# 22-250



## codfish (Mar 22, 2006)

Can someone tell me if a 22-250 will burn out the barrell quicker than a 223 and if so how much would you have to be shooting the 22-250 for this to happen


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## Jiffy (Apr 22, 2005)

How much do you plan on shooting?? I bet you won't burn your barrel out on either. I don't know a lot of guys that have had to rebarrel because they have shot their barrels out. A few...but not many.

Both rounds are simular for barrel life....IMO. Of course there are a lot of variables there (type of barrel, types of rounds shot,...ect) but in general they are very simular.


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## Savage Rookie (Oct 10, 2006)

When people talk about "burning barrels out" its usually reloaders who go through an enourmous number of shells trying to find that perfect combination.

When i say an enourmous amount, i mean 2000+ yearly. My dad has a springfield 30-06 and uses it for deer and bear, he's been using this rifle for 20 or more years, the round count is at about 1500, rifling still looks new.

Heck i have a marlin 25m 22 mag that i've put over 10000 rounds through and can still make consistant groups.

So unless you think you're going to put a huge amount of lead in the air, buy a rifle that you want in whatever caliber you wnat and be done with it. By the time you have "burned" the barrel you'll probably already have 3 or 4 more rifles.

Paige


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## Sin man (Jul 25, 2006)

also your barrel will last longer if you take care of it. make sure you do fire so much at one time you can fry an egg on it and cleaning it often will help out too.


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## Longshot (Feb 9, 2004)

The higher velocity of the 22-250 would give you somewhat of a shorter barrel life, if shot the same way. It all comes down to how you shoot your rifle. Higher velocities and small calibers go through a barrel faster. A 30-06 will definitely last longer. If you are going to push a 40 gr. bullet at 4100-4200 fps and sit at a PD town with continuous fire, you're going to shorten the life. Make sure you give your barrel cooling time between a few shots and it should last a long time. Also what I understand is that you shouldn't over clean. Meaning I shoot until I see the accuracy slack and then I will clean. If you go out and shoot just a couple rounds I don't see any reason to clean back down to bare metal. Most of my 22 center fire rifles need a few fouling shots before they shoot really well anyway. Good Luck and buy what ever on you prefer and have fun.


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## Horsager (Aug 31, 2006)

So long as you don't shoot it smoking hot a 22-250 should last you 7,000-10,000, a 223 should last you 12,000-15,000.


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## xdeano (Jan 14, 2005)

I really wouldn't base your rifle by barrel burning when it come to the two round mentioned. I would base it on three things to start with:

What do you want to shoot?
Range you want to reach accurately with enough energy to take the previous question. 
Price you want to spend on ammo, commercial or home made.

If you want to shoot prairie dogs at 200-300 yds, with a small fast bullet that you buy, then the 223 is the way to go. cheap ammo and accurate

If you want more distance and larger animals, coyote, and shoot with an economical price go with the 22-250 and make your own rounds. "speed kills"

It is all preference. These were the deciding factors that i made before choosing a rifle.

xdeano


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## Csquared (Sep 5, 2006)

codfish said:


> Can someone tell me if a 22-250 will burn out the barrell quicker than a 223 and if so how much would you have to be shooting the 22-250 for this to happen


Brian, the simple answer to your question is YES.

I think the simplest way to explain it is, with all else such as chamber pressure and barrel care being equal, the cartridge with the most powder capacity, relative to bore diameter, will erode the barrel the fastest. I'm certainly not a physicist, but that's how I've come to understand it.

As to the second part of your question....wow, that's hard to say. Too many variables. Also depends on what you consider "shot out" is. "Shot out" to a competitive shooter could mean it still shoots much better than 1/2 MOA.

If you're talking about a rifle that shoots 1/2 to 3/4 MOA I doubt you will shoot it out anytime soon if you're careful and don't shoot it HOT regularly. HOT has been defined to me as hot enough that you can't firmly grasp the barrel, just ahead of the stock, for 10 seconds without saying "ouch!". Remember that, though, when you stumble into an exceptionally busy dog town. Can you listen to those little ****s while your barrel is cooling? A lot of people can't!

You've gotten good info from others above. I wouldn't pick between the two based on barrel life. I recommend you buy 'em both! They're not gonna get any cheaper!

Good luck!


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## Jiffy (Apr 22, 2005)

> Remember that, though, when you stumble into an exceptionally busy dog town. Can you listen to those little sh*ts while your barrel is cooling? A lot of people can't!


That's why you bring several rifles. :beer:

Several = 5 or 6 :wink:


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## Horsager (Aug 31, 2006)

P-dogs just plain require more than one rifle! When your ammo cans begin to resemble 5 gallon buckets full of shells you know you've brought enough. I've had barrels on 223's embarassingly hot, so that it smelled like someone had been welding nearby. The 223 seems to tolerate this much better than the 22-250. I know a guy who got his chamber so hot that shells would go off before he pulled the trigger. It is sometimes amazing what you can put a rifle through.


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## Longshot (Feb 9, 2004)

> That's why you bring several rifles.
> 
> Several = 5 or 6


My thought exactly!

:sniper:


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## Csquared (Sep 5, 2006)

I agree guys. That's what I was getting at with buying both rifles.

I can't carry as much as Jiffy, but if I'm gonna be away from the truck for awhile I try to carry two rifles, and a contender in my backpack. That way each one gets approximately twice as long to cool as it took to heat it up.


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## Gohon (Feb 14, 2005)

> I know a guy who got his chamber so hot that shells would go off before he pulled the trigger


Now that's funny.............. I don't care who you are. But please give me a heads up so I can pull my boots on before you post things like that.


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## Remington 7400 (Dec 14, 2005)

When handloaded to 4000+ FPS you can see noticable throat erosion at around 2000 rounds, noticable rifling wear at around 3000 rounds and what I consider shot out around 4000-4500 rounds. Please note that to me shot out is when a rifle that would previously group MOA at 100 yards now groups 3-4 MOA.

My advice for making a .22-250 last is to load or buy ammo loaded under the 4000 FPS mark and use 50-55 grain or heavier bullets.


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## Bore.224 (Mar 23, 2005)

Gohon said:


> > I know a guy who got his chamber so hot that shells would go off before he pulled the trigger
> 
> 
> Now that's funny.............. I don't care who you are. But please give me a heads up so I can pull my boots on before you post things like that.


"Gohon" looking for a fight again!!! Take this for what its worth but I have heard of this happining. I will admit it involved an M-60 machein gun but I guess it could happen!?


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## Jiffy (Apr 22, 2005)

Yes it can and does happen. Rounds will "cook off" even in a bolt action if it gets hot enough.


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## Horsager (Aug 31, 2006)

I just dismissed old Gonad's comment as once again not having a clue what he's talking about.

The situation was late afternoon, over 90 degrees, Thunderstorm looming, the p-dogs really wanted to eat and the guy shot 600rds of 22-250 through 1 rifle in 4 hours. This is a man I've known since before school. My dad was present at the time. Neither have any reason to embelish the story for me.


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## Gohon (Feb 14, 2005)

Horsager, the name is Gohon. Now if you want to start childish name calling, just let me know and we can get started. The comment was more tongue in cheek than anything but I have the right not to believe something off the wall if I wish. I didn't make any claims, just said let me get my boots on. Bore thinks comparing a M-60 machine guns constant spitting out rounds to a bolt rifle of one shot at a time means something but that's apples to oranges, worth absolutely. So......... I choose not to take your story serious, especially after you tried to embellish the tale with the same person shooting 600 rounds in a Prairie Dog shoot in 4 hours. One person, 2.5 rounds a minute at PD's for a solid 4 hours straight........sorry, they wanted to eat so bad was a nice try but no cigar. Even if he were shooting that fast the round would not be in the chamber long enough for the heat transfer to cook-off the round. Yes rounds can cook-off but not under the circumstance you would have everyone believe, and since it is really just hearsay on your part........ oh well.


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## Horsager (Aug 31, 2006)

Been thinking about sending my 22-250 to Christensen for one of those carbon wrapped jobbies. Might have to have one last hurah with the factory barrel just to see how many it takes on a good hot day before you can "cook one off". Can't take more than 75-100 rounds in a half hour on a good hot day. Mid-June, niave' town, gopher sized pups, naw, I don't think I could shoot that many that fast(grin). I'll bring Jiffy with so he can ride your arse too when we're done.

Claims regarding ability, accuracy, ownership, etc, are for the most part witnessed, and definately repeateable. I have no reason to "tell stories" I don't believe true. I've got plenty of personal experience to keep the masses entertained.

Probably not possible since old Gohan's's never done it!!


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