Shooting milsurps and preserving rifling condition

commissar_lubi

commissar_lubi

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Many of us probably do not limit their milsurps to the status of wall hangers but actually go shoot with them. My question is how much does shooting actually affect rifling quality over time?

Specifically, my SVT 40 does not have fantastic rifling (rifling is still semi-sharp but it's not very deep and there are signs of scratches in the metal, maybe pitting) despite shooting better than my No4 Mk1 and my MN which has much better rifling, how much can it shoot before it might become a "smoothbore", that is assuming I clean the rifle after shooting it every time.

https://imgur.com/a/gWAnx
 
With proper cleaning technique I'd give a new barrel up to 10,000 rds of useful accuracy. Throat erosion and muzzle wear are critical so keep reloads on the mild side, minimize long strings of rapid fire and pay attention to cleaning techniques.
 
noryema308 said:
buy a case of 880
you will see after, take advantage
good shot
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I already did buy a 440 case of 54r (at least for the mosin), but I'd rather stick to non-corrosive in my SVT for now although I just might need to start using the chinese ammo eventually.

Is corrosive that bad even with proper cleaning on the SVT??
 
I've fired somewhere between 3-4000 rounds out of my SVT since I got it several years ago. While it is slightly, yet noticeably less accurate now than it was back then, I can still hit the vitals on a moose every time out to 200 yards (provided I do my part). I've cleaned it after every use, but I certainly haven't babied it. So judge yourself accordingly.
:cheers:
 
commissar_lubi said:
Is corrosive that bad even with proper cleaning on the SVT??
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Let’s see, 8 thousand rounds theoretical life expectancy, subtract substandard machining and tolerances, minus 500 rounds during training, another 400 from that Ivan fellow before he got killed. Minus another oh, 30% from the week the rifle spent in a ditch covered in dirt and Ivan’s insides, another 10% from breaking the action free with a rock, add 10% from the time that helpful German fellow actually cleaned the rifle properly, divide by the number of years in storage, carry the two equals... Yes.

They weren’t treated well and once the wear and erosion starts, it just happens faster.

Sill the best bang for your milsurb buck IMHO. There are more accurate and elegant rifles for sure but the SVT40 is the most fun to shoot.
 
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If you're really serious about maintaining the quality of your bore in that Svt 40, open the gas port a bit, relax the recoil spring and start shooting "cast lead."

Let's get real here.

You aren't going to battle with your rifle, you aren't taking it hunting and you really don't need or want to absorb the recoil from military pressure rounds.

It's the same as any other mechanical device. Ride it hard and it will break down and wear out faster. One of the main reasons I have never been interested in Svt40 rifles is that finding them with decent bores is not easy. NO I don't consider a bore with 2000-3000 rounds to be a decent bore. They might be acceptable but not to me.

Purple built a lovely M1 Garand chambered in 7.62x51. I wanted it so I paid what he was asking. It was a very good decision. I really like the rifle. However, I made a couple of changes to the gas system and recoil spring so that I could shoot cast lead bullets of 190 grains out of it. My velocities are around 1800fps with flat based, gas checked .311 diameter bullets. After a couple of thousand rounds, the bore still looks as good as it did when it was new. Much easier to clean as well.

I will admit this isn't for everyone. Still, there are companies out there that can and do supply very good cast lead bullets for your rifle. For a bit of your time and cash you can start handloading acceptable ammo for your rifle that won't beat it or you to hell when shooting and still be around to shoot well for your progeny.
 
Well - Doesn't the milsurp ammo have a plated mild steel jacket? I would think that would be much harder on the bore than a copper jacket or cast.... As a minimum, if you reload, you could go to min loads with commercial bullets like the Hornady 150 SP - or pull the bullets from milsurp ammo, drop the charge by a few grains, and seat a commercial bullet. This should give you better accuracy, to boot.
 
I've got more than 2,200 rds of gas checked cast lead bullets through my M1896 Mauser with a #1 bore serviceability. I haven't noticed any drop in accuracy :):)
 
I've mentioned this one before, but I have a Remington M1903 which came with its original barrel. The bore wasn't badly pitted and the throat gauged .307 on the GI throat erosion gauge versus the .308 reject line. The muzzle crown was concentric and gauged .303, again at the reject point. The rifle still produced 3 inch groups @ 100 yds which is acceptable service grade accuracy. I have no idea how many rounds that barrel had seen, but it was beaucoup.

I re-barreled it with a NOS GI barrel which shrank groups down to the 1 inch plus change size.
 
Ganderite said:
Using corrosive primers does not change barrel life. It just requires cleaning after shooting to wash away the salt.

Most SKS have a chromed barrel. Hard chrome reduces wear and extends barrel life. I do not know the actual barrel life, but 20,000 would not surprise me.
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My neighbor has an sks that be purchased about 10 years ago.

It's beat to death and gets shot a lot. I once asked him how many rounds have been through it and if I remember correctly he said he's on his 8th 1200 round case of ammo. So that's almost 10k rounds of hard rapid fire use.

Rifling is warn but still there's about 1/2 left. The gun often gets shot on warm days to the point I once burnt my arm on it. It's the gun that gets passed around when we have neighborhood shoots so it's never allowed to cool down between strings.

My brother has an svt40 that he's put many 880 round crates through and it shoots very well still.

As for being easy on barrels that's not too hard to do. I shoot a lot of cast bullets with 13 grains of red dot in most of my surplus rifles. I use those for 50 to 200 yard shooting..

When distances stretch out I load 18 to 20 grains of 2400 and have rung 10" steel at 300- 500 yards with those for years. It makes it hard and I like that. You learn about wind real fast shooting cast at longer ranges.

The only time I shoot full house loads is when the wind is high and I'm shooting out at 500 yards or more.

I've put several thousand cast loads through my mk3 Ross and have noticed zero bore wear. Same goes for my no4. Longbranch, k31 and 1903 Springfield.

Long story short, keep your loads light and don't overheat your guns and you'll have barrels that last a long long time..
 
I'm also a big cast bullet fan. Low recoil, good accuracy, small powder charges, minimum bore wear etc. All I've ever shot in my bolt action milsurps. Semi autos are a different story. May take some research and load development to get them to cycle. An M1 carbine I had was an exception. Cycled great with most cast loads. Since I don't shoot many jacketed bullets I'm shocked now whenever I see the price stickers on bullets in gun shops. Would not take too many range sessions with a Moisant Nagant to put the value of the rifle into the back stop.
Last but not least I'm of Scottish ancestry and some of us tend to be frugal!
 
I shoot exclusively lead bullets throu my surplus rifles, including the Garand, with great sucess. The only exeption is my Swiss K31 when i can soot GP11 from time to time. With lead bullets and low powered rounds, these guns will surely outlast me AND my childrens.
 
USGI M1 Carbine ammo was never produced with corrosive priming. M1 Carbines saw a lot of service, yet most of them still sport their original barrels. That's quite a contrast to M1 Garands and M1903 Springfields which used corrosive primed ammo thru WW2. Most of them had their barrels replaced one or more times in service.
 
Old Ranger said:
I'm also a big cast bullet fan. Low recoil, good accuracy, small powder charges, minimum bore wear etc. All I've ever shot in my bolt action milsurps. Semi autos are a different story. May take some research and load development to get them to cycle. An M1 carbine I had was an exception. Cycled great with most cast loads. Since I don't shoot many jacketed bullets I'm shocked now whenever I see the price stickers on bullets in gun shops. Would not take too many range sessions with a Moisant Nagant to put the value of the rifle into the back stop.
Last but not least I'm of Scottish ancestry and some of us tend to be frugal!
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You got me!!! There's Scottish blood running through these views! !

Cheap bastards we all are :) :)
 
I use moderate charges with traditional bullets that I moly tumble, keeps the bores mirror shiny lol.
I always wanted to try the mouse fart cast stuff, but 9 out of 10 blown up guns I read about on the net are from that...
 
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