diff --git a/src/java/org/apache/lucene/index/IndexReader.java b/src/java/org/apache/lucene/index/IndexReader.java
index 4bb7f5a1558..21f38c727d4 100644
--- a/src/java/org/apache/lucene/index/IndexReader.java
+++ b/src/java/org/apache/lucene/index/IndexReader.java
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ public abstract class IndexReader implements Cloneable {
   private boolean closed;
   protected boolean hasChanges;
   
-  private volatile int refCount;
+  private int refCount;
 
   private boolean disableFakeNorms = false;