How many rounds to wear out a good gun?

[danefraz]

So,

How many licks does it take to get to the center of this tootise pop?

I guess a good revolver, properly maintained (no rust, oiled and cleaned, etc), will last a few lifetimes.

But that's my guess.

I have a S&W 1917 of 1922 of 1937 in 45ACP that looks like it's been thru the mill, and seems a bit like a Johnny Cash song about a cadillac... but it fires every round you put in it, and pretty accurately too boot. And that's using '92 year old technology'. It has it's hiccups, but it still goes 'bang'.

Can anyone weigh in with some cold hard facts?

I know folks that have pushed 50k (or more) rounds through their S&W revolvers - and they still work.

Anyone out there keep a 'mileage ticker' for their revolvers?

Parts and Maintenance at what intervals?

Care and Feeding?
- I feed most of my stuff 'go-bang-lite' but I do keep some full power and +P loads for some. Will a lifetime be shortened by SAAMI max loads? Will it be extended by 'lite loads'?

 

[David E]

Many variables: caliber, load, rapidity of fire, etc.

20K is a lot for a Beretta 92 before part replacement is necessary.

100K of .38 wadcutters thru a S&W Model 27 is just getting warmed up!

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

How many licks does it take to get to the center of this tootise pop?

The world may never know.

There are too many variables to give a definitive answer.

 

[Oro]

The world may never know.

You are correct, but I thought David E's answer was elegant. And that is all we can really say.

 

[chuckusaret]

I keep book on my guns but I'll never wear them out in my lifetime. I only have one handgun, a Springfield XD40, that has over 6,000 rounds thru it, and this is without a failure to fire of any type.

 

[Oro]

I only have one handgun, a Springfield XD40,

Which of course, helps answer the OP's questions about revolvers so well

 

[kestak]

Greetings,

Each manufacturer has its own MTFB or part replacement schedule. Please be aware they are low balling it because of the high reliability required of a firearm.

Average, a semi-auto handgun needs the recoil spring changed between 6000 to 10,000 rounds, depending of the manufacturer.

Barrel is said to be changed at around 30,000 rounds by RRA AR-type. For handguns, I read 20,000, except the 460 XVR that is 1200 to 1500 (yes, fifteen hundreds).

If you shoot lead, you can shoot 100k and the barrel will still be good.

Magazine springs, per S&W (or springfield, I don't recall exactly), I was surprised to read 3000 rounds.

Thank you

 

[The Wiry Irishman]

My FFL says he knows a steel shooter that has about half a million through a 686.

 

[kestak]

Greetings,

I beleive it. We have a guy at the club who is claiming he has over 220,000 rounds through his Glock.

He said he had to change all the springs in his gun and went through a few barrells.

There is an old timer who is shooting the same 38 spl revolver since the 50s almost every week. He is convinced he shot more than 120k rounds throught it.

Thank you

 

[f4t9r]

Which of course, helps answer the OP's questions about revolvers so well

Maybe you should read the OP's question again: Does not say revolvers only.
I see it is in the handguns revolver section but headline is:

How many rounds to wear out a good gun?
I am going to say "a whole bunch"

 

[Canuc Shooter]

Most people won't live long enough to shoot out a revolver barrel.

 

[oneounceload]

I beleive it. We have a guy at the club who is claiming he has over 220,000 rounds through his Glock.

I'm finding that just a tad hard to swallow.....but that's just me

 

[1911Tuner]

The simple answer is...it depends.

What pressure levels? Lead bullets or jacketed?

Lead bullets don't wear a barrel a fraction as quickly as jacketed bullets...and it's not because lead provides lubricity. It's because the ash and carbon residue from the previous round quickly imbeds into the softer lead instead of being ground into the barrel steel by the harder jacket material. It eventually imbeds...but not as early or as completely. That's why worn barrels show the greatest amount of wear just ahead of the chamber/throat area.

High working pressures will accelerate wear and other damage.

 

[HOME DEPOT GEORGE]

There was an article in one of the gun mag last year about a redhawk 44 mag with 30,000 rounds thru it and they said it actually shot better than when it was new, I'll see if I can find a link.

 

[kestak]

Greetings,

Oneounceload, you discarded the second sentence:

"He said he had to change all the springs in his gun and went through a few barrells."

By the way, my Taurus 24/7 has about 25,000 rounds thought it with almost no malfunctions. It is to Taurus right now for warranty repair because my rear sight is loose now. The recoil spring has been changed only once. The barrel is still in great shape because I shoot hard cast lead almost exclusively. The slide has just a slight worn in the front at the bottom of the rail. It is just a little bit of blue gone.

How do I know I ran about 25,000 rounds? I went thought my load book. I loaded 27,000 9mm rounds. I have a S&W and Steir 9mm too, but I almost don't shoot them. I use all the time my Taurus. And I have in inventory right now about 900 rounds.

I read a few months ago an article from Patrick Sweeney and they tested a semi-auto handgun by running 15,000 rounds through it.

Thank you
P.S.: My XD45c had about 12,000 rounds with no malfunction. My Ruger 44mag has easilly shot 4000-5000 rounds too.

 

[XD9WBT]

Why don't you write Smith and Wesson and get them to run their facts and figures through a computer that will tell you it depends but it will be written in computereze.

 

[Sam1911]

Most people won't live long enough to shoot out a revolver barrel.

"Most people" don't wear out the storage grease the factory shipped the gun in, from what I've seen, but if we throw out the ~50% of gun owners who will wear out the bottom of their sock drawer where the gun sits before they've run enough ammo through it to require a good clean and lube...

I would agree with this in most cases, especially for the kind of revolver shooting I do (hard cast lead, moderate power factor loads).

I'm curious to find out what kind of life expectancy I get out of the 629 I shoot in competition. The barrel will probably last forever, but the cylinder stop and notches, end-shake, crane, etc. may need attention much sooner than that. This gun gets run fast (well, as fast as I can ... ), emptied vigorously (hard on the crane, I'd bet, pounding on the ejector that way), reloaded and closed with enthusiasm (snapped shut), and shot fast more (hard on the stop and notches, and probably the hand) -- for at least a solid hour every week.

This is what I bought it to do, and I do expect it to wear over time, but I'd like to think I'll get to 30,000 or more before it needs an overhaul. (Approaching 10,000 now, IIRC.)

If the smiths and revolver competitors are reading, I'd love to hear ideas on the tips and tricks for helping a revolver live through this kind of use. Ball-detents and that sort of thing?

Thanks!

-Sam

 

[Rexster]

I wore out my right wrist before I managed to wear out any of my revolvers. Literally. Last visit, the Doc recommended watchful waiting. Well, the wait is over; time to get a referral to a specialist. Actually, my S&W M58 wore out, but it was a San Antonio PD duty sixgun for a while before it was my duty sixgun, so no telling how much it had to tolerate before I got it, in 1984. It could be re-tuned to still work OK, and probably will be, eventually.

At today's ammo prices, I doubt I will wear out any more handguns, unless my K-frame .22 M17 goes out of time, or something like that. Easy enough for a competent 'smith to fix. 22 LR ammo is easy on the gun, easy on my wrist, and easy on the wallet.

 

[Rexster]

I have read other accounts of Glocks still going in the range of 200,00 rounds; I have no trouble believing accounts of Glock longevity, as mentioned above. It is the ones chambered for 9mm that seem to last; I have read credible accounts of slides eventually breaking, with .357 SIG-chambered Glocks, in the 30-something-thousand round count range. Yes, springs and pins must be replaced regularly, but 9mm Glocks do last, and I say this as someone who really does not care for them, due to mushy triggers and poor handling qualities in MY hands.

 

[Confederate]

As my uncle said, how long is a piece of string? Or as I would say, if a man gets married, how long will it take for his wife to get fat? The answer is anywhere from weeks to never!

One thing that will add lots of shooting years to a gun is to have it hard chromed. Armoloy has a new process that is harder than anything I've ever seen. When parts interact, wear happens. Hard chrome the parts and wear can virtually stop. The only situation where this tain't so is frame strain. Some people have worn out their S&W K-frames by shooting horrendous loads. Even if they can retime the bloody things a few times, eventually the frame will warp. But Rugers don't do this.

That wouldn't keep me from getting a K-frame, but fatigue, gas cutting and blast all have their effects. An aluminum frame gun won't generally be as robust as a steel frame or, surprise, as heavy. The Colt Python has massive frame, but the pawl (or hand) is tiny and wears quickly, so hard chroming it would be a definite plus. Rugers are also massive and built so that even an ape could replace most parts, so there's a lot of variables all swirling around.

Barrels wear out at different rates, too, depending on what you shoot, but again, hard chroming can make them last indefinitely.



This little beauty is my Beretta 70S. What would happen if
Beretta made this almost perfect gun in stainless? Well, forget it, but I did have mine hard chromed when it developed a spot
of rust that just wouldn't go away. It not only enhanced the
looks, it protects the gun from corrosion and virtually stops
wear between the slide and frame. Hard chroming won't make
the firing pin last longer, though, so there are limitations.

 

[Jim Watson]

Friend of mine who shoots PPC wore out a barrel with .38 wadcutters. Many more than 100,000 of them, but the rifling was eroded out halfway up the barrel. He wore out another gun's action which was a pity because it was a major custom job with cylinder cut back to the length of a .38 Special wadcutter round, and the gunsmith who built it had died by the time it needed rebuilding.

 

[RyanM]

I have some second-hand data on autos, anyway.

Beretta 92 in 9mm - about 20,000, then small parts start breaking

9mm Browning HP - 35,000 and then the frame cracks (dunno how badly; a dust cover crack would be nothing to get your panties in a twist over)

9mm steel framed SIGs - 60,000 rounds or so, dunno what breaks

Steel framed S&Ws in any caliber - 100,000+

.45 1911s - periodic small parts breakage, depending on the quality of your parts (something like 5,000 or less for MIM), locking lugs wear out around... 80,000-100,000? That about right, Tuner? Frame will last pretty much indefinitely, though some develop a crack in the dust cover at some point.

9mm Glocks - 100,000 to 200,000+ until the lockup wears out, frame lasts indefinitely

.40 Glocks - 20,000-50,000 until the top end wears out, frame lasts indefinitely. I suspect that an aftermarket 20-22 pound recoil spring would increase barrel and slide lifespan to 80,000+. Funny how people have bashed plastic guns since their inception, yet the frame outlasts the metal parts, at least with Glocks.

S&W M&P autos, I've heard 60,000-80,000.