Barrel wear.

[Colin G]

As a barrel wears, do you think a hand load that was shooting honest, single holes at 100y will open up? Everything else is the same, scope, moderator etc.
The rifle is an R8 in 22/250 that I've had for about ten years, I've no idea of the round count but, it's my go-to rifle and always first out of the cabinet. I had it out last week and tried a few shots on a target, after missing an easy buck, zero had moved about an inch high and the group was 1" to 1.5". I've since given it a good clean but have not shot it since. The loads were all made at the same time so, the same brass, primers, bullets and powder. I've got a few hundred knocked up. I suppose I'll find out if the cleaning has brought it back on song. Just to add, the barrel isn't pampered with a frequent cleaning regime. What do you think?

cjs

I presume you haven’t got access to a bore scope ? The reasons I ask is that although you may be cleaning it it may not be as clean as you think , for instance have you got a build up of carbon ie. a carbon ring which if your already using a hot or hot’ish load will increase pressure and cause exactly what you are experiencing.
Without a bore scope you will not know but I just use butchers bore shine and put it onto a patch and just push it into the lands and let it soak . After 15 mins put another in , the give it a good scrub in that area 20 times .
I have a bore scope and that’s how I remove mine and you can definitely see the difference.

 

[cjs66]

I presume you haven’t got access to a bore scope ? The reasons I ask is that although you may be cleaning it it may not be as clean as you think , for instance have you got a build up of carbon ie. a carbon ring which if your already using a hot or hot’ish load will increase pressure and cause exactly what you are experiencing.
Without a bore scope you will not know but I just use butchers bore shine and put it onto a patch and just push it into the lands and let it soak . After 15 mins put another in , the give it a good scrub in that area 20 times .
I have a bore scope and that’s how I remove mine and you can definitely see the difference.

In all honestly, Colin, I wouldn't know what I'm looking at even if I had a bore scope. I've seen pictures people have put up of their rifle bores and . I'm not massive on the cleaning game, if they're wet I'll give them a wipe down and they get a pull-through most times they've been out. And when accuracy goes off, I'll give it a good scrub.

cjs

 

[KimE]

£1200 for a new barrel.

 

[cjs66]

£1200 for a new barrel.

And the rest

cjs

 

[Steff]

A .22-250 is indeed a chambering which doesn‘t make a shot out barrel impossible. Combined with a fairly laxe cleaning regime … who knows.
You should really have it bore scoped.

 

[Warbucks]

Hi cjs.
When i had my 223, after load development 95% of my shooting was foxing in the hours of darkness, so typically rifle in car, get out and walk about for 30 minutes- hour, get shots off or not, then back in car and move on to next permission and do the same, i also didn't clean the rifle all the time.
After a few years and around 3,00 rounds i was getting some unexpected misses, i got a mate to borescope it, the barrel had rust in places and some pitting.
What i have now learnt from this experience is -----when night time shooting in and out of vehicle the water content in the damp air does go inside the barrel, carbon that is left in the barrel also attracts water/rust.
All my rifles now get a clean after use, the last thing i do after cleaning is push an oiled patch through, this i don't remove, it is left in the barrel and is burnt off the next time it is fired, or stays in the barrel protecting it from rust if i don't get a shot off next outing.
A rusted/pitted barrel does not mean it won't group well, give it the cleaning of its life -----see how it goes from there and maybe re develop your load.
My current 22-250 has worn 10,000ths off the lands and is still shooting same seating depth.

Dave (warbucks)

 

[plumber01]

Its possible that the barrel has burnt through to the lands, and possibly use a gauge to check bullet length V distance to the lands first.
Looking through a bore scope can give anyone a heart attack! If its a relatively new drop in accuracy, I would guess a carbon ring might have built up.
Get some chemical cleaner, possibly buy a brand new brass brush, attach to a slow turning cordless drill and give it a good clean after using a chemical clean.
When you start using it, you might find you need about 20 shots down it to bring it back, because some of the copper can fill minor imperfections in the barrel, and the copper also acts as a lubricant. ( I'm sure some gunsmiths will be screaming at this ) However its worth doing rather than buy a new barrel if its just a deep clean needed . good luck