes a good point - how many rounds do we really shoot in a year and how many years do we want a barrel to last? My 7mmWSMs would be good for 450 - 500 rounds in 1000 yd benchrest but that's two years of competition - I'm happy with that.

[Swarovski1]

We zero, it could be an hour before we shoot are comp,4 siters in 30 seconds, targets are gone for 3 or 4 mins getting marked and scored, target comes up then 60 secs then 50,40,30 and 20 secs,3 or 4 mins inbetween each detail, barrel does get time to cool inbetween details but definately doesnt go cold, the barrel is hottish at the end, can easily hold it.

[Shuggy]

It really does depend what sort of shooting you are doing. I was thinking about a recent shoot on an ETR range. The targets only take a couple of seconds to reset. You could happily hammer a shot off every 10-15 seconds for 20 minutes if you really wanted to. I worked my way through quite a few boxes of GGG ball in my 308 and the barrel got very hot indeed. The moderator was so hot that it had to be rolled in the wet grass to cool it down before I could pack it away. Doing that with a 6XC or similar cartridge probably wouldn't be very kind on the barrel. A 308 or similar underbore cartridge is much more tolerant of such things, so I reckon there will always be room for one in my cabinet.

[Laurie]

The T2K using 6XC CSR shooters with their Schneider polygonal rifling barrels on this forum said that they (barrels) 'die suddenly' at 2,000 rounds when I looked at adopting the cartridge a few years back. Again, points about speed of firing, length of strings, and required precision levels are relevant as BR quality groups and hitting a Fig 11 with every shot are different benchmarks.

[gbal]

There is some great info in the replies already.

Usage and realistic needs should be factored in,especially for 'field shooters/varminters"-as JCS says,a stalker might get 10+seasons from a barrel,even if very profligate....and Vince's point about competitive precision is spot on(well,within .1moa!)-

 

Varminters may crave .25 precision,and a few even get it,but it isn't essential,and a rifle shooting double that might never be noticed to be significantly diminished 'in the field'...(too many other factors contribute to 'misses',and 'first shot to POA' is what really matters.)

 

So,given there are different legitimate criteria,for the 'average' (field) shooter,do we know what the "effective /fit for purpose"-barrel life is for various cartridges....? (and the likely 'rate of decay' as the end approaches...)...mitigated of course by all the factors mentioned,though some are less likely.

 

gbal

[Chris-NZ]

F- Class shooting is very different now in New Zealand. Most ranges now use Silver Mountain electronic targets so there's no delay in marking and you can fire again as soon as you like as it's individual shooting, not Bisley style.

 

Here's my son in action at 500yds last Saturday using my old target rifle that has been modified/rebarreled for F-TR.

 

 

You can see he's got all shots away in under 3mins and the "effers' often do the same. Not much better than BR shooters really as regards rate of fire effect on barrels. I often get all shots away in under 3mins with my 6x47L.

 

To give you some scale, that last shot (in orange) is 0.4 mins right and 0.4min low from dead centre. The figures are in small print near the top.

[bradders]

The T2K using 6XC CSR shooters with their Schneider polygonal rifling barrels on this forum said that they (barrels) 'die suddenly' at 2,000 rounds when I looked at adopting the cartridge a few years back. Again, points about speed of firing, length of strings, and required precision levels are relevant as BR quality groups and hitting a Fig 11 with every shot are different benchmarks.

2k seems about right based on my observations of the few who shoot 6XC's in our club (HighPower, not CSR) although one has been shot in CSR on occasion.

Firing is either 1rd per minute in Highpower (30 secs in CSR), or 10rds in 60-70 secs (45 secs in CSR)