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Posted: 4/3/2009 12:10:35 PM EDT
| I was wondering if you guys in-the-know could give me an estimate as to what the general lifetime (until needed to be replaced) of a stainless Noveske 18 SPR would be? There would be no full-auto. If there are more parameters that you need to know before making an accurate answer, then letme know. Thnx guys. |
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Quoted:
Barrel life will vary from shooter to shooter depending on his/her type of shooting & maintenance habits. That barrel will likely outlast the shooter. Once groups start to open up after many many rounds then it's time to replace. So, assuming that Im the sort of person that takes good care of their things, and that I'm putting an average amount of rounds through her then this barrel should out-last me, and I shouldn't ever have to replace it? Unlikely occurences aside? |
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I thought the general consensus was that a stainless barrel would be accurate for 5000 rounds of semi auto / no abuse usage. And then about 10,000 rounds for a chrome-lined barrel used in semi-auto before the groups open up beyond acceptable expectations. Of course, a barrel that has exceeded those limits is still good for full-auto mag dumps at Knob Creek. |
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You are correct. 416 stainless barrels will have the throat die in a very short span of rounds: the throat throws a chunk. I've seen this happen within a 60 round match: barrel went from a half MOA to a 2 MOA. Anywhere from 2000-5000 rounds, the throat will die, and groups will open. For this reason, I no longer shoot 416 barrels. Match shooters consider a barrel to be a consumable item. I must have a dozen of these barrels if I have one: price was right, and they are great for staking bush tomatoes.
Barrel life is relative to what the shooter considers accurate. 2 MOA is OK for plinking and great for KCR, but it doesn't do much for match shooting. While the below article is not directly related to barrel life, it does discuss various aspects of chrome moly and stainless steel barrels. http://obermeyerbarrels.com/steel.html |
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I guess you don't shoot much. The 5K mark doesn't take that long to reach. If you can attend a 2-3 tactical rifle/carbine class like LE officers go through or like you see civilians doing in the Magpul DVD, you can burn through 1K in training easily. Quoted: How many of us can even afford the ammo it would take to wear out a stainless steel barrel? |
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Quoted:
I guess you don't shoot much. The 5K mark doesn't take that long to reach. If you can attend a 2-3 tactical rifle/carbine class like LE officers go through or like you see civilians doing in the Magpul DVD, you can burn through 1K in training easily. Quoted:
How many of us can even afford the ammo it would take to wear out a stainless steel barrel? I keyholed a 16" Walther SS barrel in 9K rounds. I have a MSTN 16" N4 barrel still going strong at 12K (sub 2" groups)....still waiting for the N4 to burn out...no auto shooting...and no respect to shooting schedule... |
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