Cooling down rifle barrel?

[audiophil2]

It's in the 100s out here now when I shoot and I have this fun little .22LR belt fed AR. On my last range trip I put about 1,000 rounds through the barrel with only a few short pauses. The upper got so hot that I had a hard time holding the handguard toward the end. I don't want to think how hot the barrel got.

So, how hot can a barrel get before it will get damaged? I was told I would get lead fouling if the barrel is not allowed to cool after 400 or so rounds.

What can I do to safely cool down the barrel so I don't have to wait long to shoot it again? I have an temperature gun I can use to check the barrel temp.

The manufacturer suggested dipping the barrel in oil but that would be messy.

[Scratch705]

wet towel? replace when it starts steaming with a new wet towel. isn't this why they teach gunners to only do short bursts to keep barrel cool?

[CSACANNONEER]

It's common to see wet towels on barrels at some matches. Either slow down and let it air cool or, just use cold water.

[audiophil2]

wet towel? replace when it starts steaming with a new wet towel. isn't this why they teach gunners to only do short bursts to keep barrel cool?

Short bursts are very difficult to adhere to when the ammo is $.04/rnd. If I was shooting a 1919 then yes I would be more self-controlled but it ain't gonna happen in this case.
I considered making a water shroud for it but after reading up on the 1917s it seems water cooling helps very little with sustained fire.

I think my only practical solution is shooting several other guns between feeding a few belts through the AR or buying additional uppers I can swap out.

[audiophil2]

It's common to see wet towels on barrels at some matches. Either slow down and let it air cool or, just use cold water.

I'm not very gun savvy so my concern is going from cold barrel to hot to cold to hot. Does this damage the metal?

I would only be able to get the towel on end half of the barrel. Would this be an issue?

I have considered spraying Dust-off compressed air cans upside down onto the barrel but the hot-cold-hot issue concerns me.

[Army]

You will not shoot a semi-auto fast enough to worry about the barrel overheating.

[SgtDinosaur]

You will not shoot a semi-auto fast enough to worry about the barrel overheating.

It looks like he lives in Arizona, so I'm guessing he wasn't talking about semi. Otherwise I have nothing to add.

[Sionadi]

I think he has a GAT trigger on it.

Anyway, unless the barrel is getting red hot, cooling it down with water shouldnt hurt the barrel.

[smle-man]

I slide a stainless cleaning rod into the barrel on cease fire. It acts as a heat sink. Probably doesn't stay in long enough to really matter but it sure is hot when I take it out!

[1911su16b870]

Watch out for cook-offs (i.e. don't muzzle anything between shooting strings with a live cartridge in the chamber) when shooting barrels that hot!

[audiophil2]

I think he has a GAT trigger on it.

Anyway, unless the barrel is getting red hot, cooling it down with water shouldnt hurt the barrel.

Yes, it has a GAT on it.

Every 400 rounds I run a bore snake and a few patches through the barrel. The manufacturer said if the barrel gets too hot I would get lead fouling so I figured the cleaning would prevent this.

I have not felt the barrel but the hand guard got hot enough after 1000 rounds that I could no longer hold it comfortably.

[mjsweims]

Do what I do. Have another gun to play with while the barrel is cooling down.

[johnrunner89]

Do what I do. Have another gun to play with while the barrel is cooling down.

This And I wish I had a fun little belt fed .22lr to worry about

[ghost]

wow! hopefully i`ll get to check out your toy sometime

[Wicked Pete]

AZ must be a fun place to live.