How hot does a barrel get?

[Pinned&Recessed]

How hot does the barrel of a rifle get on average? Specifically, an M1 Carbine?

I ask because the front sight on my Carbine is loose, so I took it to a local gunsmith with an excellent reputation. I thought he would replace the sight key or roll pin, but he said all it needed was some Red Loctite, which he put on for free. Now the sight doesn't move, but I'm concerned that heat can and will melt the Loctite. He said it should be good for up to 400 degrees and that I "probably wouldn't shoot it enough to get THAT hot unless I had a full-auto".

How fast would I have to shoot it to cause melting? I am worried I will shoot too much between cool-downs and cause it to melt.

 

[WhoKnowsWho]

This was the response I got when I asked about barrel temps.

I don't think the gunsmith would have relied on the red loctite unless he believed it would hold. Just don't load up 20 mags and fire them all in a row quickly!

I wish I had a IR temp gun that I see a lot of RC nitro car people use, those are pretty inexpensive now ($35), but I won't get one just to satisfy my curiosity, I want someone else to get one!

 

[AK103K]

How hot does a barrel get?

put a little B-B-Q sauce on it before you touch it and your fingers will taste better after you do.

 

[Johnpl]

My M-1 Garand's barrel gets so hot it cooks off any oil, burns your hand, and chars the front handguard (thus the name.) Don't know the actual temp, though.

 

[hso]

Your carbine barrel can, and probably will, get hot enough to burn you after running a couple of 30s through it quick, but I don't think the red will turn loose.

 

[RON in PA]

One of my WW2 veteran uncles once told me of a GI training film he saw in basic training where the trigger of a MG was tied back and the gun allowed to fire for a long time. The barrel turned red and started to droop until the bullets started coming out of the middle of the barrel. That's hot, but you won't get anywhere as hot with a semi, just hot enough to burn you if you are careless.

 

[jdege]

Hot enough to be dangerous.

IIRC, it could take as few as 140 rounds to heat up an M16 to the point where rounds could cook off (i.e., discharge from the heat without having pulled the trigger).