Expected Barrel Life?

[Rolex John]

After having so much fun with my 15-22 in the last month or so (I've already put about 1000 rounds through it) I was sort of wondering about what the expected life of a barrel is before it needs replacing?

 

[Culina]

I feel comfortable saying that the barrel will probably be the last thing that wears out or breaks on your 15-22

 

[Dragon88]

The last thing you should be worried about at 1000 rounds is barrel life on a .22.

 

[Big Philly]

Ive ran over 5000 threw mine and nothing wrong.... I think the springs will wear out before the barrel.. My friends father had a 10/22 from the early 70's and he wore the barrel out on that , but not before almost a million rounds...... and it still shot decent.......

 

[Rolex John]

The last thing you should be worried about at 1000 rounds is barrel life on a .22.

OK, but I can see myself easily putting 5000 rounds a year through this gun. Beyond the cleaning I do, what should I expect to replace/maintain first on the gun?

 

[matmat417]

i shoot roughly 1000-2000 rounds a month and the barrel is the last thing the will probly go out.. just as and example my grandfather had an old pump .22 from when he was a kid ( around 1936) he would but just as many round through it as us forum members do, he never had to do anything to the barrel. it was always on target. now he did have to replace other parts. i still have and use it to this very day. its good for the rats in my coops.

 

[Greyson]

Not the same thing, but not high-pressure by any means.

Competitive 1911 shooters usually don't see degradation in accuracy in their barrels to the point of swapping until 50,000 rounds. Some people say the average user won't reap any benefits in a new barrel until they get near 60,000 rounds.

This is with 230g ball ammo. Lead ammo is even longer.

While not an answer to your question, it is a data point for reference. The only way to know for sure is to Ransom rest your weapon.

As said above, I doubt you will wear out your barrel in your lifetime.


Regards,
Greyson

 

[Rolex John]

Not the same thing, but not high-pressure by any means.

Competitive 1911 shooters usually don't see degradation in accuracy in their barrels to the point of swapping until 50,000 rounds. Some people say the average user won't reap any benefits in a new barrel until they get near 60,000 rounds.

This is with 230g ball ammo. Lead ammo is even longer.

While not an answer to your question, it is a data point for reference. The only way to know for sure is to Ransom rest your weapon.

As said above, I doubt you will wear out your barrel in your lifetime.


Regards,
Greyson

OK - good to know. Thanks. Again, I'm sort of wondering what else might need to be replaced with wear and at what interval? What would likely be the first thing to go?

 

[reelman]

In a .22 long rifle you should get at least 250,000 rounds, and most like many times that much before you see any appreciable wear on the rifling. You do more damage cleaning the barrel than shooting it will.

 

[chuck s]

Cleaning a .22LR barrel is seldom necessary. They shoot externally lubricated, soft lead bullets down a hart steel bore. If you feel it's really necessary drag a boresnake thru the barrel every couple months.

Note the external lubrication. It will hold dirt. Dropping cartridges in the dirt and then putting them thru the rifle is probably the hardest thing you can do to the barrel.

-- Chuck

 

[mn_doggie]

1,000,000 rounds X $.03 (per round) = $30,000.

I will be happy if my barrel lasts 100K rounds.....


(looks like someone deleted the earlier post where they said they knew of a .22 that had 1,000,000 rounds on it.... I read that and had been thinking about it for a few days before I posted the cost of a milion rounds..)

 

[tacticool22]

Your bolt carrier would probably be the first thing. Followed by trigger and sear and maybe the pivot pins.

 

[glockeyed]

i'd almost say cleaning the barrel is harder on it than shootin it.

 

[Greyson]

1,000,000 rounds X $.03 (per round) = $30,000.

I will be happy if my barrel lasts 100K rounds.....


(looks like someone deleted the earlier post where they said they knew of a .22 that had 1,000,000 rounds on it.... I read that and had been thinking about it for a few days before I posted the cost of a milion rounds..)

I didn't see a million round post so it must have been deleted! That is a lot of rounds. I have known of 1(one) 400,000 round 1911 frame and have seen a couple of 300,000 frames. These were owned by shooters who compete to had bought them off of other shooters who also competed.

But with the availability of high-quality 1911 frames from just about anyone these days, there is no need to buy someone's old Colt race frame just to race it yourself.

As such, I think the 300-400k round count 1911 frames are going to be harder and harder to find in nature. Typically a shooter who run 25,000 a year in a pistol is a sponsored competitor. Hence...their sponsor is most likely a gun company who will keep them in new gear.

Unless....there is a company that wants to prove a point and hit that mark for advertising purposes? I know of one 1911 company that had a pistol come in with well over 100,000 rounds on it. This company, whom I won't name, bought the pistol from the owner and give him a new gun in replacement. This maker wanted to examine the pistol on how it was wearing, and did want to possibly use it as a bragging-right.

Data-Point: This 1911 was from a gun-store that was renting their pistol to customers, not from a competitive shooter.


Regards,
Greyson

 

[guy22]

Although I am not a .22lr expert I do own 45 of them, 43 are rifles. I own two that are ~100 years old. No barrel problems on these two.
I also have three rifles that were shot in competentions for many years, and I still shoot them in some. No barrel problems on those three.
Over the years I have had two rifle barrels re-crounded. No problem with the barrel, just wanted to see if they got more accurate. Didn't see any diffence.
So if you and yours shot a 1000 rounds a year, the barrel should be good for ~500years!

Guy22

 

[Jswiney9]

wasnt there a gentleman who took a nylon 66 out when they first came out and shot expos with them? remington dared the man to shoot the gun out and he put hundreds and hundreds of thousands of rounds through them? I wouldnt worry about the barrel so much as every other moving part in the gun

 

[Aceman58]

AR15's Mil-spec barrels for our soldiers weapons do have a shelves life on the barrels, but the standards they are measuring it is more regards on full auto uses with high pressures and bullet type shot through them. The M&P 15/22 will, or I should say, should never ever reach those in anyway unless you are a MAD MAN 22LR honker shooter. Even then the barrel should outlast your interest.. This rifle is built after the AR but the spec. don't follow over to the 22lr as far as uses. It's still a plinker but a very cool tactical plinker and small terrorist hunter rifle. You may put Mil-spec items items on the body but keep the mil-spec spec. for it's bigger brother the mighty AR15 5.56... The Chevy of all rifles... Keepem in the X ring...

 

[rojodiablo]

OK, but I can see myself easily putting 5000 rounds a year through this gun. Beyond the cleaning I do, what should I expect to replace/maintain first on the gun?

I got my first rifle in 1977, I was 7 years old. A Marlin 22, model 60. It has conservatively got 1 million rounds thru it over the last 34 years. Absolutely STUNNING longevity and durability. And, swear on my mother's eyesight, it is STILL a very accurate rifle.

Clean them. Pretty simple. I like to stick with known winners. Hoppe's #9. I also REALLY like the Hoppe's cleaner specifically for copper removal. I will soak a barrel liberally with that stuff if I am shooting copper coated ammo ( A lot of my ammo is such.) You will see it come clean for you; there eventually will be a lead lining in that barrel, and it will simply NEVER wipe clean 100%. Not a problem. Learn to break down the rifle, and use a toothbrush to clean the bolt. Concentrate on the firing pin, and extractor. Clean out the **** after every long day, or at the least, give it a quick Russian gun bath- some cleaner, a patch down the pipe, and a splash into the breech, slog it around with the toothbrush, and go back to shooting.

I can not vouch for design shortcomings of many of the new 22AR platform rifles. I have heard many will not take one type of ammo or another. I have heard that some have been rendered dead from the wrong ammo. I can not say that I have ever seen one dead yet. If I do, or if I did see this, I would not hesitate to pass on buying one and rather stick to the Marlin model 60, or a Ruger 10/22. Simply put, they are basically without equal for durability, and there is something to be said for that. With that said, I feel the barrel will last basically 40 years give or take a few. The upper/ lower assembly??? I have no idea how long they will last on an M&P 15-22.

 

[rojodiablo]

1,000,000 rounds X $.03 (per round) = $30,000.

I will be happy if my barrel lasts 100K rounds.....


(looks like someone deleted the earlier post where they said they knew of a .22 that had 1,000,000 rounds on it.... I read that and had been thinking about it for a few days before I posted the cost of a milion rounds..)

When I started shooting my .22 a brick of 500 was $4.99 . I'd take my $10 allowance, and 1/2 went straight down the barrel every weekend!!!! With my brother and I shooting that rifle for 3-4 years before dad got him one of his own, we had many, many 1,000 round days. It holds 17, and a full dump only takes about 3-5 seconds. As a kid, it's the coolest thing. As a big kid, I use inexpensive Wolf ammo for the M4 because...well, because a full mag dump is STILL pretty cool every now and again!

 

[jdbray64]

Cleaning a .22LR barrel is seldom necessary. They shoot externally lubricated, soft lead bullets down a hart steel bore. If you feel it's really necessary drag a boresnake thru the barrel every couple months.

Note the external lubrication. It will hold dirt. Dropping cartridges in the dirt and then putting them thru the rifle is probably the hardest thing you can do to the barrel.

-- Chuck

Having said that about the bullets, does copper plating on the round have any role, good or bad? I usually use CCI Mini-Mags in my 15-22 and have noticed they are copper plated. Never had any issues with this ammo in my rifle, just wondering about the copper plating...