What does "shot out barrel" mean?

[dewiseman]

Is it the throat/ headspace that erodes or is it the rifeling? Can you rechamber the barrel and have good accuracy, or is it better to replace the barrel?

 

[Michael Eichele]

Head space doesnt errode. The throat errodes the most and the fastest. You can set the barrel back a turn after it is cooked out IF the rest of the barrel is good. Sometimes several inches of riflings are degraded also. Most will agree that a barrel is "shot out" when it will no longer hold a resonable degree of accuracy. A resonable degree of accuracy will meen different things to different shooters. When a barrel starts shooting poorly, often times setting it back an inch or two will help, however if it took 800 rounds to loose accuracy you will likely NOT get another 800 accurate shots. It will likely be MUCH less. IMHO, when it is shot out, it is better to get a new barrel.

 

[canyonman1]

I use a uni-throater from PTG. If only the throat is eroded you can seat your bullets out farther as the throat wears,(called "chasing the lands") or have it throated longer, in which you'll have to seat them longer anyway for best accuracy.I prefer throating over chasing because you get a uniform throat. You likely wont if you chase. I like to throat when I notice a mineute change in accuracy not a radical one. I first check every inch with a bore scope. Longer throating usually means you are going to be shooting a single shot cause your rounds will be too long for the magazine. But thats how I shoot all my long range rifles anyhow.gun)

 

[J E Custom]

Most of the time the problem will be fowling and a back to bright metal cleaning is all that it needs.

Get a strong solvent like Sweets and work it over (Don't leave it in over 30 or 40 minutes at a time)
and keep going until you don't get any color on your patches. Every now and then use a swab
soaked in solvent to wet the barrel let stand and then patch it to see if there is any fouling left.

Bronze brushes are good to scrub with but they can give false readings because the solvent
dissolves some of the brush while cleaning.

after you stop getting any color then use a mild solvent like Hoppes #9 to remove any of the
strong solvents.

If it still won't shoot then look at the other methods mentioned.

I have saved many barrels buy doing a good cleaning. But be prepared to season the barrel
with a few shots to get back the accuracy you once enjoyed.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Doug in Alaska]

I have saved many barrels buy doing a good cleaning. But be prepared to season the barrel
with a few shots to get back the accuracy you once enjoyed.

J E CUSTOM

After getting the barrel clean, how many rounds between cleanings do you recommend?

 

[Varmint Hunter]

JE Custom,

That is exactly what Weatherby told me several years ago when I inquired about returning my Mark V for accuracy problems. They said that 90% of the rifles returned for a perceived problem only needed a judicious cleaning.

Funny, but mine was in the other 10%. The wood stocked Mark V's have a tendency to walk (warp) over time which puts uneven stress on the barrel @ the pressure point near the end of the forearm.

 

[J E Custom]

After getting the barrel clean, how many rounds between cleanings do you recommend?[/QUOTE


I like to clean as often as possible with a mild solvent, just enough to remove most of the fouling
but not enough to strip it back to bare metal during hunting season .

And as long as it shoots well I don't over clean.

When I'm hunting I carry a bore snake and after each shot I pull it through the bore to remove carbon fouling so the next shot goes down a fairly clean bore.

For storage I do a thorough cleaning and leave some oil in the bore until I'm ready to use it .

You really have to find out what your barrel likes to get the most out of it. Most hunting rifles
will shoot well 3 or 4 times without cleaning.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Doug in Alaska]

Thanks much!

 

[Michael Eichele]

After getting the barrel clean, how many rounds between cleanings do you recommend?[/QUOTE


I like to clean as often as possible with a mild solvent, just enough to remove most of the fouling
but not enough to strip it back to bare metal during hunting season .

And as long as it shoots well I don't over clean.


For storage I do a thorough cleaning and leave some oil in the bore until I'm ready to use it .

You really have to find out what your barrel likes to get the most out of it. Most hunting rifles
will shoot well 3 or 4 times without cleaning.

J E CUSTOM

Thats very good advice all the way around. Especially the last part. Each rifle can be different. I have one that needs to be cleaned every 25 rounds minus foul shots and if I dont get the bore down to the bare metal each time, it does not shoot to its max potential. Then for other barrels a simple bronze brush scrubbing every 50 rounds or so does the trick.

You just have to find what the rifle likes.