Bench guns in 223/5.56 and lifespan?

D

Dashunde

New member
Guys, I'm thinking about picking up a Ruger American in 5.56 and putting a Vortex Diamondback 4-16/44 on it for bench shooting out to 300 yards, but I'm wondering about its expected lifespan on factory 223?
It'll be a 100% plinking/bench gun and will go through about 50 rounds a week between myself and daughter, so I wonder how long it'll last?

Should I be looking at something else for inexpensive 223 bench shooting?

Alternatively, if you're interested..
After mounting a big ol goofy optic I discovered one of my 16" AR's runs about .6 MOA at 100yd on relatively inexpensive Fiocchi Range Dynamics. It's easy to maintain, and barrels are easy to swap out. So it fits my needs plus I already have a spare cantilever mount for it.
Either way I'm pulling that 50mm optic (it belongs to my Bergara Wilderness HMR) but I am considering, maybe, putting a new 4-16/44 on that AR instead of buying the Ruger or any bolt 223.
Problem is I really like that AR with its 2mil dot and 3x magnifier too, but that leaves a lot on the table with this particular AR.
Gun dilemmas.. :rolleyes:
 
I'd not worry about wearing out the barrel. I've seen some testing with AR's going 30,000 rounds before accuracy started to decline.

I have the Predator version that takes AR magazines. I like it, but truthfully it is only slightly more accurate than my best AR. Another Ruger, the MPR.
 
Life span is dependent on several things. Quality of the barrel steel, rifling process, coatings/treatments, how hot the ammo is, factory or otherwise, and how fast you shoot/how hot you get the barrel. things

Keep in mind, at 50rnds a week, that comes out to 2600rnds a year. you will see lots of numbers up in the 10k+ range. but that is more meeting mil-spec, or competition where hits are counted, not group size. You ask a benchrest or f-class shooter and you will get a very different answer. Personally I would expect the barrel to be worn out for accuracy purposes somewhere in the 3000-5000rnds range, so 1-2 years based on your current rate of shooting.

Barrels wear out. If I were shooting that much Id be looking at something where I could do barrel changes easily, cheaply, and preferably myself.
 
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DasHunde said:
...one of my 16" AR's runs about .6 MOA at 100yd on relatively inexpensive Fiocchi Range Dynamics.
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Problem is I really like that AR with its 2mil dot and 3x magnifier too, but that leaves a lot on the table with this particular AR.
Gun dilemmas..
Click to expand...

I've run into that dilemma of the short, light barrel that gets tested and shows great accuracy you can only realize with an optic that seems contrary to the goal of a light rifle.

For me, the answer is to count my blessings that I won't be out shooting my sights on that upper, and then build an upper you wouldn't want to use on anything but a bench. If you'll never carry farther than from the car to the bench, you could get a monstrous four pound, unthreaded, .936 journaled barrel, and complete an upper for much less than the cost of the Ruger American.

I don't know your daughter's size, but if she's a lot smaller than you, a full traditional rifle stock might not be the easiest for her to fit.
 
problems

If I had an AR carbine that shot .6 MOA with a dot with off the shelf with affordable ammo, that little rifle would get a LPVO in the 1-6x or 1-8x range pretty dang quick.....that is astounding accuracy from that launcher! Despite current trends, 6-8x magnification handles much of the shooting that most of us face, and I think for about all the shooting that the 5.56/.223 cartridge is suited. The OP mentions targets to 300 yds.......6-8x will handle that easily. Next I would acquire a budget carbine upper from somebody like PSA, and I'd bolt that dot onto it and have two AR options that were relatively affordable, available by only swapping uppers.

"Shooting out" a barrel depends on all the aspects mentioned already, your standard of accuracy, etc, etc. If I thought I would indeed shoot out a barrel, "Shadow's" comment about an easy swap is good advice. The easiest and most affordable swap that I am aware of the the Savage 10/110 family. I've got 2 vintage Savage rifles that have undergone barrel changes, all done w/o a 'smith, and all yielding satisfactory results afterwards. BTW, neither were "shot out"....one was a caliber change and the other had been lopped off by a gun butcher and needed a full length tube reinstalled to obtain desired velocities.

What Savage? In addirtion to the old sporters, I've two Savage Hog Rifles, (.308 and .223) both are outstanding shooters and capable of more accuracy at distance than I can deliver, have adjustable triggers and should the need arise, can get new barrels easily,,,,,,but I doubt I will shoot either enough to get to that point. The Hog rifles sell for about $600 bucks these days....a bit high I think, especially when compared to a Ruger Predator, but if the barrel change matters, they are the simplest option.
 
AR in 5.56 shooting 0.6moa consistently is rare. I have 2 in this caliber. Occasionally they go below 1moa with my handload. I already consider them above and beyond as they are budget rifles.

If you define life span by this sort of high precision, I would say 5,000 rounds is probably the ceiling. Hitting a letter size paper out 500yd with 50% hit rate is my standard. I think my rifles can go up to 15,000 rounds. Just my gut feeling estimate. I shoot about 50 rounds a week. That will keep me from tinkering for about 6 years.

Talking about optics. Since I'm not shooting tiny groups at long distances and my aging eye needs light, I like low to medium fixed power (<10x) scopes with reticles convenient for holding over.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
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Barrel life depends a lot on the quality of the barrel when it was new, but I suppose a Ruger hammer forged barrel could go 8,000-10,000 rounds in 223 before if goes bad. I used to have a customer who was a benchrest shooter and he shot a 223. I rebarreled one of his rifles after 8,000 rounds and it was still shooting very well.
 
I'm not sure I can add much, but I'll try.

Ruger Americans do fairly well. I used them for the American Marksman competition and one of the RH ones, with a Burris 2-7 was over 10K (Aguila Ammo) by the end and the group size was still around 1MOA, where it started. We broke a roll pin in the bolt of the LH one, but an easy fix.

Bolt guns will typically have a barrel last longer than an AR barrel. Gas port erosion is the main reason. That said, 10 to 15K depending on initial quality and groups what you are okay having groups open up to. What powder you use, getting it hot, etc. can change that.

My match AR15 with a Stretch Precision barrel is about 1/3 MOA after about 100 rounds and gets to about 3/4 MOA at about 12K range. My Bergara Approach .223 is at 15K and just about ready to get a new barrel.
 
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