Hello craigd,
Thanks for the reply.
That may be true for professional benchrest shooters that fire thousands of rounds at "very high velocity" and win or loose matches based on .001 inch differences in increased group size, but even run of the mill competition Match rifles with barrels from Shillen, Krueger, Obermeyer, etc. will go about 6,000 to 8,000 rounds before showing any signs of accuracy change.
The last time I had an issue with my Obermeyer Match rifle's accuracy dropping off after 4,000 rounds, Boots told me to, concentrate on scrubbing it repeatedly with JB until the paches came out clean. When I asked about JB being an abrasive, he commented that; "..water is an abrasive if given enough time - just look at the Grnad Canyon." After scrubbing the barrel every day for a month, the rifle started shooting 1/4" groups again.
But for the most part, here I'm discussing recreational shooting and hunting use of antique arms, which even over 30 years doesn't come close to affecting measurable barrel wear. At least not for me; I can't speak for others.
