Can you shoot out an airgun barrel ?

[Ling678]

What is the life of an airgun barrel ?

[Gwhite]

Almost infinite if you A) don't shoot dirty ammo through it, and B) don't go crazy cleaning it. If a pellet falls on the floor, DO NOT put it in the pistol! As many match quality rimfire barrels have been ruined by over (and improper) cleaning than from being "shot out". I suspect the same is true of air pistols. I never clean the bore of my Morini, but just sent it off to Pilkington for an overhaul after about 15 years of shooting. It still will shoot nothing but 10s if I do my part, but I figured the seals might be getting fossilized.

It also depends of the level of accuracy you expect/require. A good air pistol will put all the shots though the same hole when new. After 100 thousand pellets, the pistol will probably still shoot one hole, but the hole might be a tiny bit larger. It will be impossible for even a world class shooter to tell the difference in their scores.

[Andre]

I think you're going to get a different answer for every person that responds. Hopefully someone will chime in with factual data, because I would be incredibly curious to look into the real world tests of such a thing.

I once had a guy tell me that if I didn't change my CBI every few months it would wear out my barrel. I'm on year 7 and am still waiting for that to happen.

[kevinweiho]

A match air pistol barrel is not subject to the same wear and tear as a rimfire pistol. Don’t fret, your barrel should last you a lifetime IF proper care is taken, and like GWhite said before, DON’T over clean the barrel, (only clean when accuracy goes out the window) as it causes more harm than good.

[kevinweiho]

If a pellet falls on the floor, DO NOT put it in the pistol!

Why not? Kinda sounds like if food is dropped on the floor, I shouldn't eat it no matter how clean the floor is... It might affect accuracy to a certain degree, if you're practicing and not competing, it's no biggie...

[Gwhite]

Lead is soft, and it will embed with dirt when it hits. It may be a tiny amount, but even the smallest bit of sand will put a lovely scratch in your bore. I shoot in my basement, right near the door where people track sand in all winter long.

Pellets are cheap. Better not to risk the barrel of your very expensive air pistol just to save the penny a pellet costs.

Rimfire is worse, because the rounds will roll, and the lube will grab ALL the lovely grit on the floor.

[kevinweiho]

Ha ha, you definitely need to mop and vacuum that floor in your basement more frequently!

[Gwhite]

I'd rather spend the time shooting... (which is why it's a mess)