Reasonable ACCURACY lifespan for an AR15 barrel

[Bat Rastard]

How many rounds of high level accuracy is reasonable to expect out of an AR barrel?
The barrel used to shoot much better. About an inch is about the best I can get anymore. It will look promising but then throw fliers.

 

[C.E.Smith043]

What caliber/cartridge?
Also, what size groups were u previously getting?

 

[mgdietrich]

Depends on the barrel- button, about 2500. Cut rifle about 4k for 223 anyway.

 

[Bat Rastard]

What caliber/cartridge?
Also, what size groups were u previously getting?

223. When the barrel was new, it was better. That's been a while back. I am unsure of the round count. Maybe it's time.

 

[C.E.Smith043]

May just need a good cleaning

 

[Bat Rastard]

May just need a good cleaning

Been there , done that!

 

[C.E.Smith043]

Been there , done that!

Have you bore scoped it

 

[Bat Rastard]

Have you bore scoped it

I suppose I ought to. My Teslong quit, I spose I need a new one.

 

[TheCZKid]

I suppose I ought to. My Teslong quit, I spose I need a new one.

That would be a good investment, scope will tell you if it's burnt in the throat area, or maybe it needs a cleaning with some Iosso and so on.

 

[Walt Krafft]

If you think it quit shooting, change it. There is no magic number for them to last.

 

[Mulligan]

When my son and his buddies were shooting “Service Rifle” (.223 )
Pinned white oak sights (open)

Shooting out to 600 yards

The coach would let us know when it was time for a new barrel.
My records indicate 3000-3500 rounds of competitive barrel life under the conditions of service rifle participation. Which includes slow fire and rapid fire.

As he improved in skill, it appeared the “talks “ with the coach about a new barrel were more frequent

This was 7 twist barrels
77 and 80gr SMK’s
Lots of Varget.

CW

 

[Longtrain]

May just need a good cleaning

+1 Get a bore scope, Teslongs are reasonable. I have friends who never scoped their barrel and would swear it was clean down to the metal. Nope, not so much. Enough carbon on the ring and rifling to make diamonds. Lots of scrubbing with Iosso, JB or Flitz and a good Iosso nylon brush will clean it out. Then your accuracy will come back.

Here’s a couple before and after pics.

 

[Larry Koch]

Many AR barrels are sub par. start with a good one.

 

[243winxb]

223

3000 to 5000 rounds fired.

The target knows. But a different lot of bullets can change accuracy, or any different component.

Heat does rhe most damage to barrel life. Chromium barrels last longer.

https://discover.dtic.mil/
Heat kills.

 

[jelenko]

Assuming it's button rifled and has less than 3000 slow fire rounds on it, just before I changed barrels, I'd want to ensure nothing has come loose.

​

As others have mentioned, if a carbon ring has formed, removing it may restore some accuracy.

For button rifled barrels, I change barrels as soon as I get uncalled shots after 2500 rounds.
It's not worth the self doubt it creates.

I do have at least one new barrel mounted in another upper. If I get the same uncalled shots in the new upper/barrel, I'll work on my fundamentals until the uncalled shot go away in the new barrel. Then, go back to upper/barrel in question. If it doesn't shoot small right away, I rebarrel it.

Being able to change my barrels myself cuts down on the hassle of having to send it off and the associated cost.

 

[SSchnd]

I have button barrels that still shoot at 300yds, but at 600 is where we see those groups open, (Service Rifle here) and as many stated. Rotate the primary upper barrel to the back up and install the new barrel in the primary upper.
If its shooting like crap close in, scrub it and look, test it and then if no change replace it and make a tomato stake out of it.

Round count records matter to us. We change em 2500-3400 on a button 20" and maybe 4500 on a cut rifle barrel. I do have a ratchet Shillen 7.5R that just keeps giving to me out to 300. It s got a lot of miles, I quit keeping records at 4000 rounds.

Damn consumable barrels.

 

[Tommie]

As always…
Totally depends upon rate of fire.

 

[jelenko]

As always…
Totally depends upon rate of fire.

Absolutely this.

There's 'model' for the accuracy life of barrels that someone created. It allows for both 'slow fire' [shots fired more than 1 minute apart] and 'rapid fire' [shots fired less than 1 minute apart]. The rate of wear for 'rapid fire' shots was double the slow fire shots.

For the rapid fire strings in 'XTC' where we take 10 shots in less than 60/70 seconds, I'm imagining the wear is even more.

 

[RabbitSlayer]

AR15 and accurate does not compute...

 

[Mulligan]

AR15 and accurate does not compute...

They used dominate the service rifle competition with open sights, I’ve been out of it for far too long to comment on today’s rifles. And this is shooting against Remington 700,s and Winchester mod 70’s.

CW