Seeing as there has been a thread on barrel life here.

I am interested in knowing whats the average amount shots taken before actions are ruined, assuming good care and normal load pressures for;

levers, bolts, etc. does it differ with action types etc.

Has anyone here shot out an action ??

This is only my opinion, and I can't prove it, but I think with proper care, I think any good action will far out live you, and your kids, and grand kids! I have some Mausers that are like new, and are over 100 yrs old, and are chambered for modern high pressure cartridges!

I grew up around NRA High Power and service rifle shooters. Most of them used pre-64 M-70's, and I never heard of anyone wearing out an action. They all shot loads that were slightly under max, but anything they gave up in pressure they certainly got back in sheer numbers of rounds fired. I also have a 1920's-vintage 1903 Springfield that truly does have much of the rifling shot out of it. The action is slick as glass, and though I don't hot rod it, I feel confident shooting factory ammo in it. An indoor range where I used to work had a 1911 that we conservatively estimated had fired 250,000 rounds. We replaced the barrels with drop-in GI barrels when the rifling started to go, and put it back on the line. The slide and frame were always sound. Th upshot of this is that I think a well-designed, properly made firearm only gets better with age.

On the other hand, you can wreck anything with one shot if the load is too hot.

Hope this helps, Okie John.

Thanks folks, I am not worried about wearing my actions out I was just curious to iknow if they did have a limited life span.

I sthere any difference in action life of say a lever gun or a bolt gun ??

Old actions, such as the Mauser, which used a soft steel alloy that was surface hardened can sort of wear out. With high pressure loads, the bolt lugs can slowly embed themselves into the receiver. This is known as lug setback.

Hey PC, You have a real legitimate concern "IF" you purchase a "Used Action/Rifle". The reason I say this is because you just never know what the previous owner subjected it to.

Here, take a look at Clark's response in:

http://www.serveroptions.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=6;t=007395

The problem is you just don't know what someone else has done. In the case of an "Action", the serious concern is Metal Fatigue. It can look fine on the outside, but the actual metal can be over-stressed. Magna-fluxing is the only non-destructive method I'm aware of to check this out(though there may be many others). And it really just looks for minute fractures.

After I began seeing some of the Loads listed on the various Boards I've visited in the past, I gave up buying used firearms unless I specifically knew it's previous owner and how he treated it.

People that buy old "unknowns" might or might not get a good deal.

Hotcore,

thanks for that and it's a point worth thinking about !!

the rifles I like cz's are priced well enough I can just buy newy's although I did buy a Brno 602 .375 for my .585 project. Never the less it's food for though with second hand guns.

I'm told that a couple of years ago the US Marine Corps retired some of their Rem. 700-based sniper rifles -- the receivers had stretched beyond tolerances.

This is after some decades of use, day in & day out and tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition -- probably far more years, days, and rounds than most of us here will expend.

John