Separate Training Rifle a NECESSITY?

[steve white]

People who shoot a LOT talk about barrel life and barrels as consumables.
But a barrel on a Rigby Highland Stalker is not a high volume, consumable barrel UNLESS you are prepared to remove and replace the iron sights and barrel band sling attachment and re-blue a new barrel which might also need to be machined to identically replace the original=major bucks! It is not a consumable, it is practically a sacred cow!

This does not apply to big bores like the 470, 450, or any lower pressure cartridge. According to the chart on Hornady's Ep. 160, Pt. 3 such cartridges can supply a barrel life of almost 9,000 rounds--probably more than your lifetime of hunting with them. BUT, when you enter the Plains Game higher velocity/higher pressure cartridges from say a Rigby Highlander, etc. you are talking about 3000 or so rounds from a 30'06, or as few as 1400 rounds for 7mm Rem. mag/any PRC. You could fool around and wear a barrel out, and it won't be cheap.

Enter the designated trainer--a rifle made for practice and cheap (relatively speaking) barrel replacement. You can match calibers, format, sights, everything in the kind of rifle that won't break the bank if you burn out a barrel. And some, like the SAUM, or 28 Nosler can have a barrel life of under 1000 rounds until worn out. You are probably going to do one of two things--not train as much, or have a "trainer' rifle, so that you don't trash that beauty in the safe before you get to PG activity. And we're not even talking prairie dogs which can wipe out a barrel in two days shooting.
How do you plan to handle your situation?

 

[RedTag]

.308 Winchester

 

[HankBuck]

People who shoot a LOT talk about barrel life and barrels as consumables.
But a barrel on a Rigby Highland Stalker is not a high volume, consumable barrel UNLESS you are prepared to remove and replace the iron sights and barrel band sling attachment and re-blue a new barrel which might also need to be machined to identically replace the original=major bucks! It is not a consumable, it is practically a sacred cow!

This does not apply to big bores like the 470, 450, or any lower pressure cartridge. According to the chart on Hornady's Ep. 160, Pt. 3 such cartridges can supply a barrel life of almost 9,000 rounds--probably more than your lifetime of hunting with them. BUT, when you enter the Plains Game higher velocity/higher pressure cartridges from say a Rigby Highlander, etc. you are talking about 3000 or so rounds from a 30'06, or as few as 1400 rounds for 7mm Rem. mag/any PRC. You could fool around and wear a barrel out, and it won't be cheap.

Enter the designated trainer--a rifle made for practice and cheap (relatively speaking) barrel replacement. You can match calibers, format, sights, everything in the kind of rifle that won't break the bank if you burn out a barrel. And some, like the SAUM, or 28 Nosler can have a barrel life of under 1000 rounds until worn out. You are probably going to do one of two things--not train as much, or have a "trainer' rifle, so that you don't trash that beauty in the safe before you get to PG activity. And we're not even talking prairie dogs which can wipe out a barrel in two days shooting.
How do you plan to handle your situation?

@steve white - I think barrel wear is a problem mostly in Competition Bench Rest Rifles where a 1/4” or even 1/8” loss of accuracy makes a big difference in competition results. But “wearing out” a medium/big game hunting rifle barrel is unlikely and even if accuracy degraded by 1/2” after 1000s of rounds you’d likely never notice that in Hunting situations. For small game rifles .220 Swift, .22-250 etc.. maybe they will wear out over 1000s of rounds and require Rebarrel to remain effective on “Prairie Dogs” over 300 yrds but that should be rare for a Big Game rifle in standard calibers. Losing an 1/4” in anccuracy in a Big Game rifle won’t be detectable under hunting situations. Also, most barrels are Worn Out by improper barrel cleaning and Not shooting. When cleaning any rifle barrel Stay away from any aluminum rods or metal brushes, especially steel but even bronze is rougher on a barrel then Nylon Bristle brushes, use good quality solvents and don’t allow large lead or copper deposits to build up. Obviously rust & neglect will also negatively affect accuracy.
Still, to your point, practice with a full size rifle in .22lr or .223 is an easy way to maintain proper form, trigger squeeze, steadiness, breath control etc.. without the expense of shooting a bigger bore ammo and reducing some of the rounds put through your favorite hunting rifles. I’m interested in what other members - especially Bench Rest competitors - have to say…they are the real experts (Not ME).

 

[steve white]

.308 Winchester

That is certainly a high round count cartridge for barrel life...about twice what a 243 will provide. Good choice.

 

[mark-hunter]

I have enough calibers to train.
Big bore is left for last 5 shots on the range.
Do not underestimate 22.
So, 22lr, 308 win, 3006 in fmj.

 

[VertigoBE]

For training purposes,
I use a .22LR for shot fundamentals.
Dry-fire with the actual rifle for habituation of manipulating the rifle, reloading, shouldering, etc.

I could imagine upgrading the .22LR to a .223 or .308, just to have it a bit more closer in experience to the big bore (noise, recoil, weight and size of rifle, more similar bolt throw), but I have not done so yet.

 

[gcbailey]

I think your question needs a bit more context. I've never met anyone who puts a lot of rounds through a hunting rifle. I don't see a reason to. While barrel wear is a thing, there is only one rifle I have ever fired that I KNEW I could shoot better than the results I was getting, but I suspect that was more do to misuse and bad cleaning practices than barrel wear. My .275 Rigby is an Oberndorf Mauser built around 1914. Given the factory and time that it was built, it most likely served during World War I. It came to Rigby after the war and they built it as a .275 "High Velocity" in 1927. I acquired the rifle in 2015. I don't know where it was, or who had it prior to 2015, but I took it to Africa and other than a scope issue, the rifle was laser accurate still wearing its 1927 barrel.

This may be controversial, but I don't think the gun really matters. If you know how to shoot, you know how to shoot, regardless of caliber or firearm. If you only own the Rigby and are asking if shooting 700+ rounds at a time on the range is a good idea, I'd say no. It wasn't meant for high volume shooting. If you are asking if you should get another gun for high value shooting, I'd say yes. Get an AR15 and shoot until the barrel melts if you want, then drop a new barrel in. If you are asking if you should get another rifle that is a Rigby, or similar to your Rigby, so that you can shoot a lot and not worry about barrel wear or flinching, I say no again. Shoot a few rounds through your Rigby, make sure it hits where you want, then put it away until you are ready to take it hunting. Shoot a few more rounds prior to your trip to verify everything is still properly set, and you're good to go.

 

[GuttormG]

A good 22 or air rifle will learn you to shoot.