AR-15 barrel smokin hot?

[chipperej]

Yesterday was a fun-filled day with lotsa shooting. Had a family shooting outing and enjoyed shooting my AR-15 with .22LR conversion. We put about 250 rounds .22LR through it and then switched to .223 REM ammo.
After about 60 rounds of .223 the barrel was literally smokin' hot. I don't know if this was because of the rapid firing of the .223, or if there was a problem having first shot .22LR, then switching to .223.
It cooled down and everything seems OK, but did not shoot any more that day.

 

[klabere]

Were you shooting jacketed or lead .22s, could of had some fouling in the barrel from all the 22's causing extra friction in the rifeling.

 

[chipperej]

I had a mixture of .22 ammo. Mostly CCI Mini-mag (copper jacketed hollow points), but I also had 100 Federal Lightening unjacketed 40GR solid. I won't be buying any more of the unjacketed Federal.

 

[Stschil]

Fouling of the gas tube causing heat build up. .22 is much slower and the bulk ammo runs dirtier. Always takes a mag or two of .223 to blow out the gas system.

 

[mvician]

A barrel will get hot enough to burn you in short order, especially after rapid fire.

Normal

Any fouling from the .22lr was gone after the first few .223 rounds.

 

[chipperej]

OK, I guess a hot barrel on my AR15 is no biggie. I guess I'll just have to go shooting some more to make sure it is working OK!

 

[shavedforbattle]

OK, I guess a hot barrel on my AR15 is no biggie. I guess I'll just have to go shooting some more to make sure it is working OK!

Shooting makes everything better!

 

[in625shooter]

OK, I guess a hot barrel on my AR15 is no biggie. I guess I'll just have to go shooting some more to make sure it is working OK!

Perfectly normal! Even after just a 30 round mag the barrel will be hot to the touch! Even after a couple rounds you will get smoke off the barrel if it is has any oil etc on the outside of the barrel.

 

[standslanted]

Perfectly normal! Even after just a 30 round mag the barrel will be hot to the touch! Even after a couple rounds you will get smoke off the barrel if it is has any oil etc on the outside of the barrel.

Agree... oil on barrel will cause smoke.

 

[in625shooter]

Agree... oil on barrel will cause smoke.

What I'm saying is it happens only after a couple rounds!

 

[teddy12b]

Over the weekend I took a del-ton that I built out to the range to dump some ammo through just to make sure everything would work when things get hot. It's not going to hurt your AR and that's what they are built for. I had my barrel so hot that the bore snake almost burnt my hand after pulling it through the barrel when I was done. Heating up your AR is a good way to build some confidence in the gun and getting everything dirty and letting the parts warm up and see how they function is a great way to see what the gun is made of.

It may just be me, but anytime I switch from 223 to 22lr or vise versa with a conversion kit I at least run a bore snake through it just to help any crud that could have formed.

 

[chipperej]

That is the first time I rapid-fired it and, yes, there was some oil on the barrel. It is a new gun, but I now consider it "broken in."

 

[old timer]

Be damn careful after rapid firing about any auto rifle, be sure that you empty the chamber or you could have a cook-off, Very dangerous