SmallCaliberCentral

Curious what you feel the max rounds per hour would be on a relatively heavy barrelled varmint rig on say a 70° day?

I'm talking treating your gun with the respect deserved not just shoot it out

Whew. I passed the quiz.

My answer was based on the normal action competition where you may shoot 30-40 rounds in a really short period of time and then wait for the next stage of the competition, as well as those times when you are in a field with numerous Prairie Dogs...and have to consider wind, elevation, etc...before taking that next shot..

OldTurtle wrote:My answer was based on the normal action competition where you may shoot 30-40 rounds in a really short period of time and then wait for the next stage of the competition, as well as those times when you are in a field with numerous Prairie Dogs...and have to consider wind, elevation, etc...before taking that next shot..

To add, I also based mine on the fact that I have several firearms to switch out (I'm talking mainly sage rat/ground squirel hunting).

With glassing for prospective targets and checking wind conditions in addition to distance..... 40-60 rounds per hour IMHO sounds reasonable if the rats are willing to comply. If you use a wet towel over the barrel perhaps the count could be higher.

Lets say you had one gun and unlimited targets. A theoretical one gun perfect day. How much can a barrel take before you start premature wear issues?

I'm thinking a shot per minute would be pushing it. Devastation to most any larger caliber I'm sure.

TD-Max wrote:Lets say you had one gun and unlimited targets. A theoretical one gun perfect day. How much can a barrel take before you start premature wear issues?

I'd think the answer would be predicated on bore to case volume in addition to environmental conditions and shot cadence. Not sure why you're asking, but my typical shot cadence would easily be about what giterdone mentions in the rat patch. A lage case/small bullet diameter caliber chambered barrel would be fried in a couple of hours if not properly cooled and cleaned, so shot count for such a rifle would be much lower. On the other hand, something like a 204 or 223 would increase the cadence dramatically. That's why we shoot 'em.

Sorry I was thinking 204 since it was a 204 forum.

Just wanted to put into perspective how much ammo a guy would REALLY need for a trip.

If you were in a great PD patch, and clean and cool your barrel properly, say at least every 50 rounds to keep fouling to a minimum, it's no problem to burn up 300 rounds of small bore CF per day. I know guys who burn up more, but they replace barrels much more frequently than I do.

For your trip, allow 400 CF rounds per rifle per day, and you'll probably bring some home....better to have it and not need it that need it in the field and not have it......bummer, been there.

Now for any rat trip, I always bring a .50 cal ammo can with four boxes of 100 for each CF rifle. Four plastic 100 cnt boxes fit perfectly in these cans, or 600 rounds of any Hornet configuration. (Close-in gun)

Rick in Oregon wrote:For your trip, allow 400 CF rounds per rifle per day, and you'll probably bring some home....better to have it and not need it that need it in the field and not have it......bummer, been there.

Words to live by, right there! TD, I don't know how often you get to shoot prairie poodles but I only get to go about once a year (maybe twice if the stars align just right). The last thing I want to do is run low on ammo in a target-rich environment, so I intentionally bring more ammo than I think I can possibly burn up. Rick's advice of 400 rounds/day/rifle is a good one.

Thanks guys. I made it out in 2007 and went through about 2-300 rds on Saturday and Sunday the weather sucked so we did not shoot much. This was starting late morning Saturday as we had made new contact that same morning. In 2008 my Dad was sick and winding down and 2009 we were in the middle of building our house. This year I plan to get back at it. Armed with a bit of experience and hopefully a solid contact (need to re-connect) and potentially larger group, I hope to get some more action. Truth be told I don't think I have much more than 2-300rds/day in me. Sitting that long and eye strain, wind/sun etc catch up to a guy unless conditioned to do this.

I have 400rds of 39 BK left over and 100rds of 32BK

I have 240 rds of brass prepped and primed and 100rds of brass to be primed/prepped. I think overall I should have 1100+ rds of brass available if I round them all up.

Also need to start work up on the 22-250. If the brother in law comes along he'll use one of my Sakos I'm thinking. The 22-250 rd count would be significantly less I'd think due to amount of powder burned...




I could probably get a second trip worked in IF I could find a place that has horseback trail rides nearby. I doubt I could get her to shoot pdogs, but I'm sure I could get her to read a book or go on a trail ride with another grouop while I shoot for a few hours.

TDM: With all the happy talk of rounds per hour, don't forget your complete rifle cleaning kit to include bore guides. I'm sure you've got that end dialed, but with that much shooting, you'll want to cool and clean on a regular basis. Sometimes the cleaning intervals and visiting with shooter buddies is what limits more rounds downrange.

300 CF rounds downrange is a very good day indeed......anywhere. Have a grand trip, and don't forget that camera!

U bet

I pack a Tipton Range Box with supplies and also pack my cleaning rods. Tried a bore snake and while better than nothing, they just don't seem to come close to the rod and brush/jag method...

Patches in old Sierra 100rd bullet boxes for compactness.

TDM: Good show, sounds like you're dialed.

As an aside, here's the setup I've used for a zillion years....my old USMC Match Shooters Box, modified to take all my cleaning crap:



Patches, jags and brushes fit nicely into those plastic fly fishing boxes pretty neat, and keep 'em separated (swivel studs removed from many rifles for shooting over a front rest/rear bag):



Rods go into Sinclair rod holders with the handles marked with a Sharpie as to caliber. When you've got six red handles poking out of their carriers, it's nice to be able to grab the right one the first time.

Again, have a grand trip!

I picked the low end of 20 only because I use three 204's which would equate to 60 rds per hour. A good busy day for me would be about 300 rounds.