WORN OUT BORE

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marine71

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Anyone want to kick in on an argument (sorry, 'discussion') between me and my FIL?

He says that 'junk military ammo' will wear out the barrel of any rifle faster than water off a duck's ***. He even went so far as to claim that his friend shot less than 250 rounds of military ammo through his brand new Kimber .223 and practically destroyed the barrel and Kimber offered to rebore it to .243.

My claim is that rifle barrels are made to withstand thousands of rounds, military ammo or commercial. (Corrosive ammo is an altogether different argument, (sorry, 'discussion'). This particular argument (sorry, 'discussion') is in regards to brass casing versus steel.

So, BRASS VS. STEEL. Just how bad is steel casing for the barrel of a rifle? Thanks!
 
Incorrect or overzealous cleaning has caused more damage to barrels than military ammo ever has.

Shooting military 5.56 in a SAAMI .223 chamber can cause some pretty scary pressure spikes though. Definitely not something to do on a frequent basis.

ETA - I'm not aware of any US or any surplus 5.56 that's loaded in steel cases, only Wolf as far as I know. Steel cases may be harder on extractors, but in regards to the barrel, um, no.
 
Steel cases do not affect barrel life appreciably. They may be harder on extractors in some guns.

Steel jacketed, or copper-gilded steel jackets, will wear the bore marginally faster than regular copper-jacketed bullets.
 
It is my personal belief that most any rifle barrel will last at least 8,000rds before any wear starts to show. It is not uncommon to have AR15's go to about 10,000 - 15,000rds, if chrome lined.
 
I would expect throat erosion to become a problem long before 'barrel wear'. I suppose you could always have the chamber recut but you would probably have more in the barrel than a new one would run.
 
...

If you look at all the milsurp guns out there, I'm reptty sure they've had more than 250 rounds fired through them in their lives. Probably more like 2,500 minimum. Most milsurps with that much mileage are still considered to be in "excellent" condition. Think about how many people here on this board alone have put more than 10,000 rounds of wolf through their guns. I have yet to hear of someone who wore out their chamber shooting wolf.
 
It is my personal belief that most any rifle barrel will last at least 8,000rds before any wear starts to show.
Click to expand...

What about 220Swift and 22-250? You will shoot out that barrel LONG before 8 grand.

I think pretty much any centerfire rifle barrel will show accuracy degradation before that mark.

Regards,

Stinger
 
Quote:
It is my personal belief that most any rifle barrel will last at least 8,000rds before any wear starts to show.

What about 220Swift and 22-250? You will shoot out that barrel LONG before 8 grand.
Click to expand...

Hence the "most any".
 
I've seen Mosins at the range which have digested dozens of those 440 battle packs of corrosive "junk military ammo." No adverse effect. Were 3 MOA when they started, were 3 MOA afterward as well.
 
You're arguing with your father in law?

Wow.....
Do you prefer sleeping out in the yard, or have you become suicidal since you got out?
I'll bet you were a Grunt weren't ya?:neener:

Now,
if you was a Air Winger, you'd already know---
If your father in law says the world is flat, and thier cat's litter box smells like plum pudding,,,,,
you just nod along, let your eyes glass over, and say, "uh huh".

Then go to the head and crack up whenever you can't hold it any longer.


Semper Fi buddy.
6064 73-80

When in doubt, punch out.
You can't beat, my seat.



..
 
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Close to a grunt, 2531 field radio operator. 89-93.

I take the FIL tales and zeal only so long and then I have to start arguing, just based on principle. Granted, he did give me a S&W 5906 stainless, so I love the guy. But some of the stories are killer. Military ammo is no good. 'Plastic' guns will deteriorate and cease to exist in 50 years. No one has any business owning AR-style rifles. SKS rifles are so easy to turn into fully automatic, just file down one tip of metal. I could go on, but hey, he gave me a S&W 5906.:)
 
SKS rifles are so easy to turn into fully automatic
Click to expand...
he's right, just put the firing pin in backwards:evil:

Note: It's a joke, doing that will probably kill you and is probably illegal. A slamfire is a bad thing and people have died from that.
 
Too funny.
I can just see ya on the verge of pulling your hair out, and biting off your tongue.....

We used to call the radio guys 'battery powered Grunts'.


My father in law was a B-17 Crew Chief in the Pacific working for Gen. McAurther off a airstrip in the Phillipines doing bomb runs as as the war went on up towards Japan.

He's pretty cool, and doesn't come up with any nonsense.:)
However he never gave me a pistol though...

.
 
"...less than 250 rounds of military ammo through his brand new Kimber..." That either says something about Kimber barrels or your buddy is confused. 250 rounds of any ammo won't bother a good barrel. Corrosive ammo won't wear out a barrel faster either. The case doesn't touch the barrel except for the chamber. In any case, steel cartridges and steel jackets are made of mild steel. Barrels are not.
 
I'm not thinking Kimber will re-bore a bbl. All of it sounds like crap. :banghead: How well do you want to get along with your FIL, and do you - or wife - stand to inherit anything worthwhile? :D
p.s. I'm a little older than I used to be and long ago figured out that it is totally pointless to argue with the ignorant. it's like trying to teach a pig to whistle...wastes your time, and annoys the pig... :rolleyes:
 
Just plain wrong. It's like the folks that tell you that the 7.62X51 NATO is hotter than the .308 Winchester because the NATO is used in Machine guns. Never mind the hard data, clearly a machine gun must use higher pressure ammo to work properly!
 
Overloaded/incorrectly loaded ammunition can cause heat and pressure damage at the throat (beginning of the rifling).
When overboring to .243, keep in mind that most .243s lack the peak accuracy of .308 and 7mm-08 only because they have too slow a twist rate, intended for light & very fast varmint bullets. If you aren't hunting little critters you can select or load ammo with heavy bullets. Then have the rifling cut with a faster twist rate that will properly stabilize heavier bullets and it should shoot better than any factory .243 barrel.
Richard
Schennberg.com
 
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