barrel life and gas port erosion

AR/M4 AR General Discussion
1

i was reading the carbine barrel life thread below and was wondering what wears out first… the barrel or the gas port, under hard use/high round count.

http://m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=39227&highlight=round+count

my understanding is that barrel wear and gas port erosion are happening at the same time to some degree based on the extent of use. so…would a barrel wear out before gas port erosion begins to affect function? or would you see cycling problems from gas port erosion before a high round count barrel needed replacement?

just curious.

thx.

2

Gas port erosion is part of barrel wear. It seldom affects the flight of the bullet, but like worn teeth and gums if you can check it with a borescope it will give you an idea of how the barrels’ been used or abused and how many rounds have gone through it.

Wear is normally determined by throat wear. A rifle may be smoothbore from 1/4 inch to a couple of inches before it will no longer hit a man-size target at 300 yards.