Dust & lint in the barrel...problem or not?

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Damage the barrel? I doubt lint will do that, but lint getting in the mechanicals of a semi-auto pistol might cause it to malfunction some other way. If an extreme amount.
 
I've never done it, but I see videos of people shooting guns under water without any damage. You would think that a barrel full of water would be more resistive than some lint. Where did this lint controversy come from?
 
Lint accumulation is a fact of life for carry. The bulk of it is blown out ahead of the projectile. It undoubtedly comes with a microscopic increase in wear, like a barrel that's shot out in 19998 rounds vs 20000 rounds.

For self defense I'm unconcerned. For some kind of super sensitive accuracy firearm, I may then be concerned.

Cowboys on the range had it worse with the dust and grit, and they managed.
 
Buy watching a slow motion/high speed video of cartridges being fired ... You will see a column of air and hot gas exist the barrel before the bullet exists the barrels ...

I believe that to be a "piston type air compressor" ... most likely at high velocity also ...
Just what I was going to say. There's a column of air ahead of the bullet, and it's moving just as fast and forceful as the round itself. It'll clear out anything well ahead of the bullet.

There's a product made for hunting that's a foam insert that goes in the tip of the barrel. It's designed to prevent mud and other junk from getting in the barrel and causing it to split when firing. On firing, it's ejected by the column of air ahead of the round, just like any lint would be.
 
The Army cleans the gun daily to remove debris from being out in undeveloped areas. And they issue a muzzle cap that fits the A2 flash hider, no bother shooting it right off when you need to return fire. Falls in front of you much like a shotgun hull and looking about the same at that point.

On the other hand there is a story of a detective who got into difficulty and couldn't use his ankle holster carried revolver. Things turned out OK and on inspection the action was jammed with lamb's wool that came off the cushion against his leg.

Personally, if you can see lint it needs cleaning right there, and a function test after.
 
Why does that post make me imagine a guy looking down the barrel of a loaded revolver trying to spot lint...
 
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