Barrel life

Jerek said:
How is the warranty center going to know what you fired. Steel or not? Tell them all you shot was match ammo.
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Maybe the scratches in the surface that shouldn't be there if all it saw was copper. They do look at the barrel before they hand out a new one and they do have bore scopes so they can properly inspect the one in question.

To me this does sound like a manufacturing defect but once the bi-metal has been down the barrel it's a lost cause.
 
cr5 said:
Every rifle I have bought that came with a manual has specifically stated that running reloads, steel case, or steel jacketed ammo will void the warranty. Glock also specifically states not to run cast bullets because of the polygonal rifling.
It isn't unreasonable at all for a company to void your warranty for running sh!t ammo.
It would be the same as if you bought a high performance sports car or motorcycle that specifically states that it requires 91 octane or higher and then you run regular unleaded and expect warranty when you ruin your motor. I wouldn't warranty it either, it's up to you to read the manual, understand the risks and make your own decision, if you choose not to follow the manufacturers recommendations then don't expect them to warranty what you break.
Not following the manufacturers recommendations and getting mad about ruining your rifle is a perfect example of thinking you know and being proven wrong.

The only thing lame is expecting a company to warranty something you ruin by your own ignorance.

This is not directed at albertacoyotecaller in any way, he has made it clear he expects no warranty and is going to take care of the barrel replacement himself.

If you don't mind me asking. Which company is going to trade you your damaged barrel for one of their new ones? That is some very good service and I would continue to give a company like that my money.
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That's weird, I looked at the manuals for 3 of my rifles and none of them said bi metal ammo will void warranty.
They all recommend not using reload/handload ammo and surplus ammo...but nothing about voiding warranty.
 
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andrew3081 said:
That's weird, I looked at the manuals for 3 of my rifles and none of them said bi metal ammo will void warranty.
They all recommend not using reload/handload ammo and surplus ammo...but nothing about voiding warranty.
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When my HK pistol went kaboom they told me that using anything the manual recommends not using voids the warranty. Why else would they even bother to mention it?
Ammo with bi-metal projectiles is surplus ammo.
 
Travis Bickle said:
Bi metal? What is this?

And someone explain to me how it burns out a barrel faster please.
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Bullets with steel alloy jacketing rather than copper jacketing.
Steel jacketed bullet travelling down the barrel will cause more wear than a bullet with a copper jacket.

Like this
https://www.canadaammo.com/product/detail/norinco-copper-washed-7-62x39-ammunition-crate-of-1200/
and this
https://www.canadaammo.com/product/detail/1000-round-crate-of-norinco-7-62x51-nato-ammunition/
Wolf and MFS are also know to produce ammo with bi-metal projectiles.

Fine in a cheap barrel and/or a rifle with an easy to change barrel like an AR if you are ok with sacrificing barrel life for cheaper ammo costs. The money you save in ammo can sometimes be enough to buy you a replacement barrel.
 
Barrels "wear out" - lose accuracy - because of throat erosion. Not from bullets passing down the bore, but from gas erosion of the throat. The leade gets increasingly long as erosion progresses. The surface looks like a dried up lake bed.
Bullets may be jacketed using different materials. "Steel" jacketed bullets do not have the steel of the jacket contacting the bore. The steel is clad with another metal, like copper.
A lot of bullets are made this way. Way more than many assume.
The silver coloured bullets that a lot of folks refer to as steel jacketed have cupronickel alloy jackets; this can cause miserable metal fouling, but is nothing to do with steel jackets.
In target rifles, .223 is considered to have a shorter barrel life than .308, because accuracy loss resulting from throat erosion.
 
cr5 said:
You're lucky, I usually only get a couple hundred rounds down range per week. If I ran that much down range I might reconsider my ammo and barrel choices.
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So you shoot 10k rounds a year out of your AR?

That's more than enough ammo a year to justify using lower cost bi-metal ammo.
 
Clobbersauras said:
So you shoot 10k rounds a year out of your AR?

That's more than enough ammo a year to justify using lower cost bi-metal ammo.
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That seems like a lot, maybe half that but it's mostly handloads.
I don't get to go shooting every week but I try to, I get cranky when I don't get to shoot regularly ;)

The biggest reason I won't shoot crap ammo is that none of my rifles have cheap barrels. I'm not going to risk decreasing the lifespan of my barrels, most are $450+ just for the barrel.
 
cr5 said:
When my HK pistol went kaboom they told me that using anything the manual recommends not using voids the warranty. Why else would they even bother to mention it?
Ammo with bi-metal projectiles is surplus ammo.
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There is a BIG difference between 'recommend' and 'do not use or it will void warranty'.

How are bi metal bullets considered surplus???
A lot of these bi metal ammo are newly produced.

And I am sure reloads are more of a warranty killer than bi metal ammo.
 
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albertacoyotecaller said:
I am going to look through the barrel with a bore scope later this week to see for sure what is going on. Will come back and report.
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I'm curious to see what you find.
I have had barrels copper up to a point, and then start shedding it, resulting in funky looking lands and bad accuracy. Solution was an extensive cleaning with sweets 7.62 and a brush. Accuracy came back and the bore looked good again.
 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^ this!
I would agree that an aggressive cleaning with something as potent as Sweets would be the first order of business.
If there was a manufacturing defect..i.e. issues with the rifling, it should have shown up as poor accuracy from the get go...something which would be very rare with an LMT product.
I await the outcome of the cleaning/borescope inspection with interest.
 
It's well worth giving it a run through with either Sweets or one of the foaming bore cleaners before pulling it down and replacing the barrel - I would expect an LMT barrel to last a whole lot longer. As far as the "bi-metal jackets will ruin your barrel" thing, well, the witchdoctor hasn't conclusively proved that hypothesis.
 
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