7mm rem mag barrel life?????
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Konrad
Well-Known Member
I have come to the conclusion that the only way to get a good idea of what is going on with a barrel is to scope it when it is new and then, after cleaning all of the copper fouling from the bore each time, scoping again and referring to the original video.
Particular attention needs to be paid to the leads on the chamber end and the crown on the business end.
Starting with a CLEAN barrel and referring to historical group size is the only way I have found to understand what is happening over time. I have a log book that I track loads and group sizes in. It is easy to adopt a belief about a thing and then be surprised when looking back at the actual data. .
Of course, you know that the hotter the flame is, the shorter the barrel life will be.
I tend to lean to the best group size regardless of velocity. Sometimes that is a full power charge and sometimes it isn't. If given a choice, I'll choose the slower load of two accuracy nodes in an attempt to keep the flame temps and abrasion as low as possible.
WildRose
Well-Known Member
The secret to good barrel life is never shooting it hot and cleaning it after a reasonable number of rounds.
There is no fixed number of rounds. I have one STW that is closing in on 2000 rds. I had one 7mm RM run well beyond 2000. When I sold it, it was still shooting fine.
crazyhorse
Well-Known Member
Everyone has their favorite caliber and mine is hands down the 7RM! For me it's the best blend of power, speed and accuracy without being overly inefficient and obnoxious.
I've owned several over the years and settled on a fully customized 700 Sendero. Before it had any aftermarket work done the factory barrel reliably lasted well past 1500 rounds. It was around that mark I decided to send it off to one of the bigger names for blueprinting and one of their barrels. When it came back it took some searching to find a load but would shoot good once the homework was done. Well being the lucky guy I am, it seems I found one of the "bad" barrels that you hear folks mention even when you pay premium prices from a reputable outfit. It became increasingly picky around the 300 round mark and had always copper fouled horribly. Around the 500 round mark it wouldn't hold 5moa at 100yds and it went south really fast.
I won't mention the name of the company with the bad barrel (pm if you must know) but I will tell you I replaced it with a Bartlien and it's been an absolute hammer ever since! I'm only about 300 rounds into the new barrel but it cleans up easily and shoots most everything I try.
All that being said I don't have a hard number for barrel life of the 7RM but my experience is somewhere around 1400-1500 if you take care not to run it hot and clean properly.
I've owned several over the years and settled on a fully customized 700 Sendero. Before it had any aftermarket work done the factory barrel reliably lasted well past 1500 rounds. It was around that mark I decided to send it off to one of the bigger names for blueprinting and one of their barrels. When it came back it took some searching to find a load but would shoot good once the homework was done. Well being the lucky guy I am, it seems I found one of the "bad" barrels that you hear folks mention even when you pay premium prices from a reputable outfit. It became increasingly picky around the 300 round mark and had always copper fouled horribly. Around the 500 round mark it wouldn't hold 5moa at 100yds and it went south really fast.
I won't mention the name of the company with the bad barrel (pm if you must know) but I will tell you I replaced it with a Bartlien and it's been an absolute hammer ever since! I'm only about 300 rounds into the new barrel but it cleans up easily and shoots most everything I try.
All that being said I don't have a hard number for barrel life of the 7RM but my experience is somewhere around 1400-1500 if you take care not to run it hot and clean properly.
I only shoot Bartlein's. They've all shot really well.
crazyhorse
Well-Known Member
Im on my 3rd one and and it's the only brand I'll buy going forward.
J E Custom
Well-Known Member
As stated there are many factors that effect barrel life. The 7 Rem Mag and the 264 Winchester mag was notorious for short barrel life until they switched to Stainless steel barrels. This greatly improved the barrel life on these cartridges. heat and cleanliness
also contribute to shorter life. My 600 and 1000 yard rifle was a 7 Rem Mag and is still shooting very well with 3 to 4000 rounds through it. I have been keeping an eye on it to decide when to set the shoulder back One thread . This is a good way to freshen up the throat and chamber with minimal work. most of the time it will give the barrel another 30% barrel life before it becomes a hunting rifle for short range (400 to 500 yards).
For a pure target rifle the barrel life still may vary depending on the care and loads.
And with good records you will see a trend. Sometimes a simple COAL change will bring them back to what they were in the beginning.
J E CUSTOM
also contribute to shorter life. My 600 and 1000 yard rifle was a 7 Rem Mag and is still shooting very well with 3 to 4000 rounds through it. I have been keeping an eye on it to decide when to set the shoulder back One thread . This is a good way to freshen up the throat and chamber with minimal work. most of the time it will give the barrel another 30% barrel life before it becomes a hunting rifle for short range (400 to 500 yards).
For a pure target rifle the barrel life still may vary depending on the care and loads.
And with good records you will see a trend. Sometimes a simple COAL change will bring them back to what they were in the beginning.
J E CUSTOM
