Barrel wear with tracer or AP ammo /50 BMG

[LarryC]

Just read the manual on the ArmaLite AR50A1B rifle I purchased. It states the tracer and Armor piercing rounds cause excessive barrel wear. As the 50 match rounds are quite expensive, I have been trying to determine "how much" the AP and tracer rounds do wear the barrel. Also curious as to what the 50 barrel normal life is expected before it loses accuracy.

The least expensive rounds I have found on the web are the linked machine gun rounds with 4 Full metal jacket and one tracer round repeated. If the tracer rounds do cause quite a bit of excess wear I may pull them and reload ~ looking at the Lee reloading system for 50 BMG, pretty cheap at $250. Still have to figure out how to pull the bullets, and reload with Hornady. I have searched the web and haven't found any information at all about 50 barrel wear or issues with the tracer / AP rounds. Appreciate any information the 50 shooters here have on the subject, and any info from 50 reloaders. Doubt son and I will ever wear out the barrel, but sure don't want to damage it for a few bucks.

 

[Mgderf]

Good question(s).
Would the tracers or A/P's do more damage to ANY barrel?
I guess I might be able to understand the A/P's if they have a steel jacket.
I don't really see how the tracers could do damage.
I was under the impression the tracers don't "light" until they are already out of the barrel.

 

[Leadeye]

Tracers are compounded from strontium nitrate and a blend of magnesium and aluminum powder if I remember correctly.

 

[red_zr24x4]

Good question(s).
Would the tracers or A/P's do more damage to ANY barrel?
I guess I might be able to understand the A/P's if they have a steel jacket.
I don't really see how the tracers could do damage.
I was under the impression the tracers don't "light" until they are already out of the barrel.

Same here, everything you've said was the way I understood it.

 

[Fargo]

I suppose the tracers might have a longer bearing surface but I don't know of anything in the jacket that would cause excessive wear. Either way, unless you're going to be shooting a whole ton of them out of your single shot, I really wouldn't be worried about it. It is a relatively low velocity round compared to most barrel burning calibers.

 

[Bigtanker]

Most AP boolits are just a steel core and not the whole jacket. Maybe the 50 is different. But unless you're shooting a couple hundred rounds a week, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[AmmoManAaron]

Don't worry about it, you'll never shoot enough of them to wear out your barrel. The only guys I know who worry about barrel wear are competition shooters who are shooting at, and beyond, 1,000 yards and they are putting a lot more rounds down range than "recreational" shooters. If you still don't want to shoot the tracers or can't find a suitable place to fire them off, I'm sure someone would buy them off of you.

 

[LarryC]

Called ArmaLite today to discuss barrel life / wear etc. Spoke to a Technician (Tim). He said the AR50 barrel should be good for 5,000 rounds. Asked about the statement in the manual that API (armor piercing) and Tracer rounds caused excess wear to the barrel. I also asked why would they cause excess wear as they were copper jacketed. He said that some of the tracer and API rounds had a different "coating" and may not have the same copper jacket as the Ball rounds. He then went on to say that if the barrel were kept clean, the "excess wear" would be less than 10% more then ball rounds. In other words shooting 10% or so of the tracer or API rounds would not have a significant factor in wearing out the barrel. He stated proper maintenance was more important to barrel life.

 

[m82mike]

Go shoot them and have fun. My Barrett 82A1, and state arms have no problem with either. I have shot several thousands of each.

 

[LarryC]

Go shoot them and have fun. My Barrett 82A1, and state arms have no problem with either. I have shot several thousands of each.

Thanks for your information and expertise. I will certainly shoot some of the tracer and API rounds as these seem to be the least expensive rounds, and with your experience and the Tech's info, doesn't seem like it will be any problem. Most of the military surplus buys include some percentage of these.

I seriously doubt my son and I will ever wear out a barrel, don't know what the cost is for ArmaLite to replace one, but sure it isn't cheap. As I will be 76 next week, if the barrel ever wears out, I am certain my son will end up with the problem!