Barrel and DI temperatures.

[Dude-Sweet]

Ya they beat the crap outta that gun lol. Pretty sure that thing was to hot to hold before it went "critical" lol.

You know, some hand guards have heat shielding int them to keep the heat away from your hand... Might be something to consider if you are doing high volume shooting and the heat is bothersome to you.

[TactTeam]

Not real worried about the heat from the m4. Its a short barrel duty rifle and is what it is. The 68 hasnt been that hot and probably never will get that hot. I just read the other thread where it was stated you have to heat a barrel up to 1200* to melonite it and it got me wondering how hot a barrel gets under "regular fire".

[Dude-Sweet]

ah ok.. i follow your thinking now.

1200* is pretty damn hot!! I would say temps that high fall out of the "normal use" range by just a smidge

Maybe asking one of the guys who ran MG's in the military could chime in on barrel temps in m240's before a swap was needed? Seems like those would be the extreme and any AR type rifle would be under much less heat stress. It might help put the temps into perspective.

[Aspp]

IIRC most steels start to change color and glow in the 1200-1500 degree range, depending on the carbon content of the steel (how hard it is). Melting point of steel is roughtly 2700 degrees, and I dont know that you would ever get a barrel to this point due to the swelling of the barrel and bore. Not to mention the aluminum recievers would be toasted as soon as things started glowing, Aluminum conducts heat very well, so once that barrel gets hot the recivers will start pulling that heat and likely warp/fail long before the barrels get into the bright orange color (1700-1900*).

[HillbillyStyle]

Great video, Taliban would s**t their pants seeing a soldier coming at them with a flaming rifle.

[WVHunter1s1k]

I was watching RJF episde last year.(no flaming, It was before the SHtF) They ran through 2 or 3 betas & the gas tube was glowing red.

[marinesg1012]

I have had M4's so hot it was uncomfortable to put my cheek on the stock, CLP was just burning off.

[Equalizer_2]

I recall reading a report where firing full auto they actually had barrels burst. I believe it was some test after the Battle of Wanet. There were reports of burst barrels after firing a lot of ammo very quickly and then there was a test conducted to see what it would take to cause it to happen. Some of my facts might be mixed up but there was a test of firing until barrels burst on M16/M4s.

[marinesg1012]

I recall reading a report where firing full auto they actually had barrels burst. I believe it was some test after the Battle of Wanet. There were reports of burst barrels after firing a lot of ammo very quickly and then there was a test conducted to see what it would take to cause it to happen. Some of my facts might be mixed up but there was a test of firing until barrels burst on M16/M4s.

I havent heard of barrels bursting but I have heard of Machine gun barrels that have gotten so hot they start to droop and rounds shoot out where ever the barrel started to curve.

[Equalizer_2]

This may or may not be the same report but looks like it. http://www.scribd.com/doc/33976206/F...rrels-USA-1996

This also looks to have been tested prior to the Battle of Wanet so I probably confused the two as I believe there were reports of ruptured or burst barrels among other failures. I read enough that I frequently mix sources and reports.