10 22 barrel life

Andy, I shot my first 22 rifle when I was about 6yrs old, and I am 67 now. I have nerver seen one with the barrel shot out. I have seen some of the older ones that were pitted real bad and most shot ok. I have a rem auto thay looks like the browning, feeds through the stock and ejects out the bottom. it had a sweeled place about 8" from the front end of the barrel and it shot real tight groups at 50y. I gave 17.00$ for it about 30yrs ago and had it refinished by a gunsmith, he filed the barrel down where it had the bulge and reblued the whole gun and I redid the wood. the only way to tell there was a bulge is when you pull a patch through it I guess what I am saying, I have never saw one that was (shot out), and I have a few old moss's that were made in the 30s and 40s and are very accurate. Jim.

 

I have a Ruger bearcat my grandfather gave me the day I was born. Been shooting it for 30 plus years. Shot is ALLOT when I was a teen and the bore is still nice and shiny the lands and groves are clear and sharp.

 

Cleaning your bore will not hurt it...just clean from the breech end if using a rod. A boresnake is fine, as is a brass brush.

I suppose a barrel can be "shot-out" but I have never seen one. I have a Stevens that was manufactured in 1944, used for several years by my uncle before he left for the Korean war, at which time he gave it to my dad (his brother). My dad told me he put 50,000+ rounds through it in the 50 or so years he had it. I personally have put another 15k+ since I got it several years ago when my dad passed. It is more accurate than any 22 I have ever owned or shot. Maybe that's not many rounds by today's standards, I don't know, but it convinces me that it takes a lot of shooting to wear out a 22 barrel.

 

Most accurate .22 I have is a 77/22 from a Boy Scout Camp with many many tens of thousands of rounds through it.

 

MAYBE, and old shooting gallery gun. Imagine the rounds that went through them.

 

I have personally shot out a barrel on a 10-22. It was a present for my 16th birthday, and it was my competition gun. By my figuring, it was a little over 200K rounds, maybe 215K. It was about 4 years ago, I started loosing accuracy. It kept getting worse and worse. I gave it to a gunsmithing student who took it to school. They replaced the barrel, and asked if they could keep the old one for a show and tell piece. I don't know if it is a fluke or not.
I would usually shoot 50-100 rounds a day in the off season, and 4-500 a day when I was competing.

 

What a pile of junk. It only made it through 200k+ rounds?

Lemme see 200,000 x $0.03 = $6000.00 worth of ammo. Not bad for a $200 rifle!

 

Never seen one shot out , seen quite a few abused out though between pitting and messed up crowns .

 

Depends on how you take care of it, what it's made of, and what you put it through (or what you put through it). Don't expect more....and by no means....expect less. Any firearm you own now should be the worry of your heirs. If you don't think your current firearm is worthy of your heirs....then by all means get something they'll think of you for on your passing. You can't take it with you.
I'm worth way more dead than alive....and that's due to my property....mostly firearms that are worth more now than most human lives. Silly?
22LR barrel life is a fallacy you shouldn't even be concerned with actually. Accuracy over time might be another thing to consider. These days I'm more concerned with how long my pets will last and when I'll have to make the decision on putting them to sleep. My guns mean very little at that point. Life for my 10/22 barrels is more than I can expect in many ways.....but I don't have to worry about.

 

November 1956, my father took 2 new things to the house. A Marlin 56 with the new short stroke levermatic action, and me. I remember at age 6 shooting it at camp. Every weekend we put 200 rounds thru it from age 6 to 18 plus the hunting rounds. Had to slow down a little bit starting in 1975 when the Army got me, but around 1990, I started shooting it lots every weekend. I would estimate since I started shooting it, there has been around 100,000 rounds down the barrel. Yesterday, I shot 3/8 inch groups at the range at 50 yards. I love that rifle. I will pass it down to my son when they plant me and hope he will do the same thing.

 

I have a 10/22 from the 70's that was my dads, he put thousands of rounds through it and I put thousands of rounds through it and it is still a 100yd tack driver.

 

Thanks a lot guys. Some good information here and some cool stories as well. That is one thing that I find neat about .22's. They seem to have an indefinite lifespan as long as you take care of your firearms. I have quite a few centerfire rifles and pistols but, rimfires have a special place in my heart. I'm sure most here can relate to that. We all seem to have those fond memories of yesteryear such as being a young child and our fathers teaching us to shoot with a 10/22. The first time you became old enough to be trusted to be safe and use a firearm without adult supervision. The list could go on and on. For most of us, the very first time we pulled a trigger on any firearm it was a rimfire. I will always try to take the utmost care of my rimfires because I hope to pass these traditions and special moments along to my heirs. I will continue shooting all my rimfires and keeping them well preserved for my future rimfire shooting family members. As long as I can keep rust and politicians away from my guns, all will be good in the future. Thanks for all the help and suggestions guys.

Andy

 

That's kinda what America is built on now....those memories and those first times with a rimfire. Too many just don't get it. I understand in a way.....they never were exposed nor had the chance. Why they voted for Obama again. In reality....I can't hate them for being ignorant........I feel pity for them in ways. We'll all pay for a few mistakes whether we like it or not. We should have been on top of the game for a long while now. We've failed in many ways. With our youth, and relying on public education while trying to make a living and paying our dues to the almighty government that throws away our hard earned money.
The good 'ol days is for us good 'ol boys and how it was........get your butt kicked on the playground and not hide behind stupid laws. If you won't stand for yourself....then think about your kids and their future.

 

I've heard about, but never seen a 10/22 barrel being shot out. A couple of them, in fact. Take a week of prairie dog hunting, thousands of rounds, and just continuous shooting without cleaning. I was told that the barrels were shot until they were too hot to hold, and doing that with a .22LR is pretty hard to do.

I don't consider them 'worn out', I consider them 'abused to death.' That is probably the only way you're actually going to kill a .22 barrel, abused to the point of failure. With take off barrels available for $35-50, they're easy to replace, at least on a 10/22, so the guys didn't care.

For someone who cares about their rifle, and plans on taking good care of it, a rifle should last for hundred years or more, and tens of thousands of rounds.

My two cents, for what it's worth.

Gary

 

I agree fully with this post.

I have seen a few competition shooters who would change out their match-grade barrels at around 30,000 to 50,000 rounds, but only because the supreme accuracy began to fall of, slightly. Slightly, meaning not even enough that the average well-experienced shooter would even noticed. The serious competition shooters want to be able to put five to ten bullets in the same jagged hole, EVERY TIME. Generally, they determine when to change out that barrel.... when the given lots of ammo they have tested and shoot in matches.... won't do that any longer. But those same barrels would still be far better than minute-of-squirrel-head, for years to come.

Also agree that more so-called 'shot out' RF barrels are from abuse, rather than use. People either put them away after a range session or a few days of hunting... without running a dry patch (let alone an oily patch) down the bore. That's not good, in the long run, as it leaves moisture in the bore and allows rust to begin to pit the lands.

Others clean their barrels far too aggressively or improperly (like ramming a dry brass brush quickly and sloppily thru the bore... out the muzzle... and then pulling it back thru the barrel), doing minute damage to the crown and dinging tiny 'divots' in the rifling with the sharp edges of the portion of the brush or jag that is nearest the threaded end. I can guarantee you that many, many more barrels "go bad" from this type activity.... than from shooting 100,000 rounds thru it.

Also, low-end rimfire barrels will begin to taper off accuracy-wise, long before one made to shoot thru 2-3 generations. Plain (blued) chromly barrels will wear slightly faster than a good stainless barrel.... but again, you wouldn't likely notice any accuracy depletion until 'grandson' had inherited and shot it for quite a few years.

 

I have a Savage 23A that has 1919 on the roll mark. I believe they were sold in the early 1920s.

I got the gun for $25 just because I wanted it. (probably a fair deal since the magazines are rare and have gotten expensive) - I refinished the stock just by sanding it down and using tung oil on it. Looks fine - has a few small dings in the wood, but this was obviously a gun that was used a lot over the past 90 years or so. The bluing on the barrel is OK, but a bit thin. The bluing on the bolt handle is completely worn down to the bare steel, so that alone tells me the rifle was used a lot. The bolt itself is in the white - I have no idea if it was ever blued or not.

I myself have put thousands of rounds through it over the 10 years or so that I've had it.

I run a bore - snake through it after every 500 rounds or so - when it starts to lose some accuracy (it's still a very accurate rifle and the only rifle I have with just iron sights). Maybe once or twice a year I'll clean the bore with a brush and a couple of patches, and give the bolt and breech-face a cleaning with a toothbrush and something like Breakfree CLP

The bore of the rifle looks as shiny as any of my new guns - the lands and grooves not only look good, but I occasionally look at bullets that have been fired by the rifle and retrieved and the rifling marks are clean and even.

It's hard to imagine how a .22LR rifle can get worn out (other than by abuse) - the lead bullets are soft (even if "copper washed" and the steel bores are hard. Very different than using centerfire ammo with jacketed bullets.

A million rounds doesn't seem unreasonable to expect from a steel barrel using lead bullets. Maybe even several million - if anyone has the time to shoot that much.

 

I don't think you can wear a 22 rimfire barrel out from shooting (within reason). Most of them get worn from people trying to clean them or neglect to the elements.

 

I don't want to draw away from the question that was posted, but I have enjoyed reading the stories of the rifles passed down from father to son. The many rounds fired and the charished memories! You guys should start a thread about charished rifles, they don't have to be father to son or your grandfathers rifle, just rifles that have been charished for years and the story behind it!

 

I read on the internet that Eley will wear out your barrel. It must be true if it is on the internet. Sorry could not resist. I have a Remington 241 that belonged to my Grandfather. There is no telling how many rounds have gone through it. He gave it to me when I was 7. I don't shoot it much now. When I was cleaning it last year I looked at the barrel with a bore scope - no pitting and bright.

 

HA!!! Love that commercial!

 

I was just wondering what the average lifespan of a .22lr barrel is? I have heard several different opinions on this subject. Has anyone actually seen a documented study on how many rounds it takes untill accuracy starts to go downhill? I have also heard that you do more damage to your barrel by cleaning it excessively than by normal wear from shooting.[snip]

I believe someone asked [mumblemumble] from Green Mountain rifle barrels that question here on RFC once, & the answer to the expected lifespan of GM's 22lr rifle barrels was "infinite."

That goes double if they're stainless!

Once upon a time, 22lr were primed with corrosive primers w/ ground glass in them, and charged with 4 grains of BP behind a 40gr externally lubed lead bullet that were typically carried around in one's pocket. Between the priming, bits of glass, and black powder residue, it wasn't uncommon for barrels to be shot out & replaced every 5 years or so. Once non-corrosive primers and smokeless powders came along & displaced the BP & corrosive priming compounds, barrel life was extended greatly for even those w/ less-than-diligent cleaning habits. Better steels coming into use also extended barrel life.

Erosion of the bore at the barrel throat is caused primarily by heat: barring full-auto or high ROF "mag dumps," the 22lr round doesn't produce enough heating of the barrel steel to measurably erode the barrel throat.

Wear of the muzzle crown via poor/over-zealous cleaning can be remedied by cutting a new crown [provided there is enough barrel length to do so w/o falling afoul of the BATFE-men [the "...FE" being silent in this usage. ]]

So, the best time for 22s is now. Enjoy to your heart's content, & stop worrying about wearing out the barrel! :bthumb:

 

If you shoot cans at 50' it's pretty hard to wear a barrel out because you'll never notice that the barrel is smoked until it starts throwing bullets sideways.
Most silhouette guys get 50-70 thousand out of a barrel before they won't group under an inch at 100m.

 

More damage is done by cleaning rods and improper cleaning technique than fired rounds.

Ripsaw

 

I bought a Ruger first model semi-auto for my 21st birthday, back in those days I was really trigger happy and had 8 or 9 mags for that gun. I shot CCI mini-mags through it on a regular basis and a few of the then new CCI stingers. Midway through the second case of ammunition I noticed shots starting to go wild shooting at 22 silhouettes, a paper target check at 50' revealed 3-4 bullets out of a mag not hitting the target, moving in closer solved the mystry.. bullets key-holeing.
I never ran a cleaning rod down the barrel of that pistol yet most of the rifleing was gone at about 7500 rounds.
I blame it on my penchant for emptying the magazines as fast as possible useing high velocity ammunition.
Everytime someone on here says you can't wear a 22 barrel out I can't help but remember that target with the oblong bullet holes.

 

Was the rifling gone or the grooves filled with lead?

 

James C. Rodney's "Gun Digest Book of the .22 Rifle" discusses barrel life for the .22. In test barrels that are shot continuously with no consideration for heat build up and little cleaning the "accurate" lifespan was about 20,000 rounds. However, he goes on to say that in the hands of an individual shooter this increases to 60,000+ for an autoloader in competition and 100,000+ for general use. I'm sure we've got someone out there keeping records on their rifles.

 

I'm sure there are huge variations in barrel life due to quality of barrel steel, and 20 other factor most folks would never think of like some rifleing processes are said to contribute to longevity. Not to mention the:AR15firin factor! Barrel life of a handgun is probably much less than that of a rifle with only 4-5 inchs to impart enough spin on a bullet to stabilize it you need every inch in good condition.

 

Methodical shooting with standard velocity unplated ammunition is probably the least hard on a barrel. The wear I notice is the bottom 1/3 of the barrel gets pitted from carbon abrasion from the chamber forward about 6", the burned powder residue settles in the bottom and successive bullets iron it in eventually pitting the metal. At one time there were BR guys experimenting useing compressed air blowing it out the end of the barrel between shots trying to negate this problem, it sounded like alot of trouble to me.

 

Rifling was eroded starting on the front edge of the chamber gradually getting better to about an inch from the muzzle where it was good, I could drop a pulled bullet half way down the barrel from the chamber end. Several people checked it out because I was going buy a new barrel from Ruger, about that time a like new Smith 41 came into the shop and I bought it instead, that was the beginnings of my firearms enlightening period!

 

While I seldom straight up dump a full magazine from my Mark II Gov’ I have done it several times over the years since I bought it in the mid 80’s. Of the many thousands of rounds run through it the vast majority were CCI Mini-Mag HP and it’s still an excellent shooter same as the day I bought it. I’m inclined to believe your barrel was a dud from the beginning and it should be or have been replaced by Ruger at their expense.