Standard contour barrel, how many shots before heat takes a toll? (.30-06)

[streetstang67]

I really love shooting at the range, but I don't have a dedicated target rifle. Instead, I use my hunting rifle (Remington 700 SPS DM .30-06) with a standard contour barrel that gets hot quick. POI changes slightly after the first cold bore shot, and gets increasingly off as the barrel heats up (about an 1" off from first shot to 4th shot). When the barrel gets too hot to hold my finger on for a couple seconds, I stop and allow it to cool. This is after about 4-5 shots. What if I kept on shooting, say 20 rounds, what would happen? Would the barrel warp, would accuracy go horribly bad, will I cause permanent damage? I've always wondered, but have been to scared of messing it up to keep going.

Thanks



BTW, for those who are wondering why I don't just buy a target rifle, I figure that I'll be a better shot if I practice with the rifle that I use.

 

[Coronach]

You can burn out a barrel faster through rapide firing, but you really have to work at it. You'd have to burn through a mess of ammo to get it that hot. Waaaaaay more than 20.

Shot stringing would be the most you'd probably have to worry about in normal use, and that goes away as the barrel cools.

The main question I have is this: you have a precision rifle. Why not make each shot count, instead of seeing how fast you can shoot?

Mike

 

[TheLaxPlayer]

I don't believe it will warp, but your barrel will wear out significantly faster if you shoot it rapidly enough for it to build up significant heat. I've heard a general rule to be one shot per minute is a good rate to shoot to avoid overheating. (obviously it would fluctuate depending on caliber though, believe that was referring to a .308 )

EDIT: Listen to that man, he knows his stuff better than me

 

[Beetle Bailey]

Back when the ammo was cheap and plentiful, I fired 30 rounds of 8mm Mauser in about 3 minutes, just because. . . The rifle, a Yugo M48, got really hot and I could feel heat thru the handguards, on the receiver, and even on the front of the bolt face.

The rifle wasn't damaged, though I wish I could say the same for my shoulder. It will still hold a 2" group at 100 yards and the barrel was still shiny after I did it.

BTW, I have a 30-06 hunting rifle as well and I usually just shoot 3-5 shots before I let it cool off. I keep a .22lr handy so I have something to do while the 30-06 cools .

 

[rangerruck]

I have lot s of sporter contours. Wear a watch, fire a shot, then wait a full 30 seconds, before you even start lining up your next shot. this will keep your bbl, in a decent temp range, and you will also save some money on ammo, without even realizing it. Plus you will learn a bit more about yourself, and how your technique really is.

 

[USSR]

BTW, for those who are wondering why I don't just buy a target rifle, I figure that I'll be a better shot if I practice with the rifle that I use.

streetstang67,

Perhaps you should rethink your logic here. Using a rifle for a purpose that it is not suited for, which results in a degradation in said rifle's accuracy, will make you a better shot in what way? There is a reason that target/competition rifles have heavy contours.

Don

 

[ID_shooting]

Is your barrel floated, action bedded? I have done this with sporters and it really reduced movement due to heat. BTW, even with my target rifle (Winchester M70 match in 30-06) I still let it cool in between mags even when sitting over a busy squirrel colony.

 

[streetstang67]

Is your barrel floated, action bedded? I have done this with sporters and it really reduced movement due to heat.

Actually I just bedded the action last week, also free floated the barrel except for the tip at the fore-end. I went to the range today and although my first shot wasn't perfect, the following shots were not far off.

 

[miko]

I don't think you can overheat the barrel to harm it with a bolt-action.
The hotter it gets, the faster it releases heat - so at some point it will stabilise, probably before it affects the steel.

In any case, why don't you shoot target loads with less powder? You could even use a heavier bullet to keep the felt recoil similar.

miko

 

[K.L.O.sako]

i thought i had smoked a barrel once, i got a new lite weight model 70 blackshadow in 300WM. i'd had it about 6 months and one day during the summer, i had just run a 10 round string in 95 degree heat,and my wife says "can you hit that bottle way over there" so i oblidged, made it dance a bit. we're talkin and having a good time with our friends and i didn't notice the heat when i was reloading. 9 more rounds later, i walk back to the bench for another string, and when i setteled in the mirage was real bad. i fired two rounds that hit in weird places on target before i checked the gun out. the mirage was from the barrel. when i turned it 90 degrees the mirage went away. way to hot to touch. so i let it cool and put it away. 3 weeks later at the range it would'nt hold zero. turns out (after a lot of trial and error) that the scope was gutted not the barrel. cheap scopes do that sometimes, i learned the hard way.

 

[the naked prophet]

As long as I wait a minute between shots, my Savage .30-06 doesn't heat up too much. If I fire any faster than that, the shots string low and right, really bad. One time, I didn't wait long enough, and the next shot was about three inches towards the 5 o'clock in an otherwise 1 inch group at 100 yards.