Barrel life/ Lube preference

[Pookster]

Anyone know the barrel life for most guns/rifles are? Also, what do you use to lube your stuff?

Please dont say astroglide or KY /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif

 

[mofugly13]

A modern high powered rifle barrel should last 5000 rounds at least before any deterioration in accuracy is noticed. A pistol barrel aven more. After that they will last MANY thousands more rounds before it's shot out. Shooting lead bullets causes virtually no wear at all. I use CLP as lube, I also use a product called KROIL on small parts like trigger assemblies.

 

[Pookster]

I've been using CLP pretty much exclusively as the lube, as well as cleaner. I sometimes get better cleaning using Remington Bore Cleaner.

glad to hear about the rifle bores- i had also heard about 5000 rounds (and that it really takes about 1200-2000 rounds just to break in the barrel)

i had heard that after 5000 rounds on a shotgun that stuff needs to be replaced- however, that doesnt seem to fit the bill as I would have assumed that smoothbores last longer than rifled barrels.

 

[mofugly13]

Some autoloading shotguns (Browning comes to mind), have rubber o-rings around the gas piston, and these need to be replaced periodically. But, a shotgun barrel should last forever, if cared for. Skeet and Sporting Clay's shooters shoot thousands of rounds a year. I think that the way the shot is contained in a plastic wad during it's trip down the barrel, it has no wearing effect on the barrel.

 

[Pookster]

o ring??/ this would be a nasty failure point in a combat situation.

 

[mofugly13]

All the shotguns we had in our armory were pumps; 870's, and 1200's.

 

[84_Chevy_K10]

A barrel should last a lot longer than 5,000 rounds.

 

[mofugly13]

About 5000 rounds (in a high-power rifle)is the point where accuracy begins to fall off, not where the barrel is shot out. That means that instead of 1" groups, they might open up to 1 1/4-1 1/2", whatever. Only benchrest shooters should be concerned about that. Shmoes like me don't worry unless accuracy is suffering significantly. Like I said in my first post, the barrel will last MANY thousands of rounds past the point where accuracy begins to deteriorate.

 

[Pookster]

Arent they using a lot of those fancy benelli's now?
Your opinion?

My opinion is that its a little too fancy for me- I need my crap to work after its been run over, dropped, in mud, water, not cleaned, yada yada.

[ QUOTE ]
All the shotguns we had in our armory were pumps; 870's, and 1200's.

[/ QUOTE ]

 

[mofugly13]

Donno about the Benelli's, I've been out for 6 years now. I agree, the Benelli is too much $$$ for me, and I'm not much of a shotgun shooter anyway. I would like to get into it more, but I'm mostly into highpower rifles and big bore handguns.

 

[jarheadk5]

Depends on the load you're firing. I recall reading in G&A some years ago about a 4000fps round someone worked up for prairie dogs (I think it was a big Weatherby Magnum casing necked down for .223 bullets - BIG bottleneck! /forums/images/graemlins/eek.gif) Projected barrel life was about 1500 rounds before accuracy went south (which on a varmint gun means "new barrel time").
At the other end of the spectrum, a normal (not match-grade) .22LR rifle barrel should last just about forever, as long as you swab the bore with some kind of oil once in a while... /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif

 

[ntsqd]

When a barrel starts to go away you'll see it first in the throat. Think aboot it, every shell is basically a flamethrower driving the bullet down the barrel. If the flame is hot enough (sharp shoulder and/or big bottle neck) it will erode the first metal in comes in contact with, the throat.

Pre-64 Win M70 Varminter's in 220 Swift have stainless barrels b/c that cartridge is a throat killer. Several hundred rounds above 4k fps will show some errosion. In those days the look of stainless wasn't acceptable so Winchester plated the barrel with iron and blued it. Only the crown was left natural stainless in color.