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HelterSkelter
December 21, 2010, 09:48 PM
i have a remington 700 adl for hunting deer. i was wanting to go to the range regularly and shoot it but i have been told by a few people that this will wear out the barrel fairly quickly since it is a deer rifle and not a rifle designed for target shooting. is this true or would i be fine putting a few hundred rounds through it each year?

James H
December 21, 2010, 09:59 PM
Welcome to the forum.

And...Seriously? The few people who told you this are morons. Don't listen to anything regarding firearms they tell you ever again!!

Shoot to your heart's content. The more the better. You're not going to wear out the barrel. You'll become a much better shot, though, which is a good thing when hunting.

banditt007
December 21, 2010, 10:01 PM
Its fine, and will not harm it at all. You will really screw up the gun w/ improper cleaning way easier than shooting it. As a general rule, shoot a few rounds out of it, meaning 1-5 or so, and let it cool off w/ the bolt open for max air flow. As an easy rule, if you cannot comfortably hold your barrel, its too hot let it cool. That info you heard about it screwing it up, is bad info plain and simple.

jmr40
December 21, 2010, 10:08 PM
Shooting too many rounds through the barrel too fast will wear it out pretty quickly. Shooting 3-5 rounds over a minute or so should not be a huge problem. Let the barrel cool between strings.

Depending on the weather this could take 5 minutes on a cold day or 20 minutes during the summer on a hot day. When it gets over 90 here during the summer I leave my truck running with the AC on and place 1 rifle on the front seat while shooting another. Taking several guns to the range to shoot while others cool is a good idea.

Even with care some barrels will start losing their accuracy potential after as few as 2000 rounds, or even less. That is target grade accuracy, most would still be fine for a hunting rifle for quite a few more.

Jim Watson
December 21, 2010, 10:11 PM
What caliber?
If something ordinary like a .30-06 you would be good for at least a decade of a few hundred shots per year; probably more if you keep your rate of fire down. For casual shooting, I fire one shot a minute for 5 or 10 rounds, then let the barrel cool while I shoot my other rifle.

44 AMP
December 21, 2010, 10:12 PM
Deer caliber rifles, properly cared for have shown to maintain "minute of deer" accuracy for around 5,000 to 8,000 rounds. Some a bit less, some a bit more. Most hunters, even those who practice a "few hundred" rounds a year will be decades shooting before they need to replace a worn out barrel.

High intensity magnum rifle rounds, and overbore varmint rounds generally last a lot less, before wear makes a noticable impact on their accuracy.

And the change in accuracy may just mean that the rifle isn't target grade anymore, but still quite usable and accurate for the game fields. What I mean is that when you finally get enough wear that the 3/4 MOA rifle you had when new now only shoots 1.5 MOA at its best, its still more than accurate enough for deer and other big game at any reasonable range.

Parts, including barrels wear. It is a natural consequence of use. But don't be concerned, as you will spend many time the cost of the rifle in ammo (even if you handload) before you wear out the barrel, just from shooting it properly.

And, if you do happen to ever reach that point, a new barrel, plus the labor to install it are still much less than the cost of a new rifle.

Don't listen to those "experts" that gave you that BS "advice". They aren't anywhere near correct.

Slamfire
December 21, 2010, 10:13 PM
have a remington 700 adl for hunting deer. i was wanting to go to the range regularly and shoot it but i have been told by a few people that this will wear out the barrel fairly quickly since it is a deer rifle and not a rifle designed for target shooting. is this true or would i be fine putting a few hundred rounds through it each year?

Barrel life is different for different calibers.

You did not state what cartridge you were using.

Based on talks with target shooters, something like a 243 has a 1000 round target accuracy life. Maybe a bit more. These guys are trying to shoot within 12 inches at 600 yards, and barrels that don't shoot well at 600 yards will still shoot well at 300 yards, so maybe the practical barrel life is much more.

.223 easily have 3000 round barrel life.

I am very familiar with 308/30-06. These will go 3500-5000 depending on barrel steel, rifling type.

I have no idea what a 270 Win would have.

I would think something like a 300 Win Mag would have half the barrel life of a 308, but I don't know. Just that high pressure and lots of powder down a tube are hard on throats.

So, maybe that helps.

OlCrip
December 21, 2010, 10:22 PM
The guys on this Forum are steering you straight, as usual. Lots of knowledge here. Heed it. I have an old 1903 Springfield, .30-06, that I sporterized back in the 60's, when those rifles were $40. Still has the military issue barrel on it that it was built with. It shot into 1" when I built it, it still shoots into 1". I don't abuse it but it's had several thousand rounds through it. I've always let it cool down between 5 shot strings and if the barrel was too hot to touch, as on a very hot day, I let it cool even longer. Your rifle will still serve your Grandkids just fine.

HelterSkelter
December 21, 2010, 10:27 PM
thanks guys, i thought this was so but i wanted to know for sure before i went back to the range with the gun. its a 308 btw.

bamaranger
December 21, 2010, 10:45 PM
A .308 huh.

The target rifle crowd says a .308 will go 4000-5000 rds when shot at the match rate of 15 and 20 rd strings in about the same # of minutes. And that is until loss of competitive accuracy, not field accuracy.

Shot at a reasonable rate of casual practice as has been suggested, and it will go even longer.

Have at it and enjoy.

700sage
December 21, 2010, 10:52 PM
Well, I have an example of a worst case scenario for barrel life. I own a model 700 in 7mm rem mag that is over 28 years old. It has nearly 3000 rounds down the barrel and shoots 1" groups at 200 yards! I shoot about 50-60 rounds a year through it these days but used to shoot 200-300 a year. The only reason I shoot it less is because I've got lots of load data on it and can load for any game in North America. There's no reason to shoot it other than to burn up ammo that's been sitting around for a while. I have other guns that I'm working with to get load data that give me the practice I want. Anyhow, the moral of the story is you will be fine. After a few years you'll buy another rifle anyway. What fun is a rifle that doesn't have a brother or sister?

jhgreasemonkey
December 21, 2010, 11:02 PM
Even if you did manage to "shoot the barrel out" with lot's and lot's of shooting, the remington 700 is completely rebuildable. There is a huge base of parts and service available. To rebarrel your rifle would only be around $350ish including barrel if you went through E.r. shaw or a similar company. No worries man. Have a great time with your rifle and shoot it sensibly like the guys above explained and you can easily use it for life and still hand down a decent rifle. I used my hunting partners grandfathers remington 700 that looks like it has been through a war to take my last deer. It still shoots with decent accuracy and is completely reliable. Anyway's my point is that you don't have a disposable rifle, it's a good one.

Jimro
December 22, 2010, 02:17 AM
HelterSkelter,

If you shoot 20 rounds a week, that is just 1040 rounds per year. At 1040 rounds per year you have around 8 to 14 years of serviceable life on that barrel.

And when you shoot that barrel out, a new barrel will run you a few hundred depending on exactly what you want.

So shoot away, enjoy your rifle. But also get a 22 for target practice, because you can buy 1100 rounds of 22 for around 40 bucks, where 308 is hard to find for less than 50 cents per round.

Jimro

sc928porsche
December 22, 2010, 06:36 AM
Wow. Guess I better get a new barrel for my 300WM......over 5000rds put through it. Still seems to shoot about 1 MOA

pabuckslayer08
December 22, 2010, 06:41 AM
For a common shooter you should just shoot till the shoulder is pure blue. You will never hurt a rifle from over shooting it. Just clean it up nice when your done and your ready to go again