Jump to content
Brian Enos's Forums... Maku mozo!

Recommended Posts

Prior to getting into competition I always thought that firearms were indestructible and lasted indefinitely. However, I was recently told that, for a semi-auto, each time the slide cycles it scrapes off a miniscule amount of metal from the slide rails. Eventually, the slide rails will get so thin that the frame will need to be replaced, or the rails will outright crack because they're so thin.
On that note, do revolvers also suffer from something similar to this, or revolvers last longer? For revolvers I've heard that frame stretching can be a problem. 
So, if I do something like cerakote on the slide rails, will that stop the wearing done on the slide rails, or can that not be done, or it won't stop the wearing down of the slide rails?

Thanks 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In this sport in particular guns are NOT indestructible. See: Open. See: Slide Mounted Optics.

 

As far as slide scraping off metal and thin rails.....I've not really heard that before. 

Edited by konkapot
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guns certainly can wear out and parts break. Really though if you spend $1-2k on a gun, and shoot 60k rounds through it at 20 cents a round you'll of spent $12,000 on ammo. And 60k rounds you're gun still wont be anywhere near worn out but you'll probably need to replaces some small parts along the way. I'm sure there are people here with north of 100k rounds on a gun. Now you're getting into 20k plus dollars in ammo. At some point I think you've gotten your money's worth out of it. 

 

I have several guns that have 15k plus on them and are still basically like new. One probably has closer to 25-30k on it and still going strong. I worry more about optics, and small stuff like springs or slide stops in CZ's failing and costing you a match. The parts are mostly cheap and easy to replace.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, Mcfoto said:

I think a gun owned by a competitor gets as many rounds through it on a weekend as a non-competitor’s in a lifetime.

Fornication with the first letter of the alphabet brother.   I have cop buddy’s that only shoot 50-100 rounds a year 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Gun1 said:

So, if I do something like cerakote on the slide rails, will that stop the wearing done on the slide rails, or can that not be done, or it won't stop the wearing down of the slide rails?

 

While I have nothing personally against cerakote it isn't magic. It wears out too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/27/2022 at 2:57 AM, Gun1 said:

Prior to getting into competition I always thought that firearms were indestructible and lasted indefinitely. However, I was recently told that, for a semi-auto, each time the slide cycles it scrapes off a miniscule amount of metal from the slide rails. Eventually, the slide rails will get so thin that the frame will need to be replaced, or the rails will outright crack because they're so thin.
On that note, do revolvers also suffer from something similar to this, or revolvers last longer? For revolvers I've heard that frame stretching can be a problem. 
So, if I do something like cerakote on the slide rails, will that stop the wearing done on the slide rails, or can that not be done, or it won't stop the wearing down of the slide rails?

Thanks 

 

Dont use grease on the rails or anywhere on pistols (it's a magnet for dirt), just use oil. I use Weaponshield CLP for years on my Glocks and now my Canik's. I have Glocks with over 80k rounds on them and they still group great.  Don't worry about it..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I  thought the same before...that firearms were indestructible. Well I guess they still are if not a lot of rounds are fired through them and they are maintained.

For quality semi auto pistols that one uses for competition I think it would be reasonable to expect them to last tens of thousands of rounds, if not a hundred or even a couple hundred thousand rounds. Of course, small parts will have to be replaced along the way.

If I am not mistaken I think a properly done hard chrome finish may somewhat help in the longevity of  high round count semi autos in that it will take much more to wear out the hard chrome before you get to bare metal.

Of course there are other things that may help longevity like shock buffers...

I think carbon steel frame handgun frames can also be welded up and rebuilt if ever they wear out if you want to get the most life out of the pistol frame.

Edited by DenC
Added stuff
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, DenC said:

I  thought the same before...that firearms were indestructible. Well I guess they still are if not a lot of rounds are fired through them and they are maintained.

For quality semi auto pistols that one uses for competition I think it would be reasonable to expect them to last tens of thousands of rounds, if not a hundred or even a couple hundred thousand rounds. Of course, small parts will have to be replaced along the way.

If I am not mistaken I think a properly done hard chrome finish may somewhat help in the longevity of  high round count semi autos in that it will take much more to wear out the hard chrome before you get to bare metal.

Of course there are other things that may help longevity like shock buffers...

I think carbon steel frame handgun frames can also be welded up and rebuilt if ever they wear out if you want to get the most life out of the pistol frame.

I was shocked when I learned that they're not indestructible, Lol. But yeah, most of them crack into the 150k+ rounds. I was curious to know about the Sig FCU because there's really no frame to crack that can't be replaced for $50, but since the slide rails and ejector and built into the FCU I was curious to see if these two things also wear out until the FCU is no longer usable? There's a member here who posted photos of pne of his FCU with over 100k rounds and it definitely looks worn, kind of flat grinded rather than round edges, but I'm wondering if those develop and then stop or if they keep going. If they keep going I'm wondering how long until all the metal runs out of the slide tabs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, DenC said:

I think carbon steel frame handgun frames can also be welded up and rebuilt if ever they wear out if you want to get the most life out of the pistol frame.

So with something like a Sig P226 or a Beretta 92 with aluminum frames re-welding isn't really an option? 

On that note, I know revolvers eventually stretch, especially if shooting hot and heavy magnum loads, or if the revolver is lightweight aluminum. However, if it's a. 357 magnum revolver and you only shoot 38 special through it, will it also eventually stretch, it'll just take much longer, or the 38 special won't have enough energy to ever stretch that revolver? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, Southpaw said:

Your obsession with this is odd. Just buy a dozen Glock 17 frames and you'll never have to worry about this again. You can get them for around $100 each. 

I wouldn't worry about it if it were not for California banning the sale of everything. Can't buy just the receiver and anything P320 or P365 can only be bought from someone else and expect to pay about $2,500-$3,000 for each. Hence, for a Sig FCU it would only be worth it for me if it's pretty much indestructible. Any other part of the gun I can get, but the FCU because it's the serialized portion I can't replace here in California. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

CA banned all handguns? This is news to me. 

 

320 FCU isn't indestructible. Over insert 1 mag and bend ejector and then it could be toast.

 

If you can't buy stripped frames then buy a few complete Glocks and sells the uppers. Then you'll have spare frames for $100-200 each. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, Gun1 said:

I wouldn't worry about it if it were not for California banning the sale of everything. Can't buy just the receiver and anything P320 or P365 can only be bought from someone else and expect to pay about $2,500-$3,000 for each. Hence, for a Sig FCU it would only be worth it for me if it's pretty much indestructible. Any other part of the gun I can get, but the FCU because it's the serialized portion I can't replace here in California. 

 

Then move out of that state and move on from this weird obsession of yours.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, Southpaw said:

CA banned all handguns? This is news to me. 

 

320 FCU isn't indestructible. Over insert 1 mag and bend ejector and then it could be toast.

 

If you can't buy stripped frames then buy a few complete Glocks and sells the uppers. Then you'll have spare frames for $100-200 each. 

Almost. Can only get pre 2012 models, and those are becoming few. For Glocks, for example, still on Gen 3 9mm when everyone has the Gen 5.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You had the same concern with the fcu in another thread. And a lot of this is based on speculation that you will run thousand of rounds through one gun in a short time.  And California isn’t cheap so I’m sure the cost of ammo is pretty high so if you can afford to kill off 10k rounds a year. Cost of another fcu that is 350 is a drop in the bucket or even the cost of another firearm.


and it doesn’t look like there is a limit on the number of firearms you can own in California https://oag.ca.gov/firearms/pubfaqs#7

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, JoeMKY said:

You had the same concern with the fcu in another thread. And a lot of this is based on speculation that you will run thousand of rounds through one gun in a short time.  And California isn’t cheap so I’m sure the cost of ammo is pretty high so if you can afford to kill off 10k rounds a year. Cost of another fcu that is 350 is a drop in the bucket or even the cost of another firearm.


and it doesn’t look like there is a limit on the number of firearms you can own in California https://oag.ca.gov/firearms/pubfaqs#7

 

Even at 10k rounds a year, he's going to need to shoot for 5 or 10 years with the same FCU to risk killing it. 

 

How much does a FCU cost in cali? Has anyone out there tried to challenge your silly law in court yet?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/27/2022 at 2:57 AM, Gun1 said:

Prior to getting into competition I always thought that firearms were indestructible and lasted indefinitely. However, I was recently told that, for a semi-auto, each time the slide cycles it scrapes off a miniscule amount of metal from the slide rails. Eventually, the slide rails will get so thin that the frame will need to be replaced, or the rails will outright crack because they're so thin.
On that note, do revolvers also suffer from something similar to this, or revolvers last longer? For revolvers I've heard that frame stretching can be a problem. 
So, if I do something like cerakote on the slide rails, will that stop the wearing done on the slide rails, or can that not be done, or it won't stop the wearing down of the slide rails?

Thanks 

Do you have plastic slip covers on your couches? 
You wanna buy a gun to enjoy it and shoot matches.  So do exactly that, why worry about something to minimally relevant.  I’d be more worried about the 320 shooting me In the hip then it wearing out…

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/27/2022 at 1:57 AM, Gun1 said:

Prior to getting into competition

I don't think you've mentioned what sort of competition shooting you are doing.  That might help us get you into the proper pistol with the best longevity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Racinready300ex said:

 

Even at 10k rounds a year, he's going to need to shoot for 5 or 10 years with the same FCU to risk killing it. 

 

How much does a FCU cost in cali? Has anyone out there tried to challenge your silly law in court yet?

About $2,500 here in Cali, but the problem is that there's not many of them since they can only be obtained through ppt from someone coming into CA, and since most people are leaving CA, Lol. Yes, it's been challenged many times, the two most relevant ones one ended in the CA Supreme Court where the biased liberal court upheld the ridiculous law, and the other ended with an en blanc review in the 9th Circus Court of Appeals which also upheld the ridiculous. There's a new one, but unless SCOTUS intervenes I don't see it going anywhere either.

Edited by Gun1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

56 minutes ago, GigG said:

I don't think you've mentioned what sort of competition shooting you are doing.  That might help us get you into the proper pistol with the best longevity.

You're right! I haven't. I'm trying to get into competitive USPSA production. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...