Better For Barrel Life, Heavy/Slow or Lighter/Fast?

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Turkeytider

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In my reading, I find opposite views on whether a heavier, slower round or a faster, lighter one is generally better for prolonging barrel life. Since most of what I`ve read is not recent I thought I would pose the question here. Specifically, is there a difference between 55 grain .223 loads vs. 62 or 68 grain loads when it comes to barrel life? Thanks in advance for thoughts and opinions.
 
I'll be upfront, I don't know.

My instinct is that velocity isn't the factor that wears barrels. Things like powder choice, rate of fire and bullet diameter/material impact it more. Some powders may be likely to erode chambers , harder jackets may wear down rifling quicker than a cast bullet.

It seems there's a lot going on there and of them I don't know how much speed plays a part. I've heard machine gun barrels wear out pretty fast , I believe in less rounds than the same gun firing at a semi auto rate.

I'm no expert, I don't even pretend to be but all I can share is what makes sense to me.
 
Turkeytider said:
In my reading, I find opposite views on whether a heavier, slower round or a faster, lighter one is generally better for prolonging barrel life. Since most of what I`ve read is not recent I thought I would pose the question here. Specifically, is there a difference between 55 grain .223 loads vs. 62 or 68 grain loads when it comes to barrel life? Thanks in advance for thoughts and opinions.
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For .223 Remington ARs (a presumption on my part) - barrels are a dime a dozen nowadays and easy to replace - try not to think of barrel life :)
 
I wouldn’t consider myself an expert on barrels by any stretch of the imagination but I have found that the biggest enemy to barrel wear is heat. I don’t think a 55 grain bullet vs. a 77 would make as much of a difference as much as how fast one shoots successive shots. Slower shooting will most certainly prolong barrel life more.
 
Smaller bore, plus more powder=less barrel life.

Some small bores can last a good long while, as long as there's not alot of powder pushing the bullet. Some cartridges that eat alot of powder can last a good long while too as long as it's not trying to push that gas through too small of an opening.

223, small cal, small amount of powder, pretty good barrel life
243Win, small cal, decent amount of powder, not great barrel life
308 med cal, decent amount of powder, pretty good barrel life.
 
The Glockodile said:
In the larger scheme of things, it's probably the total cumulative mass of powder that you burn and the barrel's temperature that matters...
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I know that monitoring barrel temperature is important. My .223 bolt gun is a hunting rifle and I usually only shoot relatively slow, three shot groups and then a rest. The stainless barrel has never been hot, only warm to the touch. I know you can change barrels but I`d like to take care of this one the best I can.
 
Since we are not talking F Class here, what you are hearing is armchair experts haggling over whether you will only get to 20,000 rounds instead of 20,250 rounds before you buy a new barrel.

Mind, most of the "experts" online have yet to reach 1500 rounds.
And, there will be some who blame their 10-12 MOA groups (with "three touching") on the "barrel being worn out," too.
It will not be the $49.95 scope in a $10 mount, or not having actually zeroed their sights, or even knowing how to get into Natural Point of Aim--nope, it will be a "worn out barrel."
 
In this case, not enough difference to matter. The ratio of powder to bore diameter is the real key. For example, a 243 and 308 use the same parent case with virtually the same powder charges. But the much smaller 243 barrel will wear out MUCH faster than the 308. The general consensus is that a 308 will still be match grade accurate to around 5000 rounds and still be accurate enough for virtually all shooters beyond 10,000 rounds. A 243 will retain accuracy less than 1/2 that.

From the same cartridge changing bullet weight, powder charges and velocity may well have an effect. But it won't be huge. Now, long strings of rapid fire which lets the barrel overheat can shorten barrel life. The numbers in the previous paragraph assume slow fire and not allowing the barrel to overheat.
 
I shared my direct experience with these theories a couple months ago here.

Fast or slow, cooler powders or hotter, shooting rapidly or cooling between, I’ve not had any of the theories pan out. Barrel life is what it is - want more life? Shoot a different cartridge.
 
sarduy said:
Slow Regardless of bullet weight Will give you a longer barrel life
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This has not been my experience. Not enough to matter, at least. I knocked 400fps off of one of my 6 creed barrels a couple years ago and it has been my worst barrel life of every barrel I’ve had.
 
No matter what type of ammo people shoot, at least keep barrel temperatures in mind.

At our nearby expensive (to join) private club, a few summers ago I listened to a couple of guys in their 20's shoot what sounded like at least 100-150 rounds, if not more, in Each of their pair of ARs in .223,
all within about 5 minutes time. It almost sounded like a brief torture test. Maybe it was. (?)

I would certainly never begin to consider buying a gun from such owners, at any price.

If those ARs had been chambered in 9x19, not so bad.
 
lysanderxiii said:
Low velocity, with cool burning propellants for longest barrel life, all other factors equal.
Ball propellants burn cool and are known to be easy on barrels.
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This follows all the information observed and collected. From actual shooting of ammunition (not from rust or injuries) barrels tend to wear out at the leade due to heat. Heat build up tends to allow the metal to erode faster.
In any application, heat is directly proportional to the internal pressure. Therefore, a higher pressure arm tends to erode barrels faster. "Faster' in this usage is a relative term. One also notes firing more rounds in the same period of time and or not allowing the barrel to cool builds up erosion conditions.
 
Varminterror said:
I shared my direct experience with these theories a couple months ago here.

Fast or slow, cooler powders or hotter, shooting rapidly or cooling between, I’ve not had any of the theories pan out. Barrel life is what it is - want more life? Shoot a different cartridge.
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"Shoot a different cartridge." Which is exactly what I do. My .223 never goes to the range without being accompanied by my .17HMR ( which I shoot far more than my .223 ).
 
It also depends a little on what material a 223/5.56 barrel is made of and if it is chrome lined or not. I've seen enough M16A1 and M16A2 rifles with high rounds counts that still shoot good enough for troops to qualify with. We use to use the paper qualification targets at 25 yards to test rifles to see how the barrels were doing. The M16s at most training bases see a lot of rounds fired each month in slow, rapid and either full auto or burst during basic training.

@CapnMac is correct, most arm chair experts will blame the barrel versus their cheap scopes and mounts or lack of shooting skills. And as stated by others, a smaller bullet with the same powder charge as a larger bullet will wear out a barrel quicker. The 243 vs 308 or any other small diameter cartridge based off the 308 are prime examples.
 
Turkeytider said:
Specifically, is there a difference between 55 grain .223 loads vs. 62 or 68 grain loads when it comes to barrel life?
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And the answer is.........
12Bravo20 said:
It also depends a little on what material a 223/5.56 barrel is made of and if it is chrome lined or not.
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Chrome gives longer life.

In general, I want the front of the bullet to seal the bore before the bullets shank leaves the case. Example- NO 55 gr bullets in a 243 winchester rifle. The 85/90 grs seal better & use less throat eating powder.
 
Turkeytider said:
"Shoot a different cartridge." Which is exactly what I do. My .223 never goes to the range without being accompanied by my .17HMR ( which I shoot far more than my .223 ).
Click to expand...

Keep doing what you’re doing, and don’t bother chasing the barrel life rabbit - it just doesn’t reliably get you fed.

I’ve burned out barrels with “cool powders” and “hot powders,” with slow fire and rapid, light bullets and heavy, fast loads and slow… Even in trying these tricks to increase barrel life, I’ve not been able to move the needle with any particular “theory” any better than another to actually add barrel life, and have had flukes dominate the major changes in barrel life that I HAVE witnessed.

My fastest shooting 6 creed barrel I’ve had, out of 11 so far, lasted longer than any of my others. My coyote calling rifle in 243win lasted exactly as long as my plinking and match rifle barrels which got hot every time they were fired. H1000 didn’t add any barrel life over H4350, nor did running 400fps slower - my slow speed barrel actually has been my WORST barrel life. Shooting AI’s is supposed to add barrel life too, and maybe it does add 50 rounds, but between 243win and 243 AI, the difference didn’t save me a barrel’s worth of life over more than 25 barrels… But I DO get far more rounds through Dasher and 6 Grendel barrels than I did 243win/AI or do 6 creed. I do get more rounds through 223 and 308 than I do 6 creed or 300wsm… cartridge makes the biggest difference, and the rest hasn’t even made a difference that I could measure as “outside of the noise”.

I wasted a lot of time wishing in one hand and doing all of the things guys talk about online as what “should” be done to add barrel life… but I simply haven’t been able to make it actually happen in real barrels. So I don’t let myself overthink it any more - I shoot the loads I want to shoot for my applications, and deal with barrel replacements when they come.

Considering you’re talking about 223, then maybe there are TWO other influences besides cartridge which actually seem to matter; rifling type and lining. I don’t typically bother with these either, as usually my applications don’t align with chromies, and equally, I typically end up buying by performance not just by barrel life - but they DO make a measurable difference. Cut rifled barrels WILL last longer than button rifled barrels, and chrome-lined barrels WILL last longer than non-lined barrels. But if you’re shooting for precision, neither probably carry enough weight in your calculus to matter.
 
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Varminterror said:
Keep doing what you’re doing, and don’t bother chasing the barrel life rabbit - it just doesn’t reliably get you fed.

I’ve burned out barrels with “cool powders” and “hot powders,” with slow fire and rapid, light bullets and heavy, fast loads and slow… Even in trying these tricks to increase barrel life, I’ve not been able to move the needle with any particular “theory” any better than another to actually add barrel life, and have had flukes dominate the major changes in barrel life that I HAVE witnessed.

My fastest shooting 6 creed barrel I’ve had, out of 11 so far, lasted longer than any of my others. My coyote calling rifle in 243win lasted exactly as long as my plinking and match rifle barrels which got hot every time they were fired. H1000 didn’t add any barrel life over H4350, nor did running 400fps slower - my slow speed barrel actually has been my WORST barrel life. Shooting AI’s is supposed to add barrel life too, and maybe it does add 50 rounds, but between 243win and 243 AI, the difference didn’t save me a barrel’s worth of life over more than 25 barrels… But I DO get far more rounds through Dasher and 6 Grendel barrels than I did 243win/AI or do 6 creed. I do get more rounds through 223 and 308 than I do 6 creed or 300wsm… cartridge makes the biggest difference, and the rest hasn’t even made a difference that I could measure as “outside of the noise”.

I wasted a lot of time wishing in one hand and doing all of the things guys talk about online as what “should” be done to add barrel life… but I simply haven’t been able to make it actually happen in real barrels. So I don’t let myself overthink it any more - I shoot the loads I want to shoot for my applications, and deal with barrel replacements when they come.

Considering you’re talking about 223, then maybe there are TWO other influences besides cartridge which actually seem to matter; rifling type and lining. I don’t typically bother with these either, as usually my applications don’t align with chromies, and equally, I typically end up buying by performance not just by barrel life - but they DO make a measurable difference. Cut rifled barrels WILL last longer than button rifled barrels, and chrome-lined barrels WILL last longer than non-lined barrels. But if you’re shooting for precision, neither probably carry enough weight in your calculus to matter.
Click to expand...

Thank you sir. I think I`ll just quit worrying about it and, as you suggest, just keep doing what I`m doing and shooting what I want as far as loads are concerned. I`m 74 years old and the barrel will in all likelihood outlast me anyway !!
 
CapnMac said:
And, as a point of order, while chrome has a longer history, hard nitride is showing signs of being "as good." Especially as the era of corrosive primers and ammo is largely eclipsed.
Only time will tell, of course.
The metallurgy with nitrideing certainly looks good on paper.
Click to expand...

I have both but since Uncle isn't paying for my ammunition anymore, I doubt that I will be able to wear either chrome lined or nitride coated barrels out. Some of the units I was assigned to definitely could have worn out barrels quickly.
 
Single base powders have cooler flame fronts. The more powder used the more heat generated. Coper jackets cause more wear than lead. A cast bullet with the minimum single base powder to get the job done is my answer.
 
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