Barrel wear on rifles chambered in .22 LR?

Rimfire bolt action rifles, lever action, pump action and self loading rifles. Air rifles.

Barrel wear on rifles chambered in .22 LR?

Post by jwai86 » 27 Jul 2022, 12:54 pm

My current understanding is that .22 LR rounds don't cause a lot of wear to the bore, so a barrel for that calibre can last a very long time if it is properly looked after. How close to or far off the mark am I?
jwai86
Corporal
Corporal
 
Posts: 376
New South Wales

Re: Barrel wear on rifles chambered in .22 LR?

Post by rc42 » 27 Jul 2022, 1:31 pm

High end precision rifles have tighter tolerances and even they should get to a couple of hundred thousand rounds before groups size starts to increase, stainless barrels are easier to machine to very tight tolerances but are softer than chrome moly barrels so the latter have longer life.

For non precision use they essentially last forever as long as they are cleaned and oiled regularly and don't get left to rust up.
rc42
Staff Sergeant
Staff Sergeant
 
Posts: 794
Queensland

Re: Barrel wear on rifles chambered in .22 LR?

Post by bladeracer » 27 Jul 2022, 1:57 pm

jwai86 wrote:My current understanding is that .22 LR rounds don't cause a lot of wear to the bore, so a barrel for that calibre can last a very long time if it is properly looked after. How close to or far off the mark am I?


Several lifetimes would be normal for most .22LR barrels.
Lead is _a lot_ softer than the steel of the barrel and the amount of heat generated by that friction and a grain of powder is not great.
I have left a rifle in the sun long enough for it to be too hot to comfortably hold by the barrel but I have never fired a .22 fast enough to get it as hot as that.
The barrel is very likely the last part of the rifle you'll wear out or damage.
Practice Strict Gun Control - Precision Counts!
User avatar
bladeracer
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 12656
Victoria

Re: Barrel wear on rifles chambered in .22 LR?

Post by Wyliecoyote » 27 Jul 2022, 3:51 pm

The primer mix in rimfires uses powdered glass to help with its ignition. Rifles that have never been cleaned or are rarely cleaned show a pit like a gutter appear over a period of time at the 5 to 7 o'clock position just about the throat area and just a bit beyond that is caused by the lead rolling over the glass grit as it passes through. This can and usually does affect accuracy but we are talking thousands of rounds down range. Barrels regularly cleaned still show this pit but it does take longer to happen.
I have seen rimfire barrels completely lose the plot for benchrest at around the 100k mark. A set back and chamber does pull them back and often back better than when new. The other issue that cropped up with extended use of Eley back in the early days was that wax and glass grit would bell out the crown and was often falsely maligned as a sour batch when all that was needed was a recrown.
Having said all that, the biggest killer of rimfire barrels are cleaning rods. A glimpse through a borescope shows railway tracks from poorly fitting rods and or technique.
Wyliecoyote
Lance Corporal
Lance Corporal
 
Posts: 141
Queensland

Re: Barrel wear on rifles chambered in .22 LR?

Post by animalpest » 27 Jul 2022, 6:09 pm

Rimfire barrels are generally softer steel than those used for centrefire. Expect 80-90,000 from the average .22
Professional shooter and trapper
Trainer and consultant
animalpest
Warrant Officer C2
Warrant Officer C2
 
Posts: 1025
Western Australia

Re: Barrel wear on rifles chambered in .22 LR?

Post by bladeracer » 27 Jul 2022, 8:07 pm

animalpest wrote:Rimfire barrels are generally softer steel than those used for centrefire. Expect 80-90,000 from the average .22


They might be softer because they're only shooting low-velocity cast bullets - you're not going to wear one out just from shooting it. I've drilled and tapped barrels, cut and filed dovetails for sights, and cut threaded muzzles - I haven't found any centrefire barrels that are especially hard. Possibly with the influx on non-lead bullets barrel life might become an issue, maybe. If you're shooting championship-level Benchrest perhaps you might be looking to replace the barrel at less than 100,000rds, but you can give your "shot out" barrel to somebody who will get several lifetimes of target shooting, hunting and plinking out of it.

I have a barrel that won't group better than about five-inches at 25m, on a very good day, with ammo it really likes. But this is not because it's worn, it's because of the way it was "cleaned" and that it was used for decades for "fishing". Put the muzzle in the creek, wait for fishies to swim near, pull the trigger and grab the stunned fishies. The barrel is 25" long but a cleaning rod only has friction in the first and last couple of inches - the middle is all bulged way over-size. As it had one owner from new in 1940 until I inherited it, I estimate it had well under 5000rds put through it. The cleaning rod is little more than a length of fencing wire.
Attachments
20220726_211220b.jpg
20220726_211220b.jpg (154.43 KiB) Viewed 2089 times
Practice Strict Gun Control - Precision Counts!
User avatar
bladeracer
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 12656
Victoria

Re: Barrel wear on rifles chambered in .22 LR?

Post by SCJ429 » 27 Jul 2022, 9:13 pm

animalpest wrote:Rimfire barrels are generally softer steel than those used for centrefire. Expect 80-90,000 from the average .22

Are you sure they are made of softer steel, my Lilja rimfire barrel is made of the same 416 stainless as my Centerfire barrel.
SCJ429
Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel
 
Posts: 3208
New South Wales

Re: Barrel wear on rifles chambered in .22 LR?

Post by animalpest » 27 Jul 2022, 10:21 pm

Yep, that was normal for most run of the mill cheap .22 rifles. The old Lithgow rifles were made from .303 steel which was better than the .22 barrels of the day.

I cannot comment on good, quality, modern .22 rifles as I am sure plenty have improved.

Most were built to a price and as they fired a relatively weak cartridge with a soft lead bullet, it was cheaper to use poorer quality steel. Of course today they are all top notch :crazy:
Professional shooter and trapper
Trainer and consultant
animalpest
Warrant Officer C2
Warrant Officer C2
 
Posts: 1025
Western Australia

Re: Barrel wear on rifles chambered in .22 LR?

Post by Oldbloke » 28 Jul 2022, 11:21 pm

To really know how hard barrel steel is you would need to be able to test the Rockwell Hardness test. Otherwise it's a simple guess. And there would also be other characteristics to be considered.
The greatest invention in the history of man is beer.
https://youtu.be/2v3QrUvYj-Y
Member. SFFP, Shooters Union.
SSAA, the powerful gun lobby. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Hunt safe.
User avatar
Oldbloke
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 11192
Victoria

Re: Barrel wear on rifles chambered in .22 LR?

Post by animalpest » 30 Jul 2022, 9:33 pm

Yeah agree OB. I am only quoting from some sources I read decades ago. They comparing cheap .22 rifles to quality ones. They concluded you should get at least 70,000 from average quality barrels and more from quality makers. Steel hardness is just one part of barrel wear
Professional shooter and trapper
Trainer and consultant
animalpest
Warrant Officer C2
Warrant Officer C2
 
Posts: 1025
Western Australia


Back to top
 
Return to Rimfire rifles, and air rifles