Is my barrel worn out?

[skipglo]

I have a 6.5 CM have no idea of how many rounds Ive put through it....................i would guess well over 1500 The issue Im having is that shooting the 143 ELD-X Ive alway shot at 1/2 MOA at 200 yards Now im having a hard time keeping my groups under 2 inches at 100 Same load ive always shot. This morning cool weather dead calm I shot three 5 shot groups and both were over 3" at 100 Crazy..............Im guessing my barrel has had it .

I even tried brand new Lapua Brass I anneal after each shot

It that a fair assumption?

Have you always used the same brass made by Lapua? Or did this happen when you bought new different brass. Like others have said first thing I'd check is scope... especially if you say it had a fall. I had a simple change in brass though, thought I would try another brand that produced the exact results you are experiencing! Never would have believed it if I hadn't experienced it myself!

 

[Idgunner]

I second what Coyote Shadow Tracker said. During rock chuck season I shoot both of my bolt action 223s hundreds of rounds without cleaning until I notice that I seem to be missing easy shots, shots less than 350 yards. When I inspect the crown, they both have 11 degree target crowns, I will almost always spot a small build up of carbon right on the lip of the crown. I will give the barrels a quick cleaning and also scrape the crown edge with my thumbnail to make sure the carbon knob is gone and the problem goes away. Only once did I have to have a barrel cut down at the breach end and the chamber moved forward to get past a burned out throat. That barrel is still on the gun and hitting chucks at 600 yards.

 

[lotech]

I've found this to generally be the case when a barrel is truly worn out... with a rifle that is capable of 1/2" -3/4" groups on a regular basis, groups gradually enlarge to around 1 1/4" - 1 1/2" on the average with an occasional group around an inch or just under. With a NULA 7x61 Sharpe & Hart, I've had this occur twice. At around a thousand rounds groups begin to gradually open up. A couple of hundred rounds more and most groups are large. The number of rounds will vary, of course, from rifle to rifle. I keep bores clean, removing most carbon and copper, but seldom to bare metal unless I overdo it. With the bare metal approach it may take a dozen rounds to get it shooting again. Slight carbon and copper hurt nothing and are usually beneficial.

 

[fmuguira]

As some one else pointed out, if you've never cleaned out copper with something specially made to get copper out, you may have some fouling build up. Scope mounts and all the frame screws is also a great thing to check first. Best way to maybe assess your barrel for both copper, throat erosion, and whether the lands are shot out, is to borescope it. That will tell you a lot. Teslong borescope costs $65 or you can find a gunsmith or friend with one. For cleaning copper fouling out, I like Boretech CU 2+

If you have shot 1500 rounds and only ever used Hoppes 9 bore cleaner, I would bet you have some copper.

+1. And I d even guess a lot of copper!

 

[dgpcpa]

It is obvious from the various replies that there are a lot of variables. And you have to eliminate each one - one at a time to be sure. My gunsmith told me my Savage factory 6.5CM barrel was good for up to 3,500 rounds. I am well in excess of 2,000 already. Still a tack-driver at 100. I agree with the sentiments - "don't throw out a barrel too early." Do your homework and you'll know for sure.

 

[Radman]

I have a 6.5 CM have no idea of how many rounds Ive put through it....................i would guess well over 1500 The issue Im having is that shooting the 143 ELD-X Ive alway shot at 1/2 MOA at 200 yards Now im having a hard time keeping my groups under 2 inches at 100 Same load ive always shot. This morning cool weather dead calm I shot three 5 shot groups and both were over 3" at 100 Crazy..............Im guessing my barrel has had it .

I even tried brand new Lapua Brass I anneal after each shot

It that a fair assumption?

LOTS of very good advice here. IN MY EXPERIENCES it isn't so much how many rounds through a barrel as it is how rapidly you fired them. Rapid firing is a great way to trash a barrel, (especially if you shoot high-velocity calibers/rounds).

 

[BrentM]

1500 on a creed. No. Carbon ring and possible reloading issues, Yes. I'd make sure that barrel doesn't have a carbon ring first. We have creeds with 4000 rounds and still shooting .5. Also running same COAL.

 

[RuninL8]

It's very doubtful that after your rifle took a fall, that it's throat erosion. You've got something that's not in the same position as it use to be. Check your muzzle crown, your scope rail to reciever, or rings to reciever. I can not stress this enough, over tighting base screw, or any part of scope rings is just as bad as loose screws. Also, try a different scope, and ridiculous as it sounds I've seen high end scopes just get hit the wrong way. Check your bedding area, look for unusual wear areas, recheck your foreend for proper clearance. Check the trigger inlet to make sure something isn't binding, Essentially your gonna need to take the rifle all the way apart give it a very good look over. Oh yeah, definitely need to clean everything, and put some grease on your bolt lugs.

 

[Torrey]

Following

 

[Chas1]

It's very doubtful that after your rifle took a fall, that it's throat erosion. You've got something that's not in the same position as it use to be. Check your muzzle crown, your scope rail to reciever, or rings to reciever. I can not stress this enough, over tighting base screw, or any part of scope rings is just as bad as loose screws. Also, try a different scope, and ridiculous as it sounds I've seen high end scopes just get hit the wrong way. Check your bedding area, look for unusual wear areas, recheck your foreend for proper clearance. Check the trigger inlet to make sure something isn't binding, Essentially your gonna need to take the rifle all the way apart give it a very good look over. Oh yeah, definitely need to clean everything, and put some grease on your bolt lugs.

+1. excellent advice especially since it took a fall.

 

[GrayCreed]

Have you adjusted your CBTO to account for throat erosion? Possible you could lost your node.

^^^^^ this ^^^^^^

1. First clean the barrel with a copper solvent
2. Do load development to slightly lengthen the CBTO till it tightens back up

 

[Tommy T]

I have a 6.5 CM have no idea of how many rounds Ive put through it....................i would guess well over 1500 The issue Im having is that shooting the 143 ELD-X Ive alway shot at 1/2 MOA at 200 yards Now im having a hard time keeping my groups under 2 inches at 100 Same load ive always shot. This morning cool weather dead calm I shot three 5 shot groups and both were over 3" at 100 Crazy..............Im guessing my barrel has had it .

I even tried brand new Lapua Brass I anneal after each shot

It that a fair assumption?

I would even look at changing the scope out and see what it dose I have a scope go bad and spent a 1k dollars or more on ammo and ever thing Thant I could think of before I decided to change the scope good luck

 

[nmbsniper]

I'd check the receiver bolts first. Scope base and rings next. I'd go as far as removing everything and and start over. I seriously doubt that 1500 rounds would wear it out, it's not a magnum round. My police sniper rifle had 10k documented rounds before I noticed any increase in my group sizes and even then it was minimal. When it was scoped, it had some throat wear.

If none of those work, I'd check my rounds.

 

[HaroldNRAEndowment]

I will not say anything other than all the checks mentioned above, but point out a red flag. Yes the scope & mounting is a positive red flag due to the fall. There is one thing based on how the rifle fell. If it fell on the muzzle, then that goes back to a recommendation already stated. Check for any burs or distortions on the muzzle end, if that is were it fell onto. Then re-crown the barrel if needed.
Could the stock have a fracture in a way that is difficult to see or have dented/deformed an contact areas relating to the stock or recoil lug.
Good luck and start with the most likely solution and then work through all the suggestions.