Barrel life, .270 win

[WestKentucky]

I do not know how many rounds my rifle has seen, but it’s a whole lot for a “deer rifle”. My rifle is a late 90s rem700 base model blind mag rifle with poly stock and parkerized or matte blued finish. My best guess is that it has seen around 4000 rounds.
4000 is a big number, but I have thought through it and gotten close. I had the rifle for about 8 years before I started reloading for it, and I was shooting factory Winchester Silvertip cpx2 130s and Winchester white box 130s in it then. I shot a few boxes of 150s but the gun was not consistent with them. I shot about 10 boxes of ammo through it in high school. I bought in bulk when Kmart closed, and got 60 boxes of the same ammo the summer after I graduated. I bought another 10ish boxes after I shot all of that ammo. When I started reloading I found Sierra soft point bullets and Hornady ballistic tips on clearance/blem sale and got 1000 of each. They are long gone. I have bought a few boxes of random bullets to try here and there over the years. 4000 is a conservative but close estimate. I loaded my reloads hot to stay on an accuracy node and get the best performance.
I started having trouble with accuracy a few years ago and totally reworked my handloads. Still imr4350 and still a couple tenths over max listed loads. I assumed that since I bought a new lot of powder that the powder may have been the difference, but now I’m not so sure. In this time frame I also stuck a long case in the rifle and had to literally beat it out with an aluminum rod and a 4lb maul. I thought I might have damaged the rifling, but I can see no trouble. I borrowed a bore scope and ran down the barrel, saw no signs of damage, but admittedly didn’t really know what to look for but everything looked pretty uniform. I got frustrated with the gun and put it in the back of the safe to collect dust. I really want that gun back in service now and I’m considering rebarreling before I start down that road again.

So, the million dollar question... will 1500ish factory 130gr loads at around 3000 FPS and another 2500+ 130gr handloads at around 3200 FPS burn out a barrel to a point where it needs replaced? I want it to be accurate, not necessarily 1/2 moa, but my favorite bet used to be a beer can at 300 which paid for a lot of steak dinners. I would like to get back to shooting that shot fairly consistently.

 

[troy fairweather]

could be burnt out hard to tell sometimes. get her rebarreled in 280rem this time .

 

[Elkins45]

I have a vague recollection that an 06 family cartridge can go up to 10K rounds before it’s too worn to be acceptably accurate. I have no idea where I read that and can’t vouch for its veracity.

Rate of fire makes a big difference as well. Get it red hot and you can toast the throat on anything.

Very few hunting rifles ever see 4K rounds. Good for you for giving yours a good workout.

 

[lightman]

Its never a bad thing to put a nice custom barrel on a rifle. But it may be worth your time to look at it through a bore scope. Sometimes you can build up carbon in the throat area. And sometimes a good rubbing with a tight fitting patch coated with some polishing compound will help. With a .473 bolt face and a long action there are a world of cartridges to choose from if you want to get away from a 270.

 

[adcoch1]

I would probably let a gunsmith look it over if you really want to know. I would bet the throat is at least starting to wear enough to see a bit of accuracy degradation by 4k, but the rifling should be fine. A gunsmith should be able to pull the barrel, face it off shorter, reset the shoulder and rechamber it for a decent price if it needs it. I personally don't like 270, but it is really accurate when set up right, should be an easy fix if it needs freshened up.

 

[illinoisburt]

Did it degrade but still consistent (like went from 1 moa to 3 moa groups) or are you experiencing random flyers and keyholes?

In the benchrest world 4000 rounds would be likely out of competition. For a hunting rifle, very likely not.

 

[tbs]

There is a chance you can bring it back to life. Pick up a jar of JB Bore Paste. Wrap a patch around a bronze brush and coat it with the paste. Run this back and forth through the bore about 10 passes. Do this with 10 patch's, they will come out black. Flush the bore out with a patch using one of the basic cleaners. Hoppes, Butches etc. Test rifle, if still doesn't shoot then it's probably time for a new barrel.

 

[LoonWulf]

My 7mag lasted 1700rnds before groups opened up significantly (1-1.25 to 2.5ish), and coal grew considerably I'm the 8 years or so that took.
I'm burning 20gr more powder give or take, but I still wouldn't expect a .270 to last much more than 2500-3k rounds at best.

 

[edwardware]

I want it to be accurate, not necessarily 1/2 moa, but my favorite bet used to be a beer can at 300. . .

Coke can is 3", so 0.5 MOA accuracy is not unreasonable if you want to consistent hit 1 MOA at 300y.

Also, great question! I have learned that I have bullets on hand to wear out my CZ .270.

 

[Slater]

I've heard that .308 bores tend to have a long life compared to the smaller calibers. Accurate?

 

[TN Outlaw]

IDK if the barrel is toast or not but there's sure to be at least SOME wear. You have to decide if it's enough to warrant a new pipe or not but you for sure have gotten your money's worth from that barrel.

Do the groups open up the more you shoot it or is the group opened from the start? Or do you have a flier or two on an otherwise decent group?

You can decide if you want to change chamberings but for a person to shoot an honest 4,000rnds out of a hunting rifle, you must enjoy shooting the .270Win so why change? Buy other rifles for that, a .270Win in that exact configuration must get lots of use for you so stick with what works. I'm a fan of it myself and have loads ranging from 90gr-180gr so it covers alot of ground. We have no big bears or moose in the South East so a .270Win covers EVERYTHING in my area and is not bad from the bench either.

 

[WestKentucky]

Thanks for the replies guys. I do like he .270. It’s a compromise for a 30-06 case, but for everything that I can imagine doing with that rifle it’s a darned good compromise. I bought it to deer hunt over corn and soybean fields after the harvest. It’s got plenty range and power to fill that role well, and it has put meat on the table from 6 to 600 yards. I will keep a .270 in the safe, and it will likely be that I get this one fixed at some point. It was my first centerfire rifle, and is special to me even if I do get frustrated with it’s quirky things that I would t buy again (especially blind mag).

As for shooting, it was incredible for years, then it started to fade off and I fought it thinking that it was my skill fading, so I kept practicing to get better which just put more rounds through it. At one point I was ringing an 8” steel at 1000 yards pretty consistently if I could make a decent wind call. It opened up to where I wasn’t hitting at long range at all anymore, and then my 300 yd beer can trick died off. That’s about the time I stuck the long case and had to rip the gun apart. Now it’s about a 2” gun at 150.

Currently the gun is of no use to me over the bean fields because I can’t land a shot where I really want it. In the woods I don’t trust it because I don’t want to hit brush and deflect so I use other rifles. I will probably start saving and get the gun rebarrelled or repaired at some point. I have considered going to other calibers but I won’t because I really like .270. If I swap calibers I will swap guns entirely to a short action in 7-08 as essentially the same compromise as .270 only in the .308 case. Plenty gun for whitetail, pronghorn, long shots on coyotes, and even if I get into black bear it’s plenty. If I need more gun for bigger critters I will buy a magnum.

 

[sage5907]

I am currently planning to have a rifle re-barreled and plan to have Bartlein make the barrel. My next barrel will be a 280 Ackley Improved with a 1:9 5R twist because of it's accuracy potential. Bartlein barrels are used by many of the long range precision rifle shooters and are known for their long range accuracy. They are expensive but if you're going to take the time to do the project and spend the money it would be a good option. Bartlein has a website and their barrel making videos are on youtube.

 

[joed]

I haven't owned a .270 but own a .25-06 which is similar. Mine went at 1200 rounds near as I can figure. What is acceptable accuracy to some is not to others. When I had it re-barreled it could put 3 or 4 shots in a group of 1", the next shot would be off by 2" from the group. For varmint hunting that is not acceptable so I took it to Kelbly's near me.

What I got back was unbelievable, with a new Krieger barrel the groups shrank from 1" to a little less than 1/2". Cleanup usually takes 2 patches. Kelbly's did a fantastic job on that rifle.

I probably could have tried scrubbing the bore as some told me to do, or had the barrel set back or a thousand other suggestions. But, I'm totally convinced it's a waste of time, get another barrel and you'll have a more harmonious outcome.

One other thing about the re-barrel. I was asked what cartridge I wanted the new barrel in. I thought about it for 1 second and said .25-06, after 30 years I saw no reason to change something that worked so well. I know exactly how you feel about that .270, I feel the same about the .25-06 for all the same reasons.

 

[LoonWulf]

Thanks for the replies guys. I do like he .270. It’s a compromise for a 30-06 case, but for everything that I can imagine doing with that rifle it’s a darned good compromise. I bought it to deer hunt over corn and soybean fields after the harvest. It’s got plenty range and power to fill that role well, and it has put meat on the table from 6 to 600 yards. I will keep a .270 in the safe, and it will likely be that I get this one fixed at some point. It was my first centerfire rifle, and is special to me even if I do get frustrated with it’s quirky things that I would t buy again (especially blind mag).

As for shooting, it was incredible for years, then it started to fade off and I fought it thinking that it was my skill fading, so I kept practicing to get better which just put more rounds through it. At one point I was ringing an 8” steel at 1000 yards pretty consistently if I could make a decent wind call. It opened up to where I wasn’t hitting at long range at all anymore, and then my 300 yd beer can trick died off. That’s about the time I stuck the long case and had to rip the gun apart. Now it’s about a 2” gun at 150.

Currently the gun is of no use to me over the bean fields because I can’t land a shot where I really want it. In the woods I don’t trust it because I don’t want to hit brush and deflect so I use other rifles. I will probably start saving and get the gun rebarrelled or repaired at some point. I have considered going to other calibers but I won’t because I really like .270. If I swap calibers I will swap guns entirely to a short action in 7-08 as essentially the same compromise as .270 only in the .308 case. Plenty gun for whitetail, pronghorn, long shots on coyotes, and even if I get into black bear it’s plenty. If I need more gun for bigger critters I will buy a magnum.

If you like the .270, maybe have a fast twist barrel installed, with a throat set up for the heavy vlds loaded out. No compromise there.
McGowen barrel would run bout 400-500+ install so 5-6.

 

[jmr40]

The amount of powder burned in relation to bore size determines barrel life. The smaller the bore and the more powder the faster it burns up. I've never seen any data on 270. But 308 burns less powder in a bigger bore and most predict about 5000 rounds for match grade accuracy and around 10,000 rounds for acceptable hunting accuracy. The 6.5 CM burns a little less powder than 308, but in a smaller bore and barrel life expectancy is about 1/2 that of 308. A 270's bore is just about the same as 6.5 CM, but it burns a LOT more powder. I'd not be at all surprised if a 270 with 4000 rounds is worn out. Probably has been for a while.

Most guys who own 270's use them primarily for hunting and don't get high round counts like other cartridges.

 

[Telekinesis]

I have to agree with those saying that the barrel is probably past it's accurate life and needs to be replaced.

This is a great opportunity to get a nice barrel built to your specs. If you still plan on shooting it a good bit after rebarreling, you may want to consider a Remage conversion so that you can swap barrels yourself.

 

[Frostbite]

Sorry for your loss. You had good service from that barrel.

So which new barrel will you get? Same specs, longer, shorter, beefier? Curious. I like .270 Winchester too.

 

[Slamfire]

So, the million dollar question... will 1500ish factory 130gr loads at around 3000 FPS and another 2500+ 130gr handloads at around 3200 FPS burn out a barrel to a point where it needs replaced? I want it to be accurate, not necessarily 1/2 moa, but my favorite bet used to be a beer can at 300 which paid for a lot of steak dinners. I would like to get back to shooting that shot fairly consistently.

Try to find the throat. Get a 150 grain bullet, run some tape around it, or pitch, just something sticky, and insert the bullet in a fired case. Insert it long. You want the bullet to be tight enough that it does not fall out of the case. Then, chamber the round and extract the thing without having it fall on the floor. Measure the amount the bullet was stuffed in the case. It might be, you can't find the throat with a 150 gr bullet almost all the way out of the case. Anyway, that will give a rough idea of how much throat erosion you have had.

I think 4000 full power rounds down a 270 Win tube to be exceptional. No one I know shoots a 270 Win in any target shooting, so I can't ask what is a reason barrel life for a 277 bullet. But it ought to be a less than a 284 diameter bullet and more than a 264. No one I know takes a 264 diameter barrel 4000 accuracy rounds.

 

[WestKentucky]

If I rebarrel it, I will certainly stay with .270. There’s just too much memory and time on that action for it to be anything else. I will get a barrel as close to identical as I can.

Honestly the thing that put such a high round count on this rifle was boredom and stubbornness mixed with luck. That Kmart deal was crazy. I bought literally 150 boxes of ammo that day. As a high school graduate working a part time job making minimum wage I happened to get paid, sell a beater car I had fixed up in my spare time to make a few bucks, and had gotten graduation gift money all at the same time. I laid down $1300 at Kmart that day buying ammo at a 60% off rate. I traded, sold, and gave ammo away for the next year, and I kept all of the .270 and 30-30. Had I not had so much ammo that was nearly free (after selling a pile of .243 to cover most of my outlay) I would never have shot it so much. I got good with it, and it was a sleeper in a shooting match as a cheap rifle with a cheap scope shooting clearance ammo, and I thoroughly enjoyed taking people’s money betting on ridiculous shots at the range. I got used to shooting it a lot, and when my ammo stack got short I simply started reloading my bucket of brass to keep shooting on the cheap. The rifle doesn’t show its wear either, I was careful not to let it look like it was shot so much it was an extension of me, because I was afraid of losing money by not baiting people into a bet.

 

[illinoisburt]

So an interesting question now if you decide to rebarrel. Obviously the factory one served well, and honestly Remington has forever been known for accurate factory barrels. In theory you could get it replaced with a new factory barrel for a few hundred. Would you want the expense of a custom barrel, say $500-1000 installed, which could buy a pretty decent new gun outright? Although your current level of accuracy isn't to your liking, it certainly could bring a couple hundred in trade or sale towards a replacement.

 

[joed]

You do have some interesting options open to you. One option just brought up is a new factory barrel, an option I didn't have. My rifle was a Rem 700 VS in .25-06 which Remington no longer made.

The option I picked with the builder was to have Krieger duplicate the original barrel. I didn't want a heavier barrel or a 26" barrel, wanted what I had originally.

Shop around, you'll be surprised at some of the prices you hear. Krieger was the most expensive. Kelbly's was very reasonable and had a reputation for building benchrest rifles. Think I paid about $425 in 2007. I've been very pleased with how the rifle shoots now.

 

[Bwana John]

Give me a .270, 1000 rounds of ammo, 105 degree day, and in less than half an hour i will give you back a barrel that is only good as a grape stake.

If you never got it hot enough to not be able to grab the barrel barehanded and not let go, and never abused it with incorrect cleaning it should keep hunting accuracy for ~ 8k rounds.

 

[Garandimal]

Give me a .270, 1000 rounds of ammo, 105 degree day, and in less than half an hour i will give you back a barrel that is only good as a grape stake.

If you never got it hot enough to not be able to grab the barrel barehanded and not let go, and never abused it with incorrect cleaning it should keep hunting accuracy for ~ 8k rounds.

Exactly.

Heat - softens and accelerates the ablation of the steel.

And, if you hand-load, you can periodically check/reset bullet seating depth one turn off the lands as they recede.




GR

 

[Joelpat]

My favorite rifle is a 1983 Model 70 featherweight .270. Always very accurate, as long as I was only shooting 3 rounds at a time. I bought the rifle in 2006.

Last year, it just wouldn’t group any more. I tried lots of things, but I was getting 2-3 MOA every time I took it out. I sent the action off to PacNor for a stainless barrel. I thought about every chambering/twist/length combo, but ultimately I just wanted my favorite rifle back, and went with the factory profile in .270.

In the end, I paid about $350 for the barrel and about $350 for PacNor to true the action and screw on the tube. Though I was very disappointed in PacNor’s quality control and attention to detail on this job (they’ve previously done good work for me), the rifle shoots way under MOA again, just from the new barrel, and I expect it will shoot well for another 35 years or more.