22-250 barrel life

T

Timotheus

Guest
Well I took the plunge and ordered a Lrpv 22-250 1:9 tw with a Bushnell 4200 Elite 6.5-24x50mm. From what I have read on this and other forums the barrel life is considerably less than in 223. If i shoot 75g A-MAx's through it almost exclusively would this increase barrel life? Ie the reduced velocities would compare with a 50g bullet out of a 223 reducing in wear...?
 
If you buy a big truck, you will have greater fuel consumption than a sedan car. It's just the way things are. If barrel life is high on your list, 22-250 isn't that good a choice for you. Possibly heavy bullets with their reduced charges may mitigate it some but you probably won't get close to 2000 rounds, not even close to comparable with a 223 in barrel life. But you can push that 75 grain bullet a lot faster. That ought to be a great 600 yard round.

I burned out several 22-250 barrels but I shot a lot.

Good choice on the scope.
 
Out shooting by buddies with AR's in 223 at 500+ was my main goal :) Barrel life is a small draw-back I'm getting a custom tube as soon as it gets worn. Just been doing a ton of searching through the threads talking about the increased velocities reducing barrel life in 22-250 and 6.5x284. The 223 and 22-250 shoot the same bullet but the 22-250 has more powder hence the increased velocity. So I'm curious what has the most effect on barrel life... ie does bullet weight and velocity have a proportional relationship to barrel life or does one affect more than the other? Hows barrel life on a .308 which I can switch to easily if I'm not mistaken... just trying to get a grasp on new things.
 
Holding the bore size constant, barrel life gets shorter as case capacity gets larger, if pressures are similar. There are other variables, some powders burn hotter than others, and rate of fire as it relates to internal barrel temperature is a variable. I gather that you are thinking that if you reduce velocity by shooting a heavy bullet that you will get barrel life similar to a smaller case at the same velocity, with a lighter bullet. I do not think that this is the case.
 
220 Swift is known as barrel burner..

The 22-250 run at high velocity and high presures fall just behind the 220 Swift. Depending on your accuracy expectations are. It also depends on how hot you shoot the barrel. If you use the rifle for F-Class and shoot 22-30 rounds in 17 minutes your barrels will not last as long as if you shoot a ground hog once or twice a month.

In the F-class situation you might expect 900- 1500 rounds. In the hunting scenario you might get 3000 rounds.

Nat Lambeth
 
This is actually my first rifle, I like new hobbies and ammo loading and trajectory calculations appeals to me. At this point I'm only using it for 100 yd target practise ( in my new backyard :) ) the occasional prairie dog hunt and for tsengiggles at however far I can hit a coke can. No competition aspirations.... at this point at least. I do have a close friend (Forbes) who's dad just took 4 th at the williamsport 1000 br and there's talk of a club starting in Waco's, TX sometime but who knows. Would have to build a custom gun anyway.
 
Congrats on your 1st rifle. A 22-250 is what I started out with. Money was tight back in them days for sure. I own many firearms nowdays, but the 22-250 will always hold a special place in my heart
 
suggestion

Tim,
the real enemy of barrels is heat. when your barrel is getting warm give it some time to cool. my first 22-250 worked great for g-hogs for about 15 years till more hogs were being missed at 300 yds than hit. (and i bought it used!) so i rebarrelled. the 22-250 is not a real fussbutton as what it is fed too. (mine liked the 55gr sierra blitzkings and Varget) just follow your manuals and work up to an accurate load that is at or below the maxs set in the manuals. in mine it usually shoots best just below max. it likes full throttle but not held to the floor so to speak.
have fun Fred
 
The load that has really caught my attention is the 75 g A-MAX with varget. The AMAX has a BC of. 435 it really seems to be a great all purpose round short/long bucks the wind and it explodes g-hogs :) just gotta wait for em to get off of backorder from midway.
 
Stick a few bucks back a month while shoot'n it as is...
Then get ya a high-end pre-fit 22BR 1-8"twist for your LRPV and gain another 500+ rds of life. Typically wont give up any vel in the light bullets and only 80-100fps with the heavy pills... Accuracy........ GAIN.

Powder Valley has the 75grV-Max 600rd boxes in stock.. Best way $ to buy these...
http://www.powdervalleyinc.com/

Natchezss has the 100rd boxes...
http://www.natchezss.com/Bullets.cf...ornady .224 75 gr A-Max Rifle Bullets 100/box

Try the 60gr V-Max pills too ... + Varget...! ;)

cale
 
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For a careful observer that has a good bore scope and knows what to look for, the .22-.250 is the perfect chambered ctg to learn about barrel wear. Not many that wear out faster than your choice. Not as sexy but sure adds some life and is accurate is the .222 Remington. That's only if you are truly worried about barrel life.
 
Timotheus said:
Well I took the plunge and ordered a Lrpv 22-250 1:9 tw with a Bushnell 4200 Elite 6.5-24x50mm. From what I have read on this and other forums the barrel life is considerably less than in 223. If i shoot 75g A-MAx's through it almost exclusively would this increase barrel life? Ie the reduced velocities would compare with a 50g bullet out of a 223 reducing in wear...?
Click to expand...

I think Barrel life is overated,if you clean the barrel good and keep the barrel from getting hot it will last a long time,i put 4100 rds thru my 220 swift and it still shoots about an 1" groups at 100 yards,i never loaded it to max but close and it has performed very good at 400 plus yards with 60 grain hornady Hp's.
I thinki it also depends on the powders you use,fast powders with high flame temps will burn the throat faster.
 
As previously mentioned the barrels biggest enemy is hear, try to control your shooting so that you don't overheat it and it will maintain acceptable accuracy for a longer period of time.

At the current cost of reloading components you will have spent more on components before the barrel wears out than a replacement barrel will cost. Actually it is reaching the point that a good barrel is becoming one of the more inexpensive parts of the equation.

drover
 
75 grn. A-Max

Timotheus said:
The load that has really caught my attention is the 75 g A-MAX with varget. The AMAX has a BC of. 435 it really seems to be a great all purpose round short/long bucks the wind and it explodes g-hogs :) just gotta wait for em to get off of backorder from midway.
Click to expand...

I'm shooting the 80 grn. A-Maxes out of a Kreiger 1 in 8" .22-250 A.I. and it drops groundhogs like a Vulcan laser beam! I'm using RL 22 at a near max load as per the Sierra manual. If you like to shoot and love speed be advised you'll wear out barrels; it's the price for admission. Bear in mind that one minute of groundhog is a little different than one minute of angle.

Lou Baccino
 
I have often wondered and even speculated about which is worse on a
barrel. The sharp peak of a fast powder or the longer burn time
of slow powders. Does anyone really know
 
I'm not worried about getting more than 1500 rds out of it. I did have some misconceptions about other calibers lasting 8000+ and still holding under 1 MOA. 22-250 has always been my favorite round and the biggest upgrade for the lrpv is a good br barrel so ooh well if shoot this one out. Plus I think my buddy is gonna blow out his barrel faster in his AR with semi-auto 223 than my single shot lrpv 22-250. He raps off shots and never cleans it.
 
Bob Kingsbury said:
I have often wondered and even speculated about which is worse on a
barrel. The sharp peak of a fast powder or the longer burn time
of slow powders. Does anyone really know
Click to expand...

Bob,

I can't claim to "know" but a couple years ago I did an experiment on two factory 22-250 barrels with loads using RL15 and R10x. At least on those two the lands eroded away (first bullet contact further toward muzzle) just under twice as fast with the faster RL10x than with the slower RL15. The test was terminated after 200 rounds of each for obvious reasons.
 
barrel life

Timotheus said:
I'm not worried about getting more than 1500 rds out of it. I did have some misconceptions about other calibers lasting 8000+ and still holding under 1 MOA. 22-250 has always been my favorite round and the biggest upgrade for the lrpv is a good br barrel so ooh well if shoot this one out. Plus I think my buddy is gonna blow out his barrel faster in his AR with semi-auto 223 than my single shot lrpv 22-250. He raps off shots and never cleans it.
Click to expand...

I've had several barrels chambered in Ackley chamberings that have shot well even after 1500 rds. The most recent was a .243 A.I. 1 in 10" Douglas that I retired and gave to a friend of mine. The throat and first several inches of rifling looked like a dry watering hole in the Serengheti. My buddy sent me pictures of groups he shot with that rifle that made me envious. He's still shooting tiny groups at over 2000 rds. through that barrel. Mind you, this is a varmint rifle, not benchrest but it is still pretty impressive. I have a .22-250 A.I. 1 in 8" Kreiger I bought used for $75.00. I had it re-chambered and recrowned by the gunsmith who originally chambered it and it's a laser beam. I never allow my barrels to get hot and generally clean after every 20 rds.

Lou Baccino
 
Boyd Allen said:
Holding the bore size constant, barrel life gets shorter as case capacity gets larger, if pressures are similar. There are other variables, some powders burn hotter than others, and rate of fire as it relates to internal barrel temperature is a variable. I gather that you are thinking that if you reduce velocity by shooting a heavy bullet that you will get barrel life similar to a smaller case at the same velocity, with a lighter bullet. I do not think that this is the case.
Click to expand...

Boyd,

Do you think it would be correct to say...... holding the bore size constant, barrel life decreases as a function of an increase in powder burned.?

Bill Morrison told me the other day that he had a 220 swift with 3500 rounds and it still shot "well, but not always x's" ....as he put it. He buttoned a barrel for my friend Mike a couple years ago, and told us to load it down to 3800 ft/sec with 52 grain bullets.

Ben
 
Well everyone seems to agree proper cleaning and heat control are the best way to maximize life. So I think from what I've gathered a tipton cf rod with a Lucas bore guide and some kg 12 after every 20-30 rounds. Now on a g-hog hunt I can go longer without cleaning with Molly coated bullets say 60-75-100...?
 
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