Barrel throat erosion--how to lessen

getitdone1 · Post by **getitdone1** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 9:39 am

I'm wondering if there's a barrel steel or barrel liner that would slow down the throat erosion that's such a problem with the faster, overbore cartridges. My main concern is the 243 Winchester.

Be nice to be able to sometimes shoot fast with this cartridge from a lever-action or semi-auto without being worried about throat erosion and damaging the accuracy of the barrel.

Does anyone make barrels that can take some rapid fire and last longer than regular barrels?

Will my stainless Browning A-Bolt chambered for 243 Win. be better about throat erosion than standard blued steel barrel? I typically wait a couple of minutes between shots with this gun and cartridge depending on outdoor temperature and how hot barrel feels.

Don McCullough

homefront · Post by **homefront** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 10:28 am

No expert here, but my understanding is that stainless will erode more slowly than carbon, and some powders, like Winchester 748, burn cooler and also save some erosion.

ScottT · Post by **ScottT** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 10:45 am

If you shoot enough rounds to worry about throat erosion, you will have spent far more on ammo than a new barrel costs.

Post by **Chuck 100 yd** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 11:01 am

I agree with Homefront and Scott. The .243 is NOT acartridge known for high level of erosion and with common load levels should last for a couple thousand rounds before accuracy goes down the drain.
There are a couple of Benchrest guys I know of that set their barrels back and rechamber every 2-300 rounds to maintain peak performance but in that sport a couple thousandths seperate winners from the also rans.

Post by **Old Savage** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 12:44 pm

My .243 BLR has 650 rds through it - last group I recorded was under .65" at 100yds. The barrel is carbon steel. It appears to behave no differently than it did when new.

marlinman93 · Post by **marlinman93** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 3:25 pm

I shot my .22-250 for well over 20 years and never saw any signs of accuracy lost, or erosion. When I sold it last year to a friend it was still shooting better than I could hold.
I never pushed it to the extreme limits, but I did run to good average or above loads that put a 55 gr. bullet out at 3500 fps. I always felt that the key to reducing barrel erosion was not to limit the rounds fired, but to not try and wring every ounce of velocity out of a gun.

Buffboy · Post by **Buffboy** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 3:57 pm

As long as you don't try to empty the magazine in 3 seconds every time you shoot it, you shouldn't wear out a barrel in a LONG time. I have a 270 Remington 700 I bought in 1972 that's had countless thousands of rounds down the pipe and still shoots under MOA. Even considering I used it as a varmint rifle for many years with 90grHP Sierras, it shows no erosion at all. I just didn't rush my shooting and allowed ample time for the barrel to cool between shots.

Even though stainless steel will resist erosion longer than most, you're still going to wear it out quickly with rapid fire. You're going to have to go with a hard chrome lined barrel to have even a chance and even that is no guarantee that you won't eventually cook it. Machine guns like the M60 cooked barrels with monotonous regularity when pushed hard even with a chrome lining. I'm sure you can get one somewhere but I don't know where.

Pete44ru · Post by **Pete44ru** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 3:58 pm

Then again, ya kin always use cast pure-lead bullets & a good lube !

Charles · Post by **Charles** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 6:50 pm

"Much ado about nothing"... A .243 barrel will last at least 2,000 rounds, providing you don't shoot it fast and hot. After than install a new barrel.

Barrels that are not abused are seldom shot out. Barrels are cheap compared to the cost of ammo/components it takes to wash tme out.

Spend you time worrying about your children's moral development, having a quality marriage or world peace. Barrel life is not a big concern in life.

C. Cash · Post by **C. Cash** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 10:48 pm

I've not been lucky enough to burn up a barrel...broke lots of guns but never shot out a barrel. Well, there was that M-60 but I digress. I would think that powders which are in the middle burn rate wise would give you the best of both worlds....not prematurely wearing a barrel either fore or aft. Like alot of things though, my theories on mechanics may only be correct in my head and not the real world. For barrel steel I think you have a very strong/wear resistant barrel with 4140 Chrome Moly steel(what Winchester used and I know Shiloh uses barrels made of this stee)...I would assume yours is made of the same stuff and you should be in good shape. My Dad has been shooting his Husqvarna .243 since the early 60's and it still shoots little groups.
PS: Badger barrels and Green Mountain(note: not their ML barrels) are Chrome Moly as well.

Marc · Post by **Marc** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 12:06 pm

Check out this M-60! You will have to bring your lunch to burn this baby out:
http://home.att.net/~piodet46th/m60.htm#top

Now if you could get a 243 barrel made out of that stuff it should last.