Lifespan of an AR?

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M&PVolk

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I know that there are a lot of possible variations in materials and finishes to make this question difficult to answer, but assuming a quality combat style rifle and components to milspec, what is the average lifespan of the majority of the components in an ar15? I hear alot about barrel life being about 10,000-15,000 rounds, but what about BCG? Buffer and tube? LPK? How about a forged receiver? What about springs and magazines?

Along with assuming a milspec rifle, let's also assume a well maintained civilian gun that does mostly plinking with cheap brass ammo and maybe a. Couple of carbine courses over it's lifespan.
 
Most of the AR rifles in civilian hands will outlast the owners by a considerable margin,,,
 
General rule of thumb is that the barrel will last about 20,000. At that time, it's a good idea to check the springs for wear and deformation, and pins for out-of-round. The bolt may need to be inspected for cracks (dye-penetrant method is least-expensive and easiest) and excessive wear, too, but really the barrel is the most likely thing to wear out first.

Things like the gas rings and extractor should be swapped out, too.
 
There are photos posted online of recent purchases of M16's - full auto, to boot - obtained from Montagnards in the Vietnamese Highlands. Still shooters.

The original word out on the M16 in the day was that "you didn't need to clean it." Think about what the standard was then - all guns were carbon steel receiver with wooden stocks, steel fittings, sights, accessories. Parkerized, sure, rust proof, not. You had to take a lot more care of them, anyone who's bought a rack grade M1 sees the evidence of just how much they deteriorate in harsh use.

Compare that to the M16 - alloy receiver, composite furniture. Less maintenance because the gas piston is easily accessible, just shotgun the action, pull the bolt, in less than 30 seconds you are scraping the bolt tail uselessly clean. Dirty bolt tails don't stop them.

Basically, wipe down the exterior, wipe a coat of oil on the barrel, clean the BCG, done. Half the time or less, most of it concerns the action. With the M1/M14, you'd still be chasing rust spots in the corners of the op rod and channels.

Aluminum forged receivers can't rust. Composite furniture doesn't suck up water or dry rot. M16's issued to Vietnamese civilians are still shooting 40 years later, and all that use and storage wasn't in climate controlled safes or suburban homes. And, they didn't get new extractors, action springs, or barrels, they just kept on being carried out in the field and shot regardless.

As far as Colt might be concerned, the darn things last too long as it is.
 
A good AR should last a lifetime. I'm sure many here have read about Pat Rogers' Filthy 14, a BCM carbine that now is up to 44,000 rounds and the only major failure was the bolt cracked and had to be replaced. The extractor had to be replaced a time or two, maybe gas rings but nothing else. Also this rifle has rarely been cleaned yet keeps on going. Accuracy is no longer 1 MOA but still acceptable for Rogers' EAG training classes. It was scheduled to be retired earlier but EAG still uses it just to see how long it can go.

And as Tirod said, there are M16s from Vietnam still functioning so there's no reason to suspect that an AR won't last as long as an AK or Garand.
 
Most parts other than barrel and bolt last an extremely long time even in military use, and effectively forever in typical civilian use. The barrel will go anywhere from 5k to 30k+ depending how you shoot, what you expect, and how the barrel was made. The bolt may go as little as 3-5k in severe abuse or 20k+ in moderate use. They're both wear items.
 
We had M16A2s in Infantry units that had been there over 10 years (first ones issued) and they still had their original barrels and still passed gaging requirements.... note this one unit had already been to Panama, Desert Shield/Storm, Somalia, Bosnia and all the "normal" training ranges and they were still fine with likely well over 15k rounds through each one.

I don't think a civilian has anything to really worry about....
 
1) I read an article in Small Arms Review years ago where they torture tested an AR with sustained semiauto fire. At 40,000 rounds it started to keyhole with the ammo they were using. They said it was due to throat erosion. They switched ammo and the groups tightened back up. I don't remember the final round count.

I seem to recall that it was a 1:7 twist barrel and the initial ammo was USGI M855 (65 gr) and the ammo they switched to was M193 (55 gr). the shorter bullets stabilize easier

I don't remember if it was a chrome lined chamber/bore, but I assume a chrome bore would last longer than a non chromed barrel.

Tracer ammo is harder on a barrel, as is a higher rate of fire.

The beautiful thing about an AR is that after you wear out the barrel, it's pretty easy to just replace it.
 
If all you're doing is plinking and the occasional carbine match, you've pretty well got nothing to worry about.

Buy a rifle from a reputable maker and shot the snot out of it.

High Power shooters replace barrels at 10K rounds, others may not be quite so picky.
 
I bought my Colt HBAR in '86. All major parts are stock. Trigger, sights and tube under the hand guard are match mods by Compass lake Engineering.

Barrel, bolt assy gas tube etc are original. Probably 10,000 rounds thru it over the years in Hi-Power competition by me and several junior shooters at local and Camp Perry service rifle matches.

Scoped it again to see what it'll still do... 3/4-7/8 MOA at River Bend's 600 yard range (scope and rest, of course)

Ammo has mostly been my reloads, but also GI stuff for the junior'short range practice.
 
i agree that with the firing schedule in the OP, it will last a long time.

however, i have worn out just about all the parts on an AR15 and i shoot a relative pittance compared to some civilians.

I bought a nearly worn out AR15 many years ago. I won't mention the brand but it was pretty shot out when i got it. i can't remember how many rounds I put on it, but iirc somewhere between 10-15k. I got rid of it when it swallowed the FIELD gauge. (it was an A2 style and cast receiver and I wanted an upgrade instead of just replacing the bbl)

I have worn out action springs. (IME, they should be replaced about every 7-10k rnds and heck, they're only $3). I've definitely worn out a few extractors and lots of extractor springs. Replaced a couple of gas rings when they would no longer pass the test. disconnectors are definitely a wear part. I guess the hammer and trigger would last a long time. firing pins might not be a 'wear part' but things can go wrong that will damage them so it's good to have some spares

While I certainly haven't done it personally, the fact that anti-rotating pins are so popular among the full-auto crowd seems to be a hint that at some point in the likely distant future, the holes in that aluminum receiver might just wear to the point that the FCG becomes unsafe.

Other than that, i can't think offhand of how the receivers would wear out, though the M16s they use up at camp perry for the SAFS sure rattle a lot worse than any AR15 I ever saw. Makes me wonder if they were tighter 20 yrs ago.

i've never worn out a magazine or mag spring, but i've had lots of them fail due to cracked spines or bent feed lips. i guess it's theoretically possible if you just have one mag and you shoot that one over and over and over a LOT.

the bolt carrier should last forever. The cam pins have been known to break but i don't know how often. you should check for cracks around the hole just like checking the bolt.

Justin, most of the HP shooters around here replace barrels a lot sooner than that
 
Although it is a perfectly valid question, I think it is a little like asking how long a 10/22, a 1911, or a Subaru will last: forever if you just maintain it and replace the individual parts that naturally wear out over time and usage.
 
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