What constitutes a high round count gun?

[rellascout]

How many rounds do you have to fire out of a particular gun for you to consider it a "high round count" gun?

Is it 1,000 rounds, 5,000 rounds, 10,000 rounds? I know we all shoot as much as we can and some shoot a lot more than others.

 

[NMBrian]

Depends on the gun I suppose.

 

[rellascout]

Depends on the gun I suppose.

Why would the type of gun matter?

 

[possum]

I say 20,000(+) and for me I only have one of those. My SA Xd service model. However I am looking forward to getting all of my other guns to that round count one day, and more!

 

[LiveLife]

For Glocks, I have shot well over 100,000 rounds in each with no noticeable degradation in accuracy/function. I would consider 250,000+ high round count for Glocks.

With other make/model pistols, high count number would vary.

Many match shooters will shoot over 30,000-60,000 rounds a year out of their match pistols with little concern for "high round count"

 

[rellascout]

With other make/model pistols, high count number would vary

Why? I can maybe understand caliber making a difference some are harder on a gun than others due to pressures but I am not sure why people keep saying it varies from one gun to another.

 

[hawkeye10]

I have a Hi Standard Trophy 22LR with over 30,000 rounds fired and it still shoots very good. Don

 

[LiveLife]

The reason why it varies from make/model is that some makes like Glock/M&P come with surface hardened barrels (Tennifer/Melonite) that resist wear.

 

[AKElroy]

Depends on whether I am selling or buying.

 

[Canazes9]

Why would the type of gun matter?

Because the guns intended purpose affects its build construction. I would expect 3-5K rounds to be the usable life span of a Ruger LCP or similar pocket gun, where 25K rounds would seem to be "just getting started" for my full sized XDm40. It's not fair to compare round counts on guns designed for dissimilar purposes.

David

 

[ny32182]

I supsect the response here is just going to be relative to how many rounds the respondent and/or those in his circle of shooting buddies tend to shoot, and not based on what any given gun can put out prior to catastrophic failure.

For example... I know several people that have shot likely shot ~20k a year through their match guns for several years. As far as I know they are yet to break a major component like a frame, barrel, or slide.

The trick to really defining "high" for any given gun would be knowing where the average failure point of the major components is, and I really doubt that anyone besides possibly the manufaturers really know that kind of information. To define that value for a full size service pistol I figure you'd need 10 examples and a million rounds of ammo just to get started.

I think when my G34 passes 10k, which won't be too much longer, I will post a brief writeup of the parts I've replaced, see what others think I might need to replace, and post pictues of surfaces that show a little wear, etc. Maybe add to it every 10k if I don't end up switching guns like I tend to do.

 

[CWL]

Modern full-size pistols? 5K is just the break-in period!

 

[royal barnes]

A good friend who was an IPSC shooter for a number of years used a Colt Series 70 Pachmayr Special. When he retired from competition the gun had 500,000+ rounds through it. Many springs and smaller parts but the major components were all original. It is the only defensive pistol he carries to this day. I guess you could consider his a high round count pistol.

 

[1SOW]

CZ 75B for range & comp. games with light loads: probably around 40K rds, but I've quit tracking it.

With this all steel pistol and light load, the barrel/chamber, slide etc don't take a beating; so I don't consider it a high round count at all. I wouldn't be surprised to get 100K or maybe a lot more out of it.

On the other hand, If I were "buying" this pistol at a pawn shop, I'd look it over and say: "Man, this is sure no safe-queen". External (tilt-) barrel 'polishing' marks, holster wear marks, etc. all point to heavy use.

My High Standard .22, probably has 5 times this many rounds through it, and I don't consider it a high round count. It looks and shoots like the day I bought it in 197(?).

I didn't vote: With cars, I consider 100K miles "a high round count" and look around for a replacement.

The type of pistol (or rifle), caliber and load, varies my definition of "high round count". Why? Round count doesn't really matter in some firearms. Shotguns, some wheel guns, .22s all come to mind.

 

[The Wiry Irishman]

My personal benchmark for high round count is 50k, around the time you'd need to replace your first land and groove rifled barrel firing FMJs. I don't have any up that high yet. Well, I think my .22 is getting close, I don't really track my .22 very carefully, and 50k still isn't much on a rimfire. They're pretty low-impact rounds as far as wear is concerned.

 

[Telekinesis]

I'm going to go with "it depends on the gun" as well. While I was shooting competition, my shotgun took in excess of 1500 rounds every year, often requiring armorer level maintenance mid season. Even after several years of shooting at that rate, I didn't consider my gun to be "high round count".

For a pistol or rifle, I think it depends mostly on barrel wear. When you have to start thinking about when you'll replace the barrel, its getting close. For me, a lot also depends on how the gun was cared for. A pistol shot with no lube and cleaned once every 500 rounds is going to look like a high round count gun much sooner than a gun that is always lubed and cleaned at the end of every shooting session.

 

[ziegler44]

well if its 1000, then im damn close. I picked up a marlin 795 last week. took it to the range on sunday and put 600 rounds through it in 3 hours.

 

[Snowdog]

As you're obviously aware, it's all a matter of perspective. If I had the opportunity to shoot more, I'm sure my view would change considerably.

Some folks consider 75,000 miles a high-mileage car whereas some are more inclined to look at a quarter to half million miles as high-mileage. Of course, 75k miles may be easier on a Toyota Corrola than a Daewoo Lanos.

As of now, I'd consider anything over 10K a high round count (which is just getting started for some). My K9 purchased around '96 is approaching that number and my RIA is on its heels. The rest of my handguns I can confidently say are under the 5K market in round count.

I would like to know what pistols hold the record.

 

[wanderinwalker]

It depends.

I have a Glock 17 with over 10K rounds through it and wouldn't think of considering it a high-round count pistol. It doesn't show any signs of excessive wear at this point and I doubt the next 10K rounds will leave any noticeable increase in wear either.

If it was a Kel-tec PF-9 or something, I could consider 2K+ to be a high round count based on the one I had. Because it is made to be as small and light as practically possibly, you sacrifice some service-life in the trade-off for ease-of-carry.

I also have an AR-15 that I use for Service Rifle matches with over 10K rounds through it. Of course it gets rebarreled (on it's 3rd one now) as required and the small parts replaced between seasons, but I don't consider this one to be a high-round count either.

And anything rimfire? Unless it's one of those little pot-metal guns, I don't think it's necessary to worry about the round counts on .22LRs.

 

[wally]

I voted 20,000+ because I've half a dozen in the 10,000-19,999 range and they if anything shoot better than they did new -- a little honest wear smooths things out.

 

[Mike1234567]

I'm FAR from an expert but there are WAY too many variables to answer his question without making a very LONG post to address said variables. The quick answer, which cannot be voted on in this poll, is some firearms can handle hundreds of thousands of low velocity ammo and not break a sweat. Others become inaccurate after only a few thousand rounds due to barrel design and hyper-velocity ammo.

 

[rbernie]

Why would the type of gun matter?

High mileage for a belly gun will be defined differently than for a service gun. I consider 3K to be a pretty high round count for a PF9 but less than a six month's worth of usage for my service/duty range mules.

 

[Owen]

i'd say it depends on what the gun is for, and what's the expected barrel life for the purpose of the gun. For a benchrest rifle, 1000-2000 rounds is probably pushing it. The receiver will be fine, but the barrel will be done for. For a well made .22LR Bolt action, I'm not sure its possible to wear one out by shooting it.

 

[thorazine]

[X] More than twenty rounds.


Considering the majority of the firearms for sale or trade on the boards are advertised in that condition. =D

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I think it starts at ~5,000 rounds. A hundred boxes of ammo makes a pretty good stack. This is also about where you should think about replacing recoil springs and (depending on the gun) other wear/stressed parts.