How long can you expect guns to last?
 

I have a few buddies whom say they don't like to shoot their guns anymore than needed so that they wont wear out the rifling in the barrels or wear the guns out. Me on the other hand if I buy a gun I'm buying it to shoot. They also all seem to have guns new in the box that's never been shot. I don't get the point of this as if I buy a gun I want to use it. I have had my newest one for less than a month. The first week I shot probably 200 shells through it. Probably 3-350 now. I just like target shooting and don't see the point in not shooting them.

Realistically though how many shells can you expect guns to last? Is it something I should actually worry about or does the rifling not get worn out that easily? They all have me worried telling me I'm going to wear out the barrels quickly. My response is I bought it to shoot so if it does wear out I will get a new one. That's when I always get told how not everyone has money to do that and treated like I don't respect my guns. I'm super particular about cleaning them and do it often I just don't let them sit in the box unshot.

RE: How long can you expect guns to last?
 

It really depends on a few factors. One is how well the firearm is maintained. And what chambering and how hot a load is being shot out of it. The 220 swift was a good one for burning out barrels rather quickly. But you get something like a 45-70, 35 rem. these will last forever if they are cared for.
Regardless, with the average shooter/hunter, you can expect a firearm to last his or her lifetime. Now a competetive shooter that shoots thousands of rounds a week or month. They will require more replacement of parts through normal wear.
I have rifles for over 40 years that still shoot very well.

RE: How long can you expect guns to last?
 

I never owed a rifle long enough to find out but I would imagine a rifle shooting lighter bullets at moderate velocity(2500-2800fps) would last at least though 5000 rnds and a magnum shooting heavy bullets, mabye 3-4000rds. Then again theres alot of AKs, garands and mausers out there with alot more rounds through em than that, so who knows? Good question though.

RE: How long can you expect guns to last?
 

I have some guns over 100 years old that were military service weapons and have probably seen many thousands of rounds. still shooters. If it is maintained properly it will last longer than you or I.

RE: How long can you expect guns to last?
 

So basically I can shoot it as much as I want and not really worry about it as long as I keep it clean and maintain it like I should?

RE: How long can you expect guns to last?
 

Yeah...kinda...it really depends on the cartridge also.

RE: How long can you expect guns to last?
 

I have a Ruger 10/22 that has over 50,000 rounds through it. Looks and shoots like new. But a 22 long rifle is a long way from a 220 swift.

RE: How long can you expect guns to last?
 

A new rifle will last several thousand rounds,even hot rounds. Handguns and shotguns will last sometimes no telling how many rounds,depending on caliber,size,and style. There are 2 main enemies to guns-poor maintance and heat from shooting them so quick that the barrel becomes too hot. Letting them rust falls under poor maintance. All I can say is take care of it and it will last a couple of lifetimes if not more-no matter how many rounds you shoot as it's hard to be able to afford to shoot a gun enough to where you have to worry about wearing it out.

RE: How long can you expect guns to last?
 

They usually last longer than their owners.....

RE: How long can you expect guns to last?
 

I agree with bronko and i will also add it depends how well you take care of the rifle. The hotter the load the faster it will burn the barrel out. But your talking about thousands of rounds to.

RE: How long can you expect guns to last?
 

A rifle will last longer than you if you maintain it. A rifle chambered for a standard cartridge like a 30-06, .270, etc... will last tens of thousands of rounds before the barrel is worn out enough to replace it.

The only reason that competitive shooters replace barrels after only 1000 rounds is because they, and their competition, can shoot good enough that just a couple thousandths of an inch can mean the difference in a win or loss. A standard hunting rifle will never be that accurate nor will us hunters ever require that kind of accuracy out of our hunting rifles.

RE: How long can you expect guns to last?
 

I cant imagine wearing one out. If you even make a half hearted attempt to maintain the gun it should outlast the shooter easily.

RE: How long can you expect guns to last?
 

stalkingbear said it first but I'll reinterate what he said....HEAT is one of the biggest enemis of your barrel. If you are out blasting away as fast as you can pull the trigger your barrel will invariably wear out faster. Fire a few shots....let it cool and then fire a few more. Don't let it get so hot you can't touch it. With that said I was on the military marksmanship team and we proabably fired 500-1000 rounds/day out of our M-16's. They would get so darn hot you would burn your fingers. I shot that same rifle and carried it on missions the entire time I was in the service and it still shot as well the day I was discharged as when I joined.
So....blast away and don't worry about it.
WW

RE: How long can you expect guns to last?
 

No offense but..........your buddies don't make any sense at all. Do they treat their vehicles the same way. You realize that a rifle barrel installed cost about the same as a set of tires on their trucks.

I 'need' to shoot some of mine all the time. I have prairie dog rifles that I shoot as much as 400 rds. in a day. The last thing on my list of BS things to worry about is how long the barrel will last on any of them.

RE: How long can you expect guns to last?
 

Our .22 rifles at school for rifle team put like 500 rounds a day for 3 months out of the year. Some of them rifles are 10+ years old and shoot perfectly.

RE: How long can you expect guns to last?
 

WEar out a gun by shooting it? Well, it can be done. For example, a good .30/06 BARREL will last about 10,000 rounds, if you let it cool down between shots. Some of the faster hot rounds wear out the barrel faster than that.

But after shooting out a barrel, it is no problem to rebarrel.

The key to long life is not to shoot so much you overheat the barrel, and keep it clean & well preserved between uses. If you do this, your grandchildren will be able to use it-50 years from now!!*

(*Unless Obama becomes president!!)

RE: How long can you expect guns to last?
 

I've been told that a 7mmRUM barrel is good for about 1000 rounds. Other than that I think you would need to really abuse your rifle to wear it out.

RE: How long can you expect guns to last?
 

Do younot use the brakes in your car or truck because you'll wear out the pads and rotors? Parts fail,barrels included, sodon't worry about it. If you wear out a barrel, be happy about two things 1)that you had the time and money necessary to expend thousands of rounds doing something you enjoy 2) like Doritos, they make more rifle barrels every day.

RE: How long can you expect guns to last?
 

I looked through the several posts here. The worst case I saw was a barrel wearing out in 3,000 rounds. Suppose that would actually happen, do you know how much shooting that is? That is shooting 100 rounds/year for 30 years. Depending on how you are using your rifle, 100 rounds/year is a lot. Typically what I do is go to the rifle range before a big game season and end up shooting about a box of 20 shells getting the rifle sighted in. Last year I found my rifle just happened to be sighted in and I only shot 10 rounds during this activity. I then shoot 1 or 2 rounds in the actual hunting season. Thus, for me, in reality it might take me 150 years to shoot 3000 rounds through my rifle. Of course, your question is oriented towards shooting more rounds than just enough to confirm your zero.

I guess another way to look at it is so what if you wear your gun out after shooting 3000 rounds. If you shoot that much you have gotten a very great deal of pleasure out of this rifle and ought not be feeling badly to have to replace it after that much use. Would you feel bad about replacing a car because it wore out after being driven 300,000 miles?

I think it is also the case as someone mentioned earlier if you don't let your barrel get too hot -- if you pause between shots long enough. I wait at least 60 seconds. This is probably unnecessary, but I do it anyway.

Aside from barrel usage, I agree with others who sayif you take care of your rifle it will last considerably longer than you will. I clean my rifles after every use. This involves cleaning the barrel and running a lightly oiled rag through the barrel to leave a thin coating or oil in the barrel. It also involves running a lightly oiled rag over all surfaces of the rifle, including removing the bolt and going over all of its exernally accessible surfaces. I try not to overdo the oil so it doesn't drip off the metal onto the wooden stock, which would be bad for the wood. When I put the gun away for a season, this protective coating or oil remains on the metal surfaces. I keep the gun in a dry closed wooden cabinet. I've heard it is a bad idea to keep a gun enclosed in a cotton gun case, as the cotton may absorb moisture and cause your gun to rust badly. I have some guns that are not in the gun cabinet, and these I keep inside silicone impregnated socks that are supposed to wick up moisture and keep this off the surface of the guns. I think if you protect the metal of your guns like this, they will last a very, very long time. I inherited several guns from my father that are pretty old -- a 1953 vintage Winchester Model 12 shotgun, a sporterized springfield .30-06 probably from this same time period. They show no signs of wearing out from age. I am guessing that my 18 year old son will be able to hand these on to his son in working order when he dies if he takes as good care of these things as I do.

RE: How long can you expect guns to last?
 

Great question!!!
Great answers!!
Thanks guys!!!

RE: How long can you expect guns to last?
 

As many have already said,a lifetime with proper care and cleaning.

RE: How long can you expect guns to last?
 

im sure rifles/guns fall into lots of categories.

personally I never plan to shoot out a gun....

I'd like to shoot more and more often, but I just don't get to it, also owning more than 1 gun, you can spread the wear and tear around more.

I'm sure many guys are like me, we shoot prior to a hunt, get sighted the new rifle in, then shoot before a hunt, may shoot a few shells during the hunt, put it away, then next time i use it, ill make sure its on, and go from there. Some guns may not get any shots through them in a year....

RE: How long can you expect guns to last?
 

If you buy a quality gun and take good care of it, it will outlast you.

I have my great grandfather's el cheapo Iver Johnson single barrel shotgun hanging over the fireplace. It is still fully functional inspite of the fact that it is99years old and had probably never been cleaned untilI inherited it.

RE: How long can you expect guns to last?
 

What is wore out? Really. Barrels wear out by increasing groups size. Well, if your gun shoots 1" groups now on average and you consider 1.25" groups too big, I think you might wear it out in 1000 rounds. If wore out is 2" groups, you will get like 10000 rounds out of the barrel. Then to fix it, spend $300ish with your smith to lop off .5" from both ends, rechamber and recrown and you are good to go for another 10000 rounds. In reality most people buy a better barrel at this point and are out the door for $600. It takes forever to really wear out the rifling. Besides a new barrel fixes that.

Action? Well the trigger is probably the weakest link IMO. You may only get 10000 rounds of safe service life from a trigger. Buy a new one for like $100 and you are good to go. The actual bolt action will last for almost forever. It sees no wear really. Maybe 100000 in a sandy enviroment??

Point is your wallet will be wore out before you wear your gun out. Keep shooting as much as you can afford too. Probably your scope will break first.

RE: How long can you expect guns to last?
 

Send your buddies out to the farm with me. I'll show 'em some serious shootin and barrel wear will be the last thing they have to worry about. Cost of ammo will set 'em back a buck or two tho. I got two friends who come and shoot pds with me once a year......they shoot 3000 rds. in three days. More than most guys shoot a hunting rifle in a lifetime.

RE: How long can you expect guns to last?
 

You are going to find a lot more guns 'worn out' from neglect or improper cleaning than from shooting.

I put 100,000+ rounds through a Remington 870 shooting trap, its still ticking.

I've worn out rifle barrels from shooting NRA/CMP Highpower- they last 3000-4000 rds before the accuracy drops off or you start blowing up bullets in fast twist barrels that have too much throat erosion. No big deal- for a few hundred dollars you replace the barrel which is still much cheaper than 3000 rds of ammunition.