barrell longevity

[customs954]

Just curious how many rounds of standard velocity target ammo can go down a well maintained target gun, before the gun would lose accuracy or become"shot out" if there is such a thing. An avid target shooter-competitor would put a massive amount of rounds out I would think. Do factoru supported shooters re-barrel their target guns often?

[lastman]

I can't give you an exact answer.

I have an old Hammerli 150 Free Pistol that is at least 30 years old (probably closer to 40). It has fired any thousands of rounds.

I recently had it re-crowned and it is shooting the same sized groups that came with the instruction manual.

I would suggest this is an individual thing rather than an engineering certainty.

[David Levene]

Back in the days when I was doing a lot of shooting I put a new barrel in my FAS 602 after approximately 250,000 rounds. It was a precautionary change "just in case", but it was difficult to say there was any appreciable difference.

Apart from a few hundred rounds for comparison, the only ammunition fired through my gun was Eley Pistol Match (dark blue box).

[Richard H]

Pistol shooting target ammo, pretty much should out last you as long as the barrel doesn't get damaged from things such as cleaning it wrong.

[Tycho]

I've heard stories from old-school Hammerli service people, saying that they had logged some 208 at way over 500'000 shots - the same pistol (owned by some eastern european national team) would turn up over the years in the hand of a different shooter and get serviced by them. Something I really won't worry about, i'm not going to shoot 500'000 shots during my whole life on this planet.

[2650 Plus]

First, some ancient history. Huelet " Joe " Benner, olympic gold in both Rapid and 50 meter free pistol sent his colt match target back to colt to be re-barelled. The factory returned the pistol with the comment," We dont make barells this good any more" Re your question about how long your barell will last. As long as you dont screw it up, it should last longer than you!!! Good Shooting Bill Horton

[Richard H]

Hey Bill there's something even we agree on. ;)

[David Levene]

Hey Bill there's something even we agree on. ;)

I hate to say this but so do I.

The three of us agreeing? That's spooky.

[David Levene]

....Huelet " Joe " Benner, olympic gold in both Rapid and 50 meter free pistol.....

According to the records he never won an Olympic medal in Rapid, "only" a Gold in Free in the 1952 Helsinki games.

He did however win Golds for Rapid in the World Championships in Oslo in 1952 and Buenos Aires in 1949. He also won the Bronze in Free at the WCHs in Oslo in 1952.

An impressive record.

[Richard H]

Hey Bill there's something even we agree on. ;)

I hate to say this but so do I.

The three of us agreeing? That's spooky.

That must make it a Law then.

[2650 Plus]

David , Richard , And me all in agreement. I must fix this quickly or something worse than volcanos and oil leaks will be upon us. I have an idea. Think about this. Shooters shoot and shooters that can't shoot become coaches. Now all should be right with the world. Good Shooting and coaching. Bill Horton

[Richard H]

Hey there was no need to go out of your way I'm sure you would have said something else that would put the world right.

[Retired]

To answer the original question, it all depends on the quality of the metal used to make the barrel, how the barrel is maintained, the type of ammunition (mainly because of the brass), the volume you shoot, etc. I didn't hear of many people needing new barrels with the exception of rapid fire shooters. For instance, Walther OSP barrels would only be good for about 25,000 shots of RWS R25 before consistent malfunctions (primarily the brass getting stuck in the chamber). That's only about a half a year of training and matches. Walther OSP barrels would shoot as much CCI as you could put through them. The brass was thicker and the blow back powerful enough for effective ejection. Accuracy is a whole different issue and measure. Some rapid fire shooters resorted to having custom barrels made with harder steel.

Hope this helps.
Retired