Fmj= barrel wear?
- Thread starter old fart
- Start date
Sparks1957
New member
My goodness, how do people come up with such nonsense?!?
I would have been through a few barrels of barrels by now if that were true.
Cheapshooter
New member
Maybe your brother misunderstood full metal jacket, and steel, or bi-metal jacket. Although he is wrong on either count, some believe the steel jacketed ammo wears out the rifling. In reality even though the jacket is made from steel it is a much softer steel than the barrel, so the rifling still cuts into the jacket as with copper jacketed bullets.
Now if he really meant copper jacketed fmj ammo I'd like to know what he thinks copper semi jacketed bullets do. the copper portion still is in contact with the rifling.
Is he trying to tell you that only non-jacketed lead bullets don't wear the bore?
Now if he really meant copper jacketed fmj ammo I'd like to know what he thinks copper semi jacketed bullets do. the copper portion still is in contact with the rifling.
Is he trying to tell you that only non-jacketed lead bullets don't wear the bore?
ScottRiqui
New member
No need to worry - the copper jacketing is much, much softer than the steel used to make the barrels.
I would bet that the vast majority of rounds fired every day are jacketed.
I would bet that the vast majority of rounds fired every day are jacketed.
UtopiaTexasG19
New member
I haven't trusted anything my older brother tells me since we were kids and he told me the easiest way to turn off the push lawn mower was to pee on the spark plug! I'd ask your brother where he got this information. 
Cheapshooter
New member
He probably heard it from a neighbor who's uncle lives next to a guy that works with sombody that has a friend that read it somewhere.
No ...... my word ........
All of my handguns / even the oldest revolvers I have from the 1940's thru the 1970's...have all had an exclusive diet of FMJ bullets - mostly Montana Gold ...for many, many years.... with no barrel wear issues.
Many of my handguns have well over 25,000 rds thru them....even the newest one, is about 3 months old now ...and has well over 2,000 rds thru it already - all FMJ.
and I'm not talking about 2 or 3 guns ...I'm talking about at least 25 S&W revolvers, several 1911's and several Sig Sauers...in a variety of calibers...in 9mm, .40S&W, .45 acp, .38 spl, .357 mag and .44 mag..../ no barrel wear issues on my guns ( and they're cleaned - after every range session ...).
All of my handguns / even the oldest revolvers I have from the 1940's thru the 1970's...have all had an exclusive diet of FMJ bullets - mostly Montana Gold ...for many, many years.... with no barrel wear issues.
Many of my handguns have well over 25,000 rds thru them....even the newest one, is about 3 months old now ...and has well over 2,000 rds thru it already - all FMJ.
and I'm not talking about 2 or 3 guns ...I'm talking about at least 25 S&W revolvers, several 1911's and several Sig Sauers...in a variety of calibers...in 9mm, .40S&W, .45 acp, .38 spl, .357 mag and .44 mag..../ no barrel wear issues on my guns ( and they're cleaned - after every range session ...).
While watching a news story on break the other day the reporter said a man was shot by police using a 9mm ar-15. While not impossible my co-workers commentary to my disbelief was to say that ALL police use standard 9mm ar's because that's the only caliber ar-15's are made in! Just like this interweb thingy not everyone is an expert.
while it is true you can get AR platform weapons in MANY different calibers, 9mm certainly is not the ONLY one.
as for FMJ
I have a sig that has easily 2500 rounds through it in under a year. All FMJ, some new, some reloads, some Russian surplus, some in a spam can! Some of the crappiest ammo I could purchase for under 10 bucks for 50 rounds to cut paper with.
My barrel is fine. It barely shows any wear at all. The guide rod which is poly and about to be swapped out for stainless steel replacement, is another matter but hey its been slapped 2500+ times with a hot slide spitting FMJ lead down range!
as for FMJ
I have a sig that has easily 2500 rounds through it in under a year. All FMJ, some new, some reloads, some Russian surplus, some in a spam can! Some of the crappiest ammo I could purchase for under 10 bucks for 50 rounds to cut paper with.
My barrel is fine. It barely shows any wear at all. The guide rod which is poly and about to be swapped out for stainless steel replacement, is another matter but hey its been slapped 2500+ times with a hot slide spitting FMJ lead down range!
stantheman1976
New member
Yes, it is absolutely true. You shouldn't even shoot your guns anymore. You should sell them all and use the money to buy a chinchilla and train it to attack on command. You should name him Chopper, like the dog in that movie. Sic balls Chopper! Sic balls.
FrankenMauser
New member
The barrel wear caused by FMJs is no different than barrel wear caused by any other copper-jacketed bullet.
It will take well over 100,000 rounds, before you should even start to wonder if there has been any significant wear. Even then, the wear will probably only be measurable in ten-thousandths of an inch (maybe 0.0003" to 0.0005")... which most people don't even have the tools to properly measure. Bore enlargement can exceed ten times that (0.003"-0.005"), before it even matters; and most people still wouldn't notice.
If you put 250,000 rounds through your handgun, you can consider the barrel "worn". Before then, it's still breaking in.
It will take well over 100,000 rounds, before you should even start to wonder if there has been any significant wear. Even then, the wear will probably only be measurable in ten-thousandths of an inch (maybe 0.0003" to 0.0005")... which most people don't even have the tools to properly measure. Bore enlargement can exceed ten times that (0.003"-0.005"), before it even matters; and most people still wouldn't notice.
If you put 250,000 rounds through your handgun, you can consider the barrel "worn". Before then, it's still breaking in.
If it's true, then I have a bunch of handguns with worn out barrels. Fortunately for me, the fact that they are worn out is totally undetectable!!
Seriously, all sarcasm aside, while some rifle calibers may begin to show small accuracy degradation after 1000 rounds, handgun barrels last a very long time. With proper care, I'd be surprised if the bore of a good quality handgun barrel didn't last at least 50,000 rounds. And it wouldn't surprise me to find folks who have guns with twice that number of rounds through them that are still getting acceptable accuracy.
I think that pure lead (unjacketed) bullets are probably a little easier on the bore, but I wouldn't like to have to buy as much ammo as it would take to test that theory!
Seriously, all sarcasm aside, while some rifle calibers may begin to show small accuracy degradation after 1000 rounds, handgun barrels last a very long time. With proper care, I'd be surprised if the bore of a good quality handgun barrel didn't last at least 50,000 rounds. And it wouldn't surprise me to find folks who have guns with twice that number of rounds through them that are still getting acceptable accuracy.
I think that pure lead (unjacketed) bullets are probably a little easier on the bore, but I wouldn't like to have to buy as much ammo as it would take to test that theory!
Super Sneaky Steve
New member
Some barrels are chrome lined. Those will last you forever. If you're concerned about it, look for one of those. I know Beretta does that to most of their weapons.
I shoot mostly cast with a soft home made lube so my guns should last a lifetime or two.
But even if you manage to wear yours out, a new barrel isn't hard to comeby so by all means have fun and shoot as much as you can afford to.
I shoot mostly cast with a soft home made lube so my guns should last a lifetime or two.
But even if you manage to wear yours out, a new barrel isn't hard to comeby so by all means have fun and shoot as much as you can afford to.
I'll add a little perspective here.
MODERN firearms are not lilely to be excessively worn by normal shooting of FMJ ammo.
SOME firearms produced a century or more in the past had much softer barrel steel designed before the use of jacketed bullets was prevelant. These vintage/collectable firearms COULD be damaged/worn much quicker than a modern firearm and really should only be used with unjacketed lead bullets.
It's unfortunate that many gun owners did not grow up reading Guns & Ammo, Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, or any of the other informative magazines. That would reduce the amount of the crock and bull internet disinformation that abounds.
MODERN firearms are not lilely to be excessively worn by normal shooting of FMJ ammo.
SOME firearms produced a century or more in the past had much softer barrel steel designed before the use of jacketed bullets was prevelant. These vintage/collectable firearms COULD be damaged/worn much quicker than a modern firearm and really should only be used with unjacketed lead bullets.
It's unfortunate that many gun owners did not grow up reading Guns & Ammo, Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, or any of the other informative magazines. That would reduce the amount of the crock and bull internet disinformation that abounds.
m&p45acp10+1
New member
It is true that jacketed ammo will wear on a barrel faster than lead will. Though your grand children's kids would bankrupt themselves trying to shoot out a hand gun barrel with FMJ ammo.
Some artillery barrels will wear out relatively quickly. Some machine gun barrels will also wear out relatively quickly but only because they will have been fired for many more times than any handgun and in a relatively short period of time.
ON the other hand, some people think that manufacturers these days put such inferior parts in their products that they will replace parts even before the gun is put to use. Some are strong believers in replacing springs especially.
ON the other hand, some people think that manufacturers these days put such inferior parts in their products that they will replace parts even before the gun is put to use. Some are strong believers in replacing springs especially.