Barrel Heat: how hot is too hot?

[mwsenoj]

I have heard of the hand rule for safe barrel temperatures but, really, how hot is too hot? My Remington 700 SPS Tac in .223 heats up a bIt when I shoot steel but am I going to damage it if I single load and shoot 20 rounds in a row and then open another box and repeat?

 

[LoonWulf]

i would doubt it, as the .223 while not exactly EASY on barrels isnt a real barrel burner either. Ive smoked thru 60rnds in my mini fast as i could get a site picture and so far it shows no ill affects....dosent even string lol.

 

[TonyAngel]

I've never much worried about it. I shoot as often and as quickly as needed. Of course, if you barrel starts to really deviate from POA, you might want to let it cool off just so that you can hit what you're shooting at.

 

[mortablunt]

It shouldn't be too much of a problem. Back in WW2, machine guns were fired in bursts of 1-2 seconds, which used about 20 rounds of ammunition which was much heavier and hotter than 223. You barrel should be fine. It takes some serious abuse in order to kill a barrel simply by doing too much rapid fire, and it's the kind of thing you can't pull off unless you're using an automatic weapon.

 

[MtnCreek]

Back in WW2

And they swaped out barrels during fights...

 

[USSR]

mwsenoj,

In F Class, we fire 25 - 30 rounds within a 30 minute time period, and our barrels get quite warm. Since you know and understand the "hand rule", I'd just use it. The only thing you are likely to do by shooting a lot of rounds fast and furious is, burn out your throat faster than normal.

Don

 

[mortablunt]

And they swaped out barrels during fights...

True, however, they didn't have disposable barrels which they installed, fired, and then discarded. The barrels were changed to allow for cooling. MY point is that they didn't wear out that quickly.

 

[Owen Sparks]

I saw a guy light a Marlboro on a Browning machine gun barrel to demo how hot it gets.

 

[JohnM]

they didn't wear out that quickly.

Oh yeah, they could and did.
In the Pacific Theater it was not uncommon to totally destroy a barrel during a sustained attack.

 

[USSR]

...they didn't have disposable barrels which they installed, fired, and then discarded. The barrels were changed to allow for cooling.

Uh, no. The barrels were toast by the end of a sustained fire fight.

Don

 

[mortablunt]

^ From what I remember, the barrels typically didn't require changing until about 500 or so rounds of sustained automatic fire. There is no way that the OP is going to be able to fire off 600 rounds in a minute on a Mini-14, although I would definitely love to see that.

 

[Art Eatman]

MGs ain't on topic. Stop it.

I generally stop for cool-down if the barrel is hotter than I'd like when I touch it. I never have been in all that much of a hurry whether hunting or plinking.

 

[30Cal]

We shoot two strings of ten in about 3 minutes in Highpower and I don't think the barrels suffer too badly for it.

That said, guys that shoot the rattle battle don't use their nicest upper. Two strings fired a couple minutes apart, each consisting of 25-30rds in 50 sec.