Compensators affecting bolt/barrel life?

[ta0117]

I was having a conversation with my local gunsmith who had worked as an Army armorer, and he made the claim that a compensator can affect your barrel or bolt life over time because it creates a vertical force on your barrel as the bolt is unlocking and cycling, and that creates uneven stresses on the bolt from the top lugs to the bottom lugs.

I vaguely remember that there was a report where heavily pulling on a vertical foregrip affects bolt life for the same reason, that it causes a bending force on the barrel that ends up putting more pressure on some bolt lugs than others.

Am I misremembering this? Is there any veracity to these claims?

[mpom]

Waiting for Lysander to weigh in.

[Inkslinger]

I’m probably way off base, but that sounds far fetched. Vertical force as in comps designed to reduce muzzle rise? What about comps that vent to the sides? What about ones like Noveskes pig that direct the gas forward? Heck, the A2 even vents on the top.

[georgeib]

I'm not an expert here, but let me say that sounds really farfetched. The barrel extension is much beefier than the muzzle, and it's further supported by the receiver. I don't see much flex happening there. Furthermore, all barrels whip when fired, comp or no comp. I guess if it were the case, you'd see increased wear on the upper and lower lugs maybe? Also, doesn't the BCG essentially float in the upper and wouldn't that mean that it would move to align with the extension?

[Backfire]

Yeah, it's called wear, discharging the gun creates wear as well. . Did he used to be a range officer?
He may be correct but at what point does it become significant?

[1168]

Yeah, it's called wear, discharging the gun creates wear as well. . Did he used to be a range officer?
He may be correct but at what point does it become significant?

Army mostly doesn’t use Range Officers in the same context as LE. An Armorer would see broken guns but might not have the contextual education to know much about this subject.

In high-speed, some comps create notable downward barrel flex, but I have no idea if that adds up to anything.

[Inkslinger]

If this is true, I would think there would be noticeable wear on specific bolt lungs and their corresponding points inside the barrel extension.

[markm]

I’m probably way off base, but that sounds far fetched. Vertical force as in comps designed to reduce muzzle rise? What about comps that vent to the sides? What about ones like Noveskes pig that direct the gas forward? Heck, the A2 even vents on the top.

This was a big thing with orkan who used to post here. He was a big proponent of brakes that only vented sideways and didn't push the barrel downward. The A2 cage's compensation seems negligible to me. I definitely wouldn't use any device that comp'd the barrel down on any type of rifle... bolt or gas.

[TMS951]

For any chance of this I’d think the gun would need to held firmly in a rest or something. Otherwise I think the person holding it is going to absorb and soften some of that down force.

Overall it seems pretty out there. Certainly no premature wear.

[TomMcC]

Sounds like total bunk. How would you even be able to prove such a thing? Trying to account for every variable would be extremely hard.