Occasionally I will get an e-mail from someone asking about the barrels I use and how long I go before putting on a new one. I really don't have the answer most people expect since I change barrels based more on time of year rather than how many shots I have through it. Here is my methodology for barrel replacement.
I have multiple upper receivers. During any given year one upper, which has been re-barreled over the winter, will be the one I use to shoot across the course in that year. Once the shooting season is over I will send another upper to White Oak Precision for a new barrel. Once that upper comes back with a new barrel, I will shoot that re-barreled upper across the course for the next season. The upper that I used for across the course from the previous year will be used as my backup upper for this year. Then, when the season is over, the backup upper will be re-barreled to become my across the course upper. The across the course upper will then revert to become my backup upper.
An example is this: the upper that I shot across the course in 2024 will become my backup upper for 2025. My backup upper from 2024 (and across the course upper from 2023) was re-barreled over the winter and will become my course upper for 2025. Each upper will follow a year to year sequence of re-barrel, across the course shooting one year, backup for one year, and then re-barrel.
So I have a new barrel put on my uppers every two years. This re-barrel process has nothing to do with how many rounds are on the barrel. I could probably shoot each barrel more but I found that changing barrels during the winter is the best time to do it. This allows me to concentrate on shooting rather than wondering if my barrel is shot out. I try not to get hung up on something as simple as a barrel. As an example, when I had the above mentioned uppers re-barreled, the 2023 upper had 2236 rounds and the 2024 upper had 2221 rounds.
Nowadays I just send my upper to White Oak each year with the instructions to replace the barrel. Most times John will put on whatever he wants and that is what I use. I'm usually not concerned which brand of blank he uses just as long as he chambers and contours it.
I have never "broken in" a barrel. The process of shooting and cleaning always seemed tedious and no one could ever give me evidence that this improved their scores. The first time I shoot a re-barreled upper is in the first match of the year. That's usually 88 shots and it's the starting point to acquire the season's zeros.