Plain Carbon Steel Barrel Life?

[.455_Hunter]

My 2008 20" Stag AR and my 1974 Series 180 Mini-14 both have plain carbon steel barrels (no chrome, no nothing).

What should I expect for barrel life?

What guidelines should be followed to maximize this barrel life?

Thanks!

[Great-Kazoo]

What has stag told you?


How many rounds do you shoot at 1 range trip? They slow, fast. mag dumps?

When the bbl gets real hot. do you lock bolt back and let cool, or continue shooting?

Has the bbl ever glowed red from extreme rapid fire?

Is the bbl / rifle exposed to harsh conditions? Have you ever shot corrosive ammo and not cleaned properly after range trip?

If you want to maximize bbl life, keep it in the safe.


There's no given round count before bbl life deteriorates. There's accuracy issues as it gets who knows how many rounds through it.
Follow recommend cleaning procedures.


You question is similar to asking the doctor .
So how much longer you think i have before i start having health issues?.

[henpecked]

Keep it clean, don't do mag dumps and the barrel will outlast you.
Probably 4140 steel

[ray1970]

I would guess you can probably get about 5,000 to 7,000 rounds before you?ll notice a decrease in accuracy. Probably 10,000 to 12,000 rounds before you really wear one out.

On the Stag at least, that means once you?ve burned through about $4,000 worth of ammunition you?ll probably want to invest $150 or so in a new barrel.

Seriously, I wouldn?t worry too much about wearing out a barrel.

[.455_Hunter]

Thanks!

Mag dumps are usually limited to a single unit at the end of a range session.

I don't shoot bi-metal ammo out of these guns either.