Do gun barrels wear out?
would a bullistic test from a .22 bullet still match the gun that fired it after that same gun had fired 100,000 bullets?
by 
11stevo73
ANSWERS: 3
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There will always be traceable marks.
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Well...yes, of course, gun barrels can and do wear out, even if properly and scrupulously maintained. HOWEVER: IF properly maintained, you'd probably need at LEAST hundreds (I'd guess: thousands) of shots between the "original bullet" and the later "comparison bullet" to significantly change the barrel markings on the bullet. *** WHY: the bullet gets these markings from scraping against the sides of the rifle barrel, where there are slight protruberances, etc. (The barrel is not perfectly round, not at a microscopic level). Naturally the protuberances in the barrel will wear down with use...from the very same action, from the bullets rubbing against them over and over and over again as they travel down the barrel. The barrel markings on the bullets (naturally) get lighter and lighter over time. Eventually, if enough of those barrel imperfections are worn down, the marks that they make "disappear" from bullets fired from the gun...and if enough of them "disappear" then the first bullet will no longer match the last bullet with a sufficient level of confidence.
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Yup, erosion and corrosion are both ways that will wear out a barrel. I don't think the amount of rounds put thru a .22 is as important as how well the barrel was maintained during the years those rounds were being fired thru it.
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