Barrel life span estimate
- Thread starter Lopez93
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dangertree
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- NL/ON/FL/PL
I recently examined a 13K chrome lined barrel that showed no appreciable wear.
Mine wore out and began keyholing at around 12,000 rounds. I've heard similar estimates for barrels with 1/7 twist for AR-15 rifles. Anything beyond 15,000 rounds would be "gravy" in my experience. To be honest, very few guys shoot their rifles enough to truly wear out their barrel.
Most guys get a copper build up and don't buy solvent to remove it and wrongly conclude that their barrel is worn out.
Others clean their barrels too often. More barrels are worn out by a brush going through their barrel constantly by over zealous owners than are worn from guys actually shooting their rifles. Keep that in mind when you are running a brush through your barrel even though you only fired 100 rounds. I only clean my barrel in my Colt about every 500 rounds and I've been doing this for about 5 years.
The obvious exception would be barrels that are heated by full auto fire or ammo that is so high velocity that friction wears it down faster.
Most guys get a copper build up and don't buy solvent to remove it and wrongly conclude that their barrel is worn out.
Others clean their barrels too often. More barrels are worn out by a brush going through their barrel constantly by over zealous owners than are worn from guys actually shooting their rifles. Keep that in mind when you are running a brush through your barrel even though you only fired 100 rounds. I only clean my barrel in my Colt about every 500 rounds and I've been doing this for about 5 years.
The obvious exception would be barrels that are heated by full auto fire or ammo that is so high velocity that friction wears it down faster.
For a regular chromelined non-CHF barrel I will put it at 10,000 rounds if you do not know how the owner shoots it. At the very minimal, you can get 6000 out of it. If the person is not shooting at high ROF, I am confident it will go up to 20,000+.
Barrel life depends on how the barrel is being shot.
Barrel life depends on how the barrel is being shot.
I don't remember where i got the number (during military service, AR15.com,...), but this number is 35 000.
And when you fire round 35 001... your barrel will explode
I think that is Navyshooter on our board with a C7 -
Right... If it's chrome lined it should last 20k+
Basically here's a list of the kind of things that can wear out your barrel faster:
- FA/High rate of fire
- Over cleaning (thats not to say that you shouldnt clean it at all... Just dont over clean it)
- Running extra "hot" reloads
- I just started drawing a blank, but there was one other big thing...
Mystic Precision
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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When I got my new Norc M4, the instruction manual listed the expected lifespan of the rifle to be 6000rds.
I had a good chuckle as I fully expect this rifle to last 15 to 20K of happy blasting.
Spend $750 and blast $4600 worth of reloads before it is dead.
That is good value me thinks.
For any semi, running them at lower operating pressures will increase their life expectancy tremendously.
Jerry
I had a good chuckle as I fully expect this rifle to last 15 to 20K of happy blasting.
Spend $750 and blast $4600 worth of reloads before it is dead.
That is good value me thinks.
For any semi, running them at lower operating pressures will increase their life expectancy tremendously.
Jerry
Yup... I mean, honestly... Most people will probably have parts break in their lower, perhaps on their BCG, before their barrel wares out.
And new barrels cost ~$170-$220... Not bad considering they normally outlast many other parts in your gun (EX: Bolt, Hammer, Buffer Spring, Firing Pin, etc)...
And new barrels cost ~$170-$220... Not bad considering they normally outlast many other parts in your gun (EX: Bolt, Hammer, Buffer Spring, Firing Pin, etc)...
The test I want to see some one do is giving them an unlimited supply of Bronze, or Nylon Brushes, and solvents, and see how long it takes them to wear a new barrel out!
My guess is decades, or a life's worth of work, which ever comes first, LOL
My guess is decades, or a life's worth of work, which ever comes first, LOL
The barrel should last a long time and outlive many other parts (unless abused by long sessions of full auto fire, but then again...) Check the bolt ass'y, carrier ass'y, trigger ass'y, etc... Of course many of those parts don't cost that much to replace.
should've read all the posts... anyway, like you said...
should've read all the posts... anyway, like you said...
So let me see here. 10000 rounds of life in a barrel. So 200 rounds of fire in a session does not seem unreasonable or a lot. So lets say someone only goes shooting twice a month, so that is 400 rounds per month. Lets say that the gun is properly cleaned, not overly or not under just to take that out.
So that is 4800 rounds per year, so the barrel is only going to last 2 years with very little shooting? If the 20000 round count is correct, that means only a bit over 4 years?
What about those fortunate enough to be able to go shooting every week (but if they are that fortunate I guess they can afford parts) and throw a match in there, 800 rounds per month could be normal for them?
That says a barrel could only last a year or two? What do I have wrong here? For poor folks like me, this suggests we should just sight our AR's in and keep them around for when the SHTF or the Zombies come.
So that is 4800 rounds per year, so the barrel is only going to last 2 years with very little shooting? If the 20000 round count is correct, that means only a bit over 4 years?
What about those fortunate enough to be able to go shooting every week (but if they are that fortunate I guess they can afford parts) and throw a match in there, 800 rounds per month could be normal for them?
That says a barrel could only last a year or two? What do I have wrong here? For poor folks like me, this suggests we should just sight our AR's in and keep them around for when the SHTF or the Zombies come.
