Number of rounds through a gun...

[PR-NJ]

So, I read various posts with guys writing things like:

"After 2,000 rounds..." and "only three failures in 6,000 rounds..." and "my barrel has seen 11,000 rounds..."

How do you know? I can kind of guess when I've shot a couple hundred rounds or so through a new pistol, but after that who can tell? Especially if you bring three or four guns and a few hundred rounds of ammo to the range each visit.

Is everyone just BS-ing or should I be keeping some kind of log - like logging hours of operation for boat engines (which I didn't do either when I have a boat)?

 

[Sunray]

Hi. Some shooters do keep records like that. Doesn't mean much though. Unless you're trying to sell the firearm. Still doesn't mean much.

 

[Robert]

For me I estimate, and normally on the low side. For instance my competition season has a minimum round count of 1400 rounds. I know I shoot more than the minimum, and since I know how many rounds I take with me I can figure out how much I will shoot in the season. At this point I would make a ball park of 1400 to 1800 rounds. I will have a better idea at the end of the season.

 

[hey_poolboy]

I keep a RC for most of my guns. I know that my 1 year old Springer GI has 1900 rounds through it right now. The rimfires don't have a running tally, but the rest of my guns do. For rifles I like to know what kind of barrel life I have left, especially the ones I run hot (.22-250).

 

[Jim Watson]

I keep a shot by shot log on my target rifles.
Barrel life is shorter than many posters acquainted with military rifles and military standards expect and I track usage so I won't be surprised when accuracy starts to fade.

A lot of people save ammo box or primer carton labels to track their shooting of bulk ammo but I don't bother.

 

[Whiskey11]

I count primers... see, I reload, and it is easy to count the number of Primer Trays associated with my pistol or rifle primers since I only have one pistol and one rifle. I also know exactly how many pistol/rifle factory rounds I've shot since those cases are the cases I reload. Easy enough

 

[Manco]

I don't keep a precise log, but I do have a pretty good idea of how many rounds I've fired so that I can preemptively replace certain parts (e.g. recoil/action spring) at certain intervals.

 

[Rancho Relaxo]

It's my gut feeling that most people oversetimate the amount of rounds they have put through a particular firearm. I kept detailed records with my SKB O/U until I got to 7,000. After that I lost interest.

 

[yyz]

when shot high power i keep logs on my rifles. now i just keep a general running total.

 

[medalguy]

All my guns have less than a box through them.

 

[Geckgo]

I make mental notes and keep track of everything that costs me money, no exceptions

 

[Kingofthehill]

I keep an excel file on all guns with pictures and serial numbers, values, round count, misfires, or any notable problems or surprises.

I tare the end tab off of each box i shoot and stick it in that guns case that im shooting. If there is a problem i write it on the box tab and transfer that to the computer when i get home.

If i buy the gun new, i know every round fired if i bought the gun new. When i buy a gun "Used" gun i will take the word of the owner and if they say something like 500-800rds fired i'll always go with the higher estimate since most people i assume don't count and try and make a gun sound newer than it really is.

 

[M2 Carbine]

How do you know?

Mostly I take an educated guess but recently I bought a Ruger LC9 and American Tactical C92 and wanted to see just how reliable these guns are.
I quickly put over a thousand rounds through the Ruger and I stopped counting at about 450 through the AT.

In 1960 I bought a S&W Model 10. At the time I just loaded 38 and 45ACP so I had a pretty good idea when I had 10,000 rounds through the Smith because of the number of small pistol primers I bought.

I find round counting boring, so I haven't a clue the round count through most of my guns.

 

[Patriotme]

I don't keep a log but I do know which of my guns get shot at least once per month and can guess that's at least 50-100 rnds for each range trip.

 

[BruceB]

ALL my ammunition is hand-loaded except for the small percentage that is used for my concealed-carry guns.

Since I log the number of rounds loaded, it's pretty easy to keep a decently-accurate total of rounds fired in various firearms.

I can say that my M1A, for example, has fired 6500 rounds since new. We have a pair of Bullseye-competition .38 Model 52s that have fired over 140,000 rounds. My .416 Rigby (Ruger #1) has passed the 1500-round mark....and so it goes.

There's no real need for an accurate round-count for each rifle or handgun, but I find it interesting to add up the rounds I've loaded once in a while.

Counting primers, as mentioned above, offers a rough-and-ready way of tallying our shooting.

 

[mljdeckard]

Handloaders pay more attention and keep more records, but it's not at all unreasonable for people to log their range sessions.

 

[A-FIXER]

All my guns have less than a box through them.

Well, thats ashame, pm me and I'll ensure proper break in's and you can even use them as well.

 

[bthest86]

bang..."one"...bang..."two"...bang..."three"...bang..."four"

 

[mustang_steve]

I can tell based on how many boxes of ammo are consumed.

I use boxes of 50 for centerfire pistol, 20 for centerfire rifle, 20 for shotgun, 140 for .22lr (what I can fit into a Altoids tin). I use entire boxes on one gun unless there's a reason to stop early.

This is how I know how many I plowed through.

 

[JohnBiltz]

I keep a log.

 

[19-3Ben]

Well, since this is THR, you have to account for the fact that people are just keeping a tally so they know how many rounds they have through their guns before they lose them all in that tragic boating accident.

 

[Mags]

I keep a spreadsheet on my guns that includes what loads they like best, how much ammo I have on hand for each one and how many rounds are fired. The latter is best for routine maintenance such as spring replacement and barrel life.

 

[jglcolosprgs]

The voices in my head make me keep logs for most of my guns.

My son will be able to look at the log and see exactly how crazy his dad was.

 

[Dr.Rob]

On my AR-15 I have multiple coffee cans full of spent brass to prove it. (Haven't been reloading in a while.)

 

[o Unforgiven o]

Well, since this is THR, you have to account for the fact that people are just keeping a tally so they know how many rounds they have through their guns before they lose them all in that tragic boating accident.

Boating accident?

I can't speak to that but I have had the misfortune of crossing paths with an abandoned coal mine...