Which Rifle Barrels Last The Longest?
BY Herschel Smith
5 years, 2 months ago
Via Kenny, question asked and answered.
Another misgiven “fact” I see running rampant is associated with comparing stainless steel to chromemoly steel barrels for longevity. Stainless steel barrels will, yes, shoot their best for more rounds, but, chromemoly will shoot better for an overall longer time. Lemmeesplain: the difference is in the nature of the flame cutting effect on these two steels. Stainless tends to form cracks, looking like a dried up lakebed, while chromemoly tends to just get rough, like sandpaper. The cracks provide a little smoother surface for the bullet to run on (until they turn into something tantamount to a cheese grater). The thing is that when stainless stops shooting well it stops just like that. So, stainless will go another 10 to 15 percent more x-ring rounds, but chromemoly is liable to stay in the 10-ring at least that much longer than stainless steel.
Good information to know.
On October 3, 2019 at 11:39 am, MTHead said:
Like a gunsmith friend told me. The tighter the twist, the more powder you put to it. the hotter you run it. the more barrel wear you get.
Which you want, stainless or carbon?
On October 5, 2019 at 11:30 am, elysianfield said:
I, at one time, manufactured rifle barrels. 416 Stainless Steel cuts like butter…Chrome Moly, not so much.
Gunsmiths like the Stainless…makes their machine work easy and good looking.
On October 5, 2019 at 11:34 am, Herschel Smith said:
Yea, and that’s why if you want a fluted barrel for heat dissipation (e.g., 3-gun comp), a SS barrel is a must.
On October 7, 2019 at 5:40 pm, Bad_Brad said:
Stainless (416) is more thermally stable the chrome molly. The longest lasting barrels are Polygonal Barrels. There are no sharp edges internally like a conventionally rifled barrel. They are also a tad faster as not as much of the gas get ahead of the round.
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