bullet weight and barrel wear in handguns

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JustinL

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Hello

This is kind of a silly question, but i am curious. Do heavier bullets lead to greater wear of any component on a handgun? We're not talking about +P ammo or anything like that but, say, a lifetime of shooting .40 155gr vs 180gr rounds. Will the heavier bullets wear the gun down faster or vice versa?

I ask because I recently started buying ammo in bulk and I simply could not get a clear answer from any of the gunstore clerks I asked.

Thanks for your time.
 
Well, I would think that the heavier bullet has more surface area that contacts the barrel becuae it would be longer (it can't be wider!), so I would think that would cause each bullet passing through the barrel to cause more friction wear. I don't think it would be enough of an effect to notice.
 
...could not get a clear answer from any of the gunstore clerks...
Click to expand...
You don't say!

Anyway, there are a lot of variables that go into barrel life, and I don't think you can wear out a barrel unless you are shooting competition round counts. We're talking a few tens-of-thousands of rounds, and when you get up there, a lot of parts in your gun(s) will have failed first; namely springs.
 
rifles that shoot light---fast---bullets wear the bbl faster than slower bullets FWIW
 
I'm curious now also. I always tended to load and shoot lighter bullets just because I'm a recoil wimp, but now I wonder if I haven't been doing my guns a favor. I will track this thread with interest.
 
CoRoMo said:
...there are a lot of variables that go into barrel life, and I don't think you can wear out a barrel unless you are shooting competition round counts. We're talking a few tens-of-thousands of rounds, .....
Click to expand...

I agree and wouldn't give it any further thought. Shoot away.
 
Light and fast wears out guns faster. All guns shoot the barrels out faster, and the forcing cone on a revolver will wear out faster.
 
Aside from rust and perhaps 'grit' being rubbed into a barrel, the single biggest erosion in barrels comes from the heat generated by the burning powder. Heat is in direct proportion to pressure level. (More pressure generates more heat, go figure.)

High pressure loads give more erosion or barrel wear than bullets (presuming we're talking lead or common jacketed bullets.) One has to rub lead on steel for a long time before the steel starts wearing down. Gilding metal is relatively soft as well.

High pressure loads are also a factor in wearing out the gun itself. More pressure and recoil will cause greater stress on the frame as well.
 
It takes tens of thousands of rounds to wear out the barrel in a modern pistol. Don't sweat the bullet weight at all. Shoot the gun until the barrel's worn out, and then replace it.

Problem solved.
 
I just read an article about this with rifle barrels and it stated for example that shooting 77 grain .223 bullets is much harder on your barrel than shooting 55 grain bullets. It said that although the use of less and slower burning powder with heavier bullets is a plus, the pressure spike is held in the barrel longer causing more throat reosion. I don't know this for sure, it is just something that I read.
 
I recall reading something by Elmer Keith that he shot out 45 ACP barrels around 5000 rounds with FMJ.

However, the M1911's he used were not heat treated. Others have confirmed with hardness testing, WW1 period pistols were dead soft, unheated, plain carbon steels.

Modern pistols are made of better alloys and are harder.

I don't know how many rounds it takes to wear out a modern pistol barrel.

Ignoring the 40,000 to 50,000 psia rounds found in some monster pistols, if you shoot lead and stick with the typical 14,000 psia rounds in the 38 Spl, 44 Spl, 45 ACP, and 45 LC, barrel life will be indefinate.

I called S&W, they told me of some 38 Special K frame revolvers in use at some training academy. They estimated the revolvers had 250,000 rounds through them. It is possible the forcing cones were worn, but the guns, barrels, and cylinders were still functional.

I don't know what jacketed or FMJ bullets will do to a pistol barrel. Probably next to nothing.
 
There are a lot of wear points in a gun other than the barrel, and the greater the recoil the more wear on recoil shoulders, locking lugs, locking lug seats, etc., etc. But I don't see a heavier bullet causing significantly greater barrel wear (except as mentioned below), everything else being equal.

As for increased throat erosion, I think it is possible. TE is the result of the necessary case neck expansion and the inertia of the bullet. When pressure builds, the case neck expands to release the bullet, but the bullet's own inertia keeps it from moving for an instant, while hot gas and bits of burning powder rush around it. It is that hot gas in a confined space that causes throat erosion. I guess a heavier bullet would have greater inertia, and so would remain stationary a microsecond longer, allowing more TE, at least in theory. But in practice, I think the bullet shape and the type of powder would have a lot more to do with TE than bullet weight.

Jim
 
I dont think theres a difference if your using factory ammo, but us reloaders know that when we run our lightweight bullets at EXTREME velocitys it causes lots of wear, in revolvers the top straps get beat up bad.
 
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