Life expectancy of AR-15

[RAMCLAP]

Man. People around here just don't understand humor.

[M1NM]

With the expected ammo panic/shortage on the horizon you won't be able to get enough ammo to wear it out.

[captbilly]

I think you are somewhat exaggerating the rate of wear

Normal rule of thumb for .223/5.56 ammo is 5000 rounds for target shooting accuracy, perhaps several times that if you are a casual shooter who is OK with 3 moa groups. After this you may want to change out the barrel, fairly easy to do, which will cost a fraction of what the ammo you used cost ($150 for new barrel).

I know of no way to re-rifle a barrel. I have never heard of this receiver wear you mention (causing bolt bounce?). The bolt may crack at 10,000+ rounds but replacing a bolt costs very little and takes 5 minutes. I have never had a hammer crack but it could happen, and is also very cheap and easy to fix.

To put this in perspective: If you buy inexpensive ammo ($0.50/ round) you will spend $5,000 on ammo before you are likely to need any repairs on your AR. If you use Federal match, Black Hills or other high quality ammo you are going to spend $10,000 on ammo before you need to replace anything.

About 1000rds is the norm before you need to re-rifle the barrel and change the buffer and spring. Around another 500 and the friction from the bolt will wear the inside of the reciever causing bolt bounce and can create a hole in one side.
If that doesnt happen first the violent striking of the hammer on the bolt will cause the rear of the bolt to be weakened and or the hammer itself to crack.
Good luck with your new rifle!

[Germ1]

Hey all. Noob to the game here. I bought my first AR-15 which is a Del-Ton a couple of weeks ago. I know a lot of the life AR-15 depends on what the barrel is made out of, how many rounds go through it, etc... but what is the general rule of thumb for life expectancy of the AR-15? Can a cheaper lower end AR-15 that goes through thousands and thousands of rounds that is well-maintained live longer than a higher end AR?

I'm just curious.

No, barrel will wear out faster, parts in general will wear out faster. It's cheap for a reason. It all depends on how much you shoot it. If you're not much a shooter and the rifle just sits in the corner then it could last you your entire life. But if you actually use and shoot your guns, then, no it will not last as long. Get a thousand rounds loaded into magazines and take it out and shoot it without stopping other than for reloads and see if it even survives the day. Lol, it won't.
Don't know about the other guys here but I shoot 500 rounds every weekend, your rifle wouldn't survive with me.

[Gregchico]

Lube it with "Liberal Tears" and it will never wear out.

[smle-man]

Army basic training companies were getting up to 30k rounds through M16A1s before the barrels were worn and that was with trainees cleaning the heck out of them constantly. A shooter is in more danger of losing the little pieces from the bolt group when cleaning it than wearing out the rifle in normal use.

[Click Boom]

100 carpet drops

[Click Boom]

Army basic training companies were getting up to 30k rounds through M16A1s before the barrels were worn and that was with trainees cleaning the heck out of them constantly. A shooter is in more danger of losing the little pieces from the bolt group when cleaning it than wearing out the rifle in normal use.