I don't know if you could completely shoot out a 30-30 or 35 rem barrel without making a serious dent in your saving on ammo or components.

I have seen a 22-250 shot out in about 5000 rounds. ( we are still talking 1 1/2 inch at 100 yards just not the 1/2 inch it did before) and I have seen a 204 ruger ar shot out in about 3000 rounds because you could shoot it real fast.

I had on T/C contender barrel in 45-70 that i bought used that did not group and had some issues. I think it was used with black powder loads and I could never get it to groups well.

At 200 rounds a month and 10 mounts a year (Jan and feb off) you might see some were in 20,000 rounds or 10 years. Still we are talking a 2 inch group opening up to 2 1/2 at 100 yards. I bet in 20,000 round it would still be minute of deer easy. for say up to 200.000 rounds.

Lower pressure rounds just do not seem to wear out the grooves or chamber of the barrel quickly.

 

Most levers that are shot out are one of two things or both.

1. Bore is dirty and needs extensive cleaning

2. The crown has been ram rodded to death by cleaning from the muzzle.

I have several Marlins that have seen way over 50 years of use, mind you these are deer rifles and the bores are pristine but have seen more round through them since I've owned them say average 7 years each.

I've bought several boxes of 500 rounds of cast for my 38-55 and am down to 150 in the fourth box plus a bunch of jacketed around 400 rds. so figure over 2000 in a newer gun that is still very accurate.

My .32 Special has seen 2000 rounds of cast through it and 200 rounds of jacketed still looks new down the bore it is a 1949 336A

I have a 39A made in 1966 that has had over 20,000 rounds through it and it still shoots as well when I bought it used.

Slow burning powder erodes the throats and accuracy drops off, pump up the charge and usually the accuracy comes back.

 

I've shot out some .308 Win barrels, but never anything else. Shoot the .308 a lot, my barrels typically lasts 4,000 - 6,000 rounds before giving up match accuracy.

I'd think the lower intensity cartridges in the 336 would last much longer.

 

Two things that have been mentioned already are excessive cleaning from the muzzle. The cleaning rod rubbing and wearing the rifling at the muzzle. And throat erosion from hot loads.

I do not think that a 30-30 or 32 or 35 could be worn out without really trying to do so. I have a Remington 40X 22LR that has had at least 200,000 rounds through it by me and the previous two owners and it still shoots 1/2" groups at 50 yards without trying-with good ammo and 3/4" groups with hunting ammo.

How one takes care of his firearm does more towards ware than anything else.

John

 

My brother has a Model 70 in 264 Win Mag that has gone thorugh a couple of barrels. The 264 is a hot rascal.

 

Hitler's Buzzsaw, the MG42 fired 1,200 RPM and was good for 3,500 to 4000 rounds before the barrel needed to be changed out. Chrome lined barrels lasted longer. Bursts were held to 300 round increments. Even then you needed gloves to handle the hot barrel.

FAL barrels not subjected to automatic fire are supposed to be good for 30,000 rounds.

The only thing that will mess up your Marlin accuracy is you. You will never shoot it out.

A friend and I attending a gun show some years ago overheard a clown tell his friends at the bar that any gun manufactured before 1970 was a parts gun because the corrosive ammo used in cartridges up to that time had surely destroyed the rifles of the idiot deer hunters that didn't know how to clean them. His friends heaped glory upon him, praised him for his knowledge and thanked him for saving them from imprudent rifle purchases. We called the joker out. It was kind of fun and he wasn't that bright after all. Don't know if his friends hang with him anymore.

 

Any smith can do a re crown for maybe $50. Not sure that I would call that shot out. More like abuse. Now if you used a 2 piece or 3 piece rod and it scraped up the length of the barrel as it flexed, and better yet, if you had a steel Tornado brush on the tip, that would really be abuse.

People supposedly floss the accuracy out of their barrels with Bore Snakes. Don't really buy this. The Snake would look like cotton candy.

 

Here is something you can do. Buy a brand new 336 in 30-30 and one in 35 Remington. Buy 5000 rounds for each. Begin shooting. If not shot out by then, buy 5000 more rounds for each. Continue shooting. Repeat as necessary. When you have them shot out, post the number of rounds on this board so that all members can be aware.

I would do this myself, but my wife would be greatly disturbed at the money I am spending and the amount of time I spend at the range! ;D

 

At 57 years old, I don't think I have enough time left on this world to wear out a 35 or a 30-30 by shooting them. :'( DP

 

If you're shooting cast slugs at relatively low pressure in .30-30, .32 Spl, .35R, .38-55, .45/70, and properly cleaning and storing your hardware, you'll never need to worry about wearing out a barrel.
I have several from the turn of the century forward, and with one exception (badly abused and broken '93 rifle) all bores are pristine and accurate after a thorough cleaning. All shoot cast well.

 

My buddy has one that was manufactured in the 30's and it's not shot out yet.. it gets used frequently and alway has..

 

a wise old boy told me that one shot from a smokin hot barrel is worse than one hundred shots from a cold bore. that i know to be a fact. i sent a nice rem 700 243 down the cammode cause i didnt thik 5 shot groups could hurt it even though it was hot after the 3rd shot. the 4th and 5th shots were killing that barrel. if i wasnt stupid and shot just 3 at a time, id still use that gun and the barrel would be mint. i remember after a 5 shot group was shot, that barrel would melt plastic. and thats why ill stay away from buying used 243 caliber rifles. thats probly wher the 264 barrels are going too georgeky. that is a hot rascal, it makes a hellava noise and packs a hellava whollop. yeah and what swany said, either ramrodded or full of copper, half burned powder and lead layered on.

 

The 30-30 and .35 Rem aint in the .300 RUM barrel-eatin' class, plus I doubt anyone would have reason to lever rounds through one over and over again either. With normal use and half-ass cleaning, I dont think you could wear one out.

 

What I was told is the velocity of the bullet is what kills barrels.... The 22-250 was brought up earlier and that is a smoking little round with a muzzle velocity up to and exceeding 4150fps that bullet is just screaming down an out the barrel. That being said you have the 30-30, 32sp, and 35rem stumbling out the barrel at 2000-2200fps......the wear and life of the barrel is greatly extended by the lower velocities. My guess is that if your gun is loosing accuracy you have an excessively fouled barrel and will some cleaning the accuracy will return. Personally I find that my Marlins shoot best with a "pre-shot" barrel...meaning that if my bore is shinny clean I will get a decrease in accuracy in the first 1-5 shots.

I have an extra $100 buring a hole on my pocket and I could toss your way....you could send your troublesome inaccurate Marlin down the road to my house.....where it would live with many of its brothers and cousins LOL

 

On the rimfire section I recently mentioned relining Dad's Win. single shot .22 several years ago. The barrel was not shot out, The chamber had worn at the point where shorts ended, precluding extraction with long rifles. Hard use for over seventy years had not hurt the rifling, just the chamber. The 336 chamberings should never "wear out" a barrel, but as others have posted there is more than one way to ruin a barrel. Have fun trying to wear them out, Jack

 

a wise old boy told me that one shot from a smokin hot barrel is worse than one hundred shots from a cold bore. that i know to be a fact. i sent a nice rem 700 243 down the cammode cause i didnt thik 5 shot groups could hurt it even though it was hot after the 3rd shot. the 4th and 5th shots were killing that barrel. if i wasnt stupid and shot just 3 at a time, id still use that gun and the barrel would be mint. i remember after a 5 shot group was shot, that barrel would melt plastic. and thats why ill stay away from buying used 243 caliber rifles. thats probly wher the 264 barrels are going too georgeky. that is a hot rascal, it makes a hellava noise and packs a hellava whollop. yeah and what swany said, either ramrodded or full of copper, half burned powder and lead layered on.

Sounds like that joker I mentioned earlier still has some friends.