Depends on your definition of accuracy. But on the average lifetime +.

 

With good ammo and decent conditions. 1/2” at 50, 1” at 100, 2 1/2” at 200.
My 2 year old gun has approximately 10,000 rounds on it. 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

 

Using Barrel With 100,000+ Rounds, Joe Sets New ARA Record « Daily Bulletin

Click to zoom image. Some folks think you need a new (or nearly-new) barrel to win a benchrest match. That may be true in the centerfire game, but in the world of rimfire benchrest, things are different. Good barrels can remain accurate for a long, long time. That was demonstrated by our friend...

bulletin.accurateshooter.com

 

Longer than me😢

The only thing that ruins a barrel is a borescope. 😆 and ocd cleaning.

 

I put 100,000+ through a Buckmark Silhouette and it still shoots superb! You won’t wear one out in your lifetime unless you do something nasty to it.

 

With the best of care such as cleaning the barrel after shooting; it would be hard to wear the barrel out.

 

Idea? Sure....I asked the folks that would know.
Contacted RWS, Lapua and Eley directly and inquired...

How often do you replace the barrels used in factory testing of 22lr production?
At what number of shots fired does wear affect the testing results?

The number of shots before accuracy dropped off was dependent on barrel material.
The Walther barrels could be used up to 180,000 shots.
The custom stainless match barrels (softer metal) were only useful for 60 to 80 thousand shots.

Michele Makucevich <michelem@eleyammunition.com>


ELEY monitors barrel performance through the use of control batches.
When performance using these control batches starts to diminish we will change the barrel to ensure accuracy is maintained.

The barrel wear is very much dependant on the type, quality and cleaning and maintenance it has received.
Some will last for 75,000 rounds others in excess of 110,000 rounds.

Best regards,

Michele Makucevich
Key Account Manager

Phil Hoham from Capstone Precision Group <hello-4@capstoneprecisiongroup.hs-inbox.com>

Straight from the factory.

" Our standard rifle in the factory is a Walther KK500. Here we notice precision loss after 150.000 up to 180.000 rounds.

The barrel of such a rifle is made of carbon steel. Some other European manufacturers do it in the same way like Anschütz or Feinwerkbau.

More and more stainless steel barrels come up in rifles made by Bleiker or Grünig+Elmiger.

Those rifles have a high quality and precision but the barrels are very soft and less resistant.
So you can use the rifles with good precision only for approximately 50.000 rounds.
In US you will have other manufacturers but the situation will be the same.

But the question is what a shooter understands if he speaks about a decreasing precision.

I guess there is only a hand full of shooters that could detect the effect in her daily exercises.
We use very clever fixing systems (and those are from time to time in discussion because of the precision)
and electronic measurement devices to detect the growing target circle.
Very few people can do that in the clubs or at home.

A usual club shooter will never notice that his old rifle shoots worse after 20 years compared to the days as he bought it.

Top level shooters need a number of new barrels or rifles in her shooters life.
They practice much more and have higher requirements. "

I think that unless you are a professional shooter. This is a non-issue.

Take care,

Philip Hoham

Technical Support

Capstone Precision Group, LLC

Wachtler Thomas RUAG <Thomas.Wachtler@ruag.com>

we assume that a .22l.r. barrel approx. 50,000 rounds.

With best Regards
Thomas


Mit freundlichem Gruß

Thomas Wachtler
Customer Service BU Hunting & Sport


RUAG Ammotec GmbH
Kronacher Straße 63
90765 Fürth/Germany

 

Idea? Sure....I asked the folks that would know.
Contacted RWS, Lapua and Eley directly and inquired...

How often do you replace the barrels used in factory testing of 22lr production?
At what number of shots fired does wear affect the testing results?

The number of shots before accuracy dropped off was dependent on barrel material.
The Walther barrels could be used up to 180,000 shots.
The custom stainless match barrels (softer metal) were only useful for 60 to 80 thousand shots.

Excellent and interesting post jaia! The SK/Lapua response also seems to have answered a question in regards to the type of Steel Anschutz uses in their 22's...Carbon Steel.

Thanks for taking the time @ asking the top three "How Often".

 

22LR rifle barrels last a long time. They just don't experience the extreme temperatures that CF rifle barrels have to endure.

 

A few years back I was reading an article about 22 ammo from a pro. A side note was a few lines about his Marlin 39A he bought in his later teens and still had as a constant companion , if he was out shooting, hiking, whatever that gun went with him and was shot, hunting camps or range time. Also used it to teach his kids how to shoot. He broke down and used a bore scope and found the first 6 or so inches down the barrel were now without rifleing.
Point is you might burn out a 22 barrel, but probably won't.

 

They seem to me to be eternal,I have never in 50 years worn one out.I had one that key holed but it was not worn out,I sold it.but my oldest is an old German single shot bolt of pre 1900 vintage and it sill has a good bore.

 

mmmm, 50,000 rds = 1000 boxes, 100 bricks ; 180,000 rds = 3600 boxes. 360 bricks. Lotta smoke there.

Avg brick price now of half decent stuff at $40, 100 bricks = $4K 360 bricks = $14,400

 

Avg brick price now of half decent stuff at $40, 100 bricks = $4K 360 bricks = $14,400

What are you calling half decent, and where are you getting it for $40/brick?

 

With good ammo and proper maintenance, it should last as long as you!

 

I think over cleaning will wear one out more than just shooting them. I seldom clean some of my nicer shooting target rifles, just the chamber.

 

Depend on how you treat them...

 

An old gunsmith once told me years ago the chambers on .22s wear out before the bores, I had never heard that before and never since. I have a Springfield 120 that I grew up with and shot who knows how many rounds through it. I had mentioned to him that I had started noticing getting a little blow back when shooting it, being left handed my face was right behind the bolt. I think that is what prompted his comment. Anyone else ever heard that?

 

Yep. if you have a favorite barrel and want to save it a smith can take a skooch off the chamber end and cut a new chamber, almost like a new gun.

It was a simple question, directed at you. I know what I consider decent, and the price point.

and a simple answer directed back to you, my price in experimentation is based on many years of buying all kinds of ammo, in general 40 a brick is just a wag. I haven't bothered with current prices on the good stuff as I have many bricks of good stuff at this time.

 

Interesting post on "barrel life". The quality of steel certainly does seem to make a difference in barrel life. I have noticed the most likely place showing of wear on lesser quality rifles is in the throat or leade area where the lands and grooves meet the chamber. Quality older rifles such as the 52E and Anschutz with match chambers show very little wear in that same area. The old 15YS is just about smooth about 3/4" from the chamber. Perhaps there really is some merit to what the "old timers" had to say about the ammo mfgs changing the primer formula? Heck, I've always thought the "blued" barrels are made of better steel than the "stainless" offerings anyway. At my age, it really doesn't matter very much! Ha!

 

On any modern gun I don't think you can wear one out in your lifetime. Some of the cheaper pre war barrels were made of softer steel and I have seen some of those with actual rifling wear, but part of that could be corrosive priming too. I have shot my 40X sporter close to 50,000 rounds and it had about 50,000 rounds through it be the original owner. I still can get 1/2" at 100 yards when the weather is good. It is just a super shooter. A old timer once told me you do more damage cleaning a barrel than ever shooting it.

 

I had a small piece of the upper break off on my Volquartsen Black Mamba so I had to send it in for repair. I've been shooting it for 4 years and practice twice a week as well as shooting matches.

I've fired just over 85,000 rounds through this gun. When Volquartsen replaced the top end they asked if I wanted to use my current barrel, which they said was in bad shape, or put a new barrel in for only $100. I chose the new barrel.

So yes, you can shoot out a barrel on a .22.

Since Covid my practice sessions have lowered from 500 + rounds per session to about 150 - 200 rounds. Price of ammo has skyrocketed and I've cut back a bunch. Good thing I still have a few cases of CCI Blazer that I bought for $18 a brick.

 

Barrel life depends on a lot of things, including what ammunition is used, quality of the steel, cleaning regimen, cleaning technique just to name a few. There is no absolute answer to barrel life other than when it loses it's accuracy, it's time to replace.