Suppressed barrel life

Barrels are cheap compared to the cost of ammo that it takes to burn them up.

Let’s say it takes 3000 rounds of 5.56 (suppressed) at .25 a round = $750.00
 
Originally Posted By: Bob_AtlYah, one would think so.
I asked in here about cleaner burning 223 powders a while back & got no answers.
I think 50% barrel life reduction is a marketing exaggeration. (they sell barrels)
Given some of us clean suppressed barrels after several shots, those should fall in the lower 0% to 10% range IMO.
Also, the percent powder burn determined by load and projectile can reduce muzzle blast, hopefully reducing overall residuals.

I have to agree with Bob and a lot of the other guys on this. I think that there are a LOT of variables OTHER than the suppressor that can lead to shortened barrel life. Such as the rate of fire, velocity of the bullet, bearing surface of said bullet, etc.

Realistically I doubt that there are really many shooters that are truly going to "shoot" out a barrel. I am a competitive shooter and some of the guys I shoot with are more than capable of doing that. But we are shooting THOUSANDS of rounds every year in competition.

Personally I have only "shot out" one of my rifles and a couple of my competition handgun barrels. My rifle, a .223 that I used in competition started getting "loose" on it's groups. We found that the barrel had throated just past the chamber and would get weak and wobbly when it got hot. The deterioration of the metal just past the chamber was probably from the expansion of the burn when the bullet got out of the chamber. That took a few years of competition shooting to do that.

I had a similar thing happen to one of my Glock barrels, at 50,000 rounds. My second Glock barrel failed when one of the lugs sheared off, at about 125,000 rounds.

Round count is only one part of it. I think that we as shooters invest a bit of voodoo into our guns and when they shoot lights out, we want them to stay that way forever, so we get a bit jumpy about them going south on us. But they are just machines and they can/will wear out.
 
Well written SnowmanMO, (as always)

I agree, It is almost always the "gas cutting" in the throat that does a barrel in. The heavier the bullet, coupled with max loads accelerates wear due to the the time the "gas cutting" has to work'
 
Originally Posted By: arlaunchI wonder if chrome lined barrels would handle the stress a little better?

I would like to think that it does. After all, isn't that the purpose to chrome line a barrel? To make it harder and last longer.
 
Originally Posted By: LocoseamonkeyOriginally Posted By: arlaunchI wonder if chrome lined barrels would handle the stress a little better?

I would like to think that it does. After all, isn't that the purpose to chrome line a barrel? To make it harder and last longer.

It would increase life, but at a cost. There ain't no such thing as a free lunch. Chroming the barrel decreases accuracy because the barrel has to be over bored because the chrome will take up some space.

Apples to apples, a lined barrel generally will not shoot as well as an unlined, properly bored barrel because the chrome will not lay in uniformly.

The reality about barrel life, is that most guys are not running their rifles hard enough to ever wear out a barrel. Chrome lined barrels might be a necessity for military applications that involve full automatic rates of fire without cooldown time. That doesn't happen in the average shooters world. In our world, accuracy matters more than rate of fire. In full auto applications accuracy by volume is the rule of thumb so accuracy takes a back seat to rate of fire.

So UNLESS you plan on raking predators, paper or trash with full auto fire, or you are going to be punishing your barrel with high rates of fire without cooling it down, like we did during 3 gun matches, then chrome lined barrels are not a necessity and you may not be satisfied with the lack of accuracy.

Being a competitive pistol and rifle shooter I have seen barrels subjected to some very extreme punishment. My first factory Glock barrel in my 17 lasted more than 50,000 rounds. I replaced it with a stainless barrel that lasted over 75,000 rounds. I am on barrel #3 for my Glock and am now approaching the 200,000 round mark and the gun is going strong. Barrels wear out on my Glock because of my rate of fire during a stage without cooldown, not just round count. If I slowed down and allowed a little bit more time between shots my barrels would last a lot longer. So in my case, a chrome lined barrel could be justified because at the ranges that I shoot, accuracy isn't as critical. But with my rifle, accuracy is critical. I ran a stainless, unlined barrel for years and never shot it out during competition, so I don't think that most predator hunters will shoot out a barrel even with a suppressor. There are exceptions of course, such as guys running calibers like the .243 that tend to be harder on barrel life than other calibers.
 
Ok, since joining this forum. You all have shared calling, reloading, barreling, and suppressor experience that has helped exponentially. I have lost my fear of "messing" with a good shooting rifle, calling a location more than once and not getting stuck in a reloading equipment rut. Just as I'm about to turn 60 you trying to scare me back to pre predator masters mentality, well I have enjoyed the new barrels, reloading equipment and calling way to much. A better barrel is just a new blank away, go ahead suppressor wear out my barrels, doubles are to much fun.
 
Originally Posted By: spotstalkshootOk, since joining this forum. You all have shared calling, reloading, barreling, and suppressor experience that has helped exponentially. I have lost my fear of "messing" with a good shooting rifle, calling a location more than once and not getting stuck in a reloading equipment rut. Just as I'm about to turn 60 you trying to scare me back to pre predator masters mentality, well I have enjoyed the new barrels, reloading equipment and calling way to much. A better barrel is just a new blank away, go ahead suppressor wear out my barrels, doubles are to much fun.

LOL, that is the insanity of our sport.
 


I read all of this and it is so what. I have a vent hole in my charging handle.
I spray my uppers with CLP before shooting. I will be dead before I ever shoot one out.
Let the new owner worry about after I am dead. I will be 72 next June. I still have not bought a Creedmoor. Anyway, a Creedmoor is a sword.
 
Originally Posted By: LocoseamonkeyOriginally Posted By: arlaunchI wonder if chrome lined barrels would handle the stress a little better?

I would like to think that it does. After all, isn't that the purpose to chrome line a barrel? To make it harder and last longer.


As stated earlier in the thread Chrome lined barrels are generally less accurate because the chrome lining process. The bore dimensions have to allow for the chrome lining which may or may not be applied evenly.

A better solution is Melonite (salt bath nitride) barrels. The process does not alter the barrel dimensions like chrome lining and is performed on the finished barrel. It hardens the steel at a molecular level and should extend barrel life by thousands of rounds.

https://criterionbarrels.com/media/chrome-lined-vs-salt-bath-nitrided-barrels/

I use Melonite barrels from AR15 Performance for my builds.

https://www.ar15performance.com

 
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