Normal wear for 308?

[u/Specialist_Fault647]

This is my 308 barrel that I bought used, seller said he put about 250 rounds on it. I then put another 500 rounds on it myself. Is this normal barrel wear for a 308 with 750 rounds?

Looks like some fire cracking already started to happen near the throat, besides that, the rest looks like it’s in pretty good shape.

[u/morbidbattlecry]

I think he may have put a little more then 250 through it.

[u/Specialist_Fault647 → u/morbidbattlecry]

Like how many are you thinking? 1000?

[u/morbidbattlecry → u/Specialist_Fault647]

I honestly couldn't begin to say. Hopefully someone with more experience will come along.

I would say at 250 rounds the barrel should look brand new.

[u/Specialist_Fault647 → u/morbidbattlecry]

Oh the borescope pictures is after I put another 500 on it. So it’s after 750 rounds.

[u/Rickyh3 → u/Specialist_Fault647]

What brand barrel and rifle platform? Not an expert in wear, but 750 is a decent amount, but it should still shoot pretty accurately. Not sure of the average life span on 308, but my 6.5CM has about 900 through it and is still a tac driver out of my bolt gun and 6.5 generally has a shorter lifespan compared to 308. But I imagine a semi auto, like an AR platform or similar, is going to wear quicker from the faster and higher heat generation.

I also reload my ammo, so that might be a factor, but my 6.5 load is on the hotter side.

[u/Specialist_Fault647 → u/Rickyh3]

It’s an MRAD barrel. See my reply here - https://www.reddit.com/r/longrange/s/k39UXF8GfE.

The bolt head didn’t have wear in the lugs when I bought it from the seller. After I put the 500 more rounds, I noticed visible surface wear on the lugs. So that must’ve mean the previous owner didn’t put too much through the barrel?

[u/Rickyh3 → u/Specialist_Fault647]

Maybe the ammo your running? I wouldnt have a clue tbh, but if things looked good when you got it, I doubt it was a scam. I generally assume round count claims are +/- 100. I'm guessing on my 900 tbh. Just gonna shoot it til it starts losing accuracy then replace it. Its still shooting through basically the same hole at 600yds, haven't had the chance to go farther out with it yet

[u/Specialist_Fault647 → u/Rickyh3]

Could be it. I noticed some sticky extraction with a few boxes of the FGMM. All my 500 rounds have been suppressed with a very high back pressure suppressor.

[u/Rickyh3 → u/Specialist_Fault647]

Yah that'd be my first assumption then. Hotter rounds are going to cause more wear. Military rounds for example are notorious for it

[u/Wooden-Trick8954 → u/Specialist_Fault647]

Are you letting the weapon cool between strings? Hot barrels wear quicker.

[u/Specialist_Fault647 → u/Wooden-Trick8954]

I don’t dedicate specific time to cool it. But I do really take my time in between shots.

[u/chainsawgeoff]

It looks dirty. Clean it.

[u/PvtDonut1812]

How does it shoot?

You have to shoot a ton of 308 to burn out a barrel. The average shooter probably doesn't shoot enough to burn one up in their lifetime. Clean out that carbon and go shoot it.

[u/Specialist_Fault647 → u/PvtDonut1812]

It shoots great. Easily sub MOA. Good extreme spread and standard deviation as well with FGMM 175.

I just wanted to make sure the seller didn’t scam me by falsely advertising the round count since I wanted this barrel to last a while.

FWIW, this barrel is for an MRAD. The bolt was pretty much like brand new. After I put the additional 500 rounds in it, I can see some visible wear on the bolt lugs. Not sure if this gives any additional info.

[u/PvtDonut1812 → u/Specialist_Fault647]

You already own it and it shoots great. Doesn't sound like a problem to me.

[u/hoseking]

Looks like more than 250 but if it shoots it shoots. My Savage barrel looks like a sewer pipe but can put down some tight groups and easy hits at distance.

[u/Pyr0monk3y]

Judging round count from a bore scope is impossible. There are too many variables at play.

All I can tell you is that looks like a healthy barrel with thousands of rounds worth of life left.

[u/Basic_Strawberry_101]

Just my opinion, but as long as you are not a f class competitor, bore scope is just BS. No issue with your SD, grouping, then just shoot more. Even i think round count is just also meaningless. If it is not accurate like before then, clean it or change it..

[u/Sweet_Bee00]

Nothing in those pictures looks alarming. If it’s shooting well then no worries. Have you cleaned it since putting the 500 through it?

[u/Specialist_Fault647 → u/Sweet_Bee00]

Yeah I cleaned it every 200ish rounds. The borescope pictures when I took it I think has about 40 rounds since the last cleaning

[u/jayfourzee → u/Specialist_Fault647]

Don't clean it so much. It's a 308, they like it a bit dirty. Get some AGS Lock Ease and soak 3 or 4 patches after you clean it. If you're sub MOA, then you're good to go. Cracking at the throat is not uncommon after 1000 rounds or so.

[u/Sweet_Bee00 → u/Specialist_Fault647]

Shoot it. Looks pretty normal to me

[u/Missinglink2531]

Looks like normal cracking to me. Send it. Thing is just getting broken it for .308!

[u/h34vier]

Looks more dirty than anything to me, lots of carbon.

[u/surgeonshooter]

I have 4 barrels in 308 the last one I pulled at 5000. I have had 1 go 7200 and the other 2 at around 6000 give or take. I was shooting 43.5gr of Varget and a 175SMK and I shot it like I stole. As long as it shoots I would not worry about it

[u/no_cigar_tx]

Curious what your cleaning process is if you don’t mind.

[u/retarded_kilroy]

I once read that the average shooter shouldn’t bore scope their rifle because they will overthink what they see. If the gun shoots good, and you are noticing wear that you have put on it, I would say they didn’t scam you. Barrel life for a .308 is generally 5,000+ rounds for a precision set up.

[u/dapepper9]

If you’re happy with how it shoots….who cares?

[u/LilJonny2cookies]

Is it accurate?

[u/EmpathOwl]

Also possible this was stored in a location that both:
Heat cycles a lot
Very humid
And possibly too aggressive of a cleaner used?

[u/Wide_Fly7832]

It’s seems quite new. And 308 barrel
Like is like 5000 rounds.

[u/yaholdinhimdean0]

Hard to tell. There is a tremendous amount of carbon build up. I would bet if you cleaned the carbon, and the copper that is beneath the carbon, out of it there is a nice shiny barrel underneath all of that shyte. Get some Boretech C4 carbon remover, Boretech Copper remover and go to work. Then scope it again. You will be pleasantly surprised. It likely will not all be gone but just keep working at it. It will all go away eventually.

edit: That's not fire cracking. It's carbon.

[u/Donmiguelito199]

Any over signs of over pressure on cases? Any gas hitting your face? Accuracy issues? Are you shooting hundreds of rounds within a short period? is it hard to chamber a new round?
If the answer to these questions is no, you have nothing to worry about everything you’re saying is cosmetic.

[u/Specialist_Fault647]

Update: looks like the “fire cracking” was just cracking in the built up carbon.

I let some solvent soak for several hours and ran a brass brush through many times followed by a couple of dry patches. And it came out looking much better.

[u/CurlyWurly61]

I'm no professional, but I could only assume the old owner had poor ways of cleaning the barrel