How long should a (Average) quality AR-15 last??

StevenF

New member
This is probably a stupid question and I'm not looking for scientific facts, just opinions, knowledge and personal experiences with the AR-15 .223/5.56 nato calibers. Of the several manufacturers of good quality AR-15 rifles; how long should an average quality rifle last given proper maintenance, minor parts replacement etc? I would not consider the gun worn out if it needed a barrel replacement if everything else was still serviceable.

For example: I use a Glock M22 pistol for my duty weapon and the last I knew Glock had pistols with close to 1 million rounds through them and still going strong. I will never fire that many rounds through my gun in three life times so I figure it's probably good for as long as I want to use it.

Just curious
 
This is a really easy question to answer, the chances that you would actually wear out an AR-15 are about 1 in a million.

If the government doesn't do something stupid, you should be able to hand down your rifle, and it could easily be handed down for several generations, and still not be worn out by any means.

Consider the fact that the AR-15 has been the official weapon of the Armed Forces for right at 50 years, if I'm not mistaken that is the longest run in the history of the US Armed Forces. The military has retired some of these, the ones that have been retired from service have been used in training scenarios where they have fired hundreds of thousands of rounds.

It is a modular design, it's easy to replace parts as you go along, barrels etc can be worn out but it takes a lot of rounds.
 
I'm not an AR guy with all the bolt guns I use, but Wingman hit the nail on the head. Every piece of the AR can be replaced easily. It was made that way on purpose. Nothing much is overstressed and it's been over engineered to the extreme. This fine little gun has been tested for lots of years and you should not have many problems with one.
 
you might get a piece to break here and there
but i haven't seen one wear out
with the way we used them in the military
shooting thousands of blanks as well as live ammo
and cleaning them with dental picks
i never even saw the gas rings or a bolt wear out

the way i gage a firearm, is that when you spend the cost in ammo that you spent on the firearm. thats when i start looking for the problems
(kind of like the 100,000 mile car mark)
 
Quote:
If the government doesn't do something stupid, you should be able to hand down your rifle, and it could easily be handed down for several generations, and still not be worn out by any means.



In most civilian use situations, Wingmans statement is probably very true. Minor parts might break and you may shoot out a barrel or two which are all easily replaced.


Quote:

Consider the fact that the AR-15 has been the official weapon of the Armed Forces for right at 50 years, if I'm not mistaken that is the longest run in the history of the US Armed Forces. The military has retired some of these, the ones that have been retired from service have been used in training scenarios where they have fired hundreds of thousands of rounds.

It is a modular design, it's easy to replace parts as you go along, barrels etc can be worn out but it takes a lot of rounds.



However, from a military perspective, none of the original 50 year old rifles are being used today. They have long ago all been replaced with totally new designs of the same rifle - including lower receivers - to meet new military wants and requirements.

After Viet Nam, the military was in desperate need for NEW rifles for full combat purposes to replace the badly worn ones left over from years of hard use in SE Asia. That need led to new develoments in design that the military felt they needed or wanted for changing combat scenarions. Things like different twist barrels with a heavier design and other different configurations, 3-shot burst capabilities, longer butt stocks, round handguards, and a "fenced area" around the mag release button were all results of those needs for new replacemt rifles.

If a Viet Nam era military rifle could be found in military use today - and it definitely won't be in that configuration - the only original part might be the rear sling swivel loop. Literally all the rest of the parts would likely have have been replaced numerous times. Unfortunately, most civilians don't have a small arms armory/ready room in their basement to keep an AR going in the same manner that the military does.

But, bottom line: If you keep one in good repair with normal civilian use, An AR should last a long time.

-BCB
 
My youngest nephew just got back from basic. After firing many many thousands of rounds (including blanks) through his (already well used) weapon, many of them auto fire that had the barrel "smokin", he shot 40 out of 40 on the qualification range with it.

He and his buddies then spent a day using the worst cleaning techniques you ever saw ("Bore guide? What's a bore guide?) to get the weapons ready for the next group of enlistees.

"A long time" might be an understatement.
 
I'm sure none of the original shipments of M16's from Viet Nam are still in use by our military, our government has a long history of supplying older weapons to law enforcement, allies and friendly 3rd world countries. I would take a guess that most of the rifles permanently retired from service it's more from damage than anything else. I've actually seen some of the old A1 models being used by some law enforcement agencies, there might even be a few of the original models still in armory inventories of law enforcement agencies somewhere.
 
The 4140 Aluminum that the reciever is made from is aircraft quality, it is also hard anodized for corrosion resistance. Barrel and other metal parts are Chrome Moly or stainless. And the other parts are nylon six. The Nylon Six is the same stuff used on the Glock pistol frame. I have read that it has a life span of centuries instead of years.
I would think that the modern AR with proper maintanance and reasonable use, would last well into the next century
at least.
 
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