So what do you guys consider to be well used in terms of rounds fired?

[jgreiner]

I have read in a couple of threads about guns being well used and having hundreds of rounds through them. At what point do you consider a gun well used? Or worn out?

I have an MP 9mm that I bought new in June. I already have 2300 rounds through it.....and I plan on firing many more TIMES that number. But at what point do you consider a gun to become unreliable? And I am guessing that revolvers have a much longer life span than semi's...do to fewer moving parts.

Just curious as to what the consensus is.

 

[x10]

Think you've started answereing yourself

1 it depends on the type of gun, quality, caliber
2 conditions

So to your point

out of the box S&W M&P I would put Light use under 1k, medium use under 7k, Used under 20k, then after 20k you need to look for critical wear, If the gun was maintained, cleaned and lubed, i would not expect to see problems until 50k, But if it was used in southern arizona never cleaned and sat in the floorboard of a work truck until it was hauled out and shot 200 times.

But
If I was looking at a Super Redhawk 44 mag then I probably wouldn't care about round count as much as I would look at top strap wear at the cylinder gap, Cyl Gap, Hand wear, and forcing cone erosion. If the gun shot Factory cowboy loads then it would never wear, but if every round was 10% over load and the guy thought if the powder would fit in the case then the gun should handle it well theres another story.

A bolt gun, A 35 year old 222 remington with 1k rounds isn't hurt, A 6 month old 6.5x284 with 1k rounds is almost due for a new barrel.

There you Go a bunch of typing and no real answer, Hope you enjoy the Forums

 

[jgreiner]

Think you've started answereing yourself

1 it depends on the type of gun, quality, caliber
2 conditions

So to your point

out of the box S&W M&P I would put Light use under 1k, medium use under 7k, Used under 20k, then after 20k you need to look for critical wear, If the gun was maintained, cleaned and lubed, i would not expect to see problems until 50k, But if it was used in southern arizona never cleaned and sat in the floorboard of a work truck until it was hauled out and shot 200 times.

But
If I was looking at a Super Redhawk 44 mag then I probably wouldn't care about round count as much as I would look at top strap wear at the cylinder gap, Cyl Gap, Hand wear, and forcing cone erosion. If the gun shot Factory cowboy loads then it would never wear, but if every round was 10% over load and the guy thought if the powder would fit in the case then the gun should handle it well theres another story.

A bolt gun, A 35 year old 222 remington with 1k rounds isn't hurt, A 6 month old 6.5x284 with 1k rounds is almost due for a new barrel.

There you Go a bunch of typing and no real answer, Hope you enjoy the Forums

Kind of what I was thinking. My dad has a Ruger single Six that was very old when i was a kid....it belonged to his father. He still has it...and shoots it. I know my brothers and I put at least 10,000 rounds through it over the years. The gun still shoots great. Same is true of my old Winchester bolt action that I bought for $5 when I was 8. I know I put thousands of rounds through it. My brother still shoots it.

But this MP is the first "plastic" gun I have owned...so I thought I would ask. I plan on keeping it well beyond 20K rounds barring some kind of failure.

 

[AverageMidwest]

Also factor in...

1. the care the piece has received - has it been cleaned/lubed after every range trip and all that good stuff.
2. Per x10 comments - what kind of environment has it been used in? a piece carried over in the sandbox takes wear just being carried around due to the amount of dust and grit it picks up no matter how often it's cleaned, a LEO duty piece carried in central IN would take much less wear.
3. Also per x10 - what kind of rounds? A thousand factory loads will put less (maybe much less) stress on a piece than a thousand hot handloads.

Two cents worth.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Some people schedule replacement of springs and whatnot at certain round counts. I've seen lists. Honestly, it takes me a while to get to 1000 with anything, so it's not going to be much of an issue for me, but have a look around for that kind of thing, you might derive some wisdom.

 

[jgreiner]

Some people schedule replacement of springs and whatnot at certain round counts. I've seen lists. Honestly, it takes me a while to get to 1000 with anything, so it's not going to be much of an issue for me, but have a look around for that kind of thing, you might derive some wisdom.

Good advice...thanks.

 

[the1kidd03]

It LARGELY depends on the gun, it's quality in design and build......take the Beretta for example which on AVERAGE fired through something around 75000 rounds before having jams/mechanical issues......while most "military specifications" requirements are CONSIDERABLY lower than that....so for this particular weapon, I do not feel bad about putting ammo through under abuse or anything

each manufacturer will give you an expected round count of each model of their firearm from their own testing....and usually this bar as set LOWER than what it will actually handle...for safety reasons........so your question is subjective to the gun and you should contact the manufacturer and ask about their estimated "life" of the weapon before potential failure

 

[the1kidd03]

personally, I wouldn't hesitate to put 5000 through anything (which is of a good brand name) before needing to check spring tensions or any other components.......5000 is relatively low for a quality design and built gun

 

[Leo]

Metal pisols last way longer than people think. There are many 1911's that have 10's of thousands of rounds through them with almost no replacement parts, other than good cleaning and lube and a few springs over the time. My bullseye 1911 had 25 plus years of competition when I got it and needed the frame rails peened and refitted to make up for wear, but was ready for another 25 years of service. I am confident that there are many .38 revolvers with 10's of thousands of rounds. High round count revolvers usually need a pawl and hand replacement to keep it in time as well as a spring to two, restoring them to complete dependablity for thousands of more rounds. Thousands of competitive shotgunners shoot 100's of thousands of targets in a shotguns life. 35,000 shots a year is not uncommon. Springs and cleanings, and sometimes the pivot pin needs refitted. Higher pressure rounds like the .38 super, 10mm, .357 and .44 mag are harder on a handgun, especially compacts. If something on a firearm is showing wear, REPLACE it, maybe even have someone fit an upgraded part. If I inspeced a pistol and found it to be in good working order, I do not care if it has 2000 or 20,000 rounds. It is just a machine, good working order makes it good, wear can usually be corrected.

 

[rvb]

hundreds = well used???

I wore out a beretta 92.... at over 120k rounds the barrel lugs finally sheared. You can find pics on this site. mostly handloads, very lightly sprung, seldom cleaned.

My current 92 I shoot in uspsa matches has approx 50k on it.

My 2011 STI "open" gun in .38 super has at least 60k on it.

ruger .22 mkII has maybe 20-30k on it... I consider it lightly used and practically new for a .22.

These things aren't that fragile. Have they been perfect and malfunction free over all those rounds? Of course not. But you might be suprised how little problems I'm seen.

To me, saying a pistol is "well used" at 5k rounds is like saying it's time to trade in your car at the first oil change.

now as pointed out above, if you are a benchrest rifle shooter, the answer may change... but the rifle isn't usually done, just time for a new barrel and get back on the trigger.

-rvb