Stainless barrel vs chrome lined

[aacdragon]

I've read some posts on this forum regarding the longevity of the stainless barrels vs the chrome lined versions, and other postings on the internet, and trying to make a decision. Is there that much of a difference in the Noveske materials rendering quicker wear with a stainless barrel.

I dropped the money down for a 16" Recce 300BLK with the NSR rail, and it seems all the distributors in the DFW area are carrying the stainless barreled rifles. The chrome lined barreled rifles are not available. Apparently I can have a stainless barreled rifle tomorrow, since they are plentiful and in stock, but the chrome lined seem to be a non-existant item in this area. Nevertheless, I do prefer to do business with the local gun range retailer since I've been dealing with them for years.

It will be a hunting rifle, but occasionally I'd like to install a slide fire stock for fun, and figured the rapid shooting may wear a stainless quicker as mentioned on some of the posts. But with the cost of the full build Noveske rifle, I may stay away from the slide fire option, and just contiue to use it on a lesser priced AR rifle.

I'm not dogging the Noveske materials, I think they have a great product. Just not sure if I should wait for a chrome lined rifle since I am new to the 300BLK round.

accdragon

[Maryland_Shooter]

Steve at ADCO did a test with RRA SS barrels some years ago, running them FA. He discovered the SS barrel was no worse than a chrome lined or chrome/moly.

SS is better accuracy wise, chrome for corrosion resistance, chrome moly for longevity, so says conventional wisdom.

As a side note, the CHF (Cold Hammer Forged) are the worst for accuracy and maybe 10-20 years ago no one made them because shooters wouldn't buy them; even today any bench rest competition shooter wouldn't look at one. It seems the gun biz is prone to fads like any other retail business.

My opinion is that quality never goes out of style and I have come to favor SS barrels.

On top of that, think about how many rounds you'll need to fire to shoot a barrel out. Call it 10K, so even 5.56 @ 300 a K, it's 3 grand. if you can afford 3K for ammo, surely you can afford $300 (or less) for a barrel.

Just my opinion FWIW.

[L1A1Rocker]

If you're wanting chrome lined I'd go with PSA - best value for the dollar IMO. Of course they are also out but do get stuff in. They're worth watching. I've got one of there 16 inch kits and am very happy with it.

[66427vette]

If you can afford the ammo to wear out a barrel you can afford a new barrel when the time comes .

[aacdragon]

Interesting replies, and thank you for responding.

With the ammo prices going up, and not really knowing what the 300BLK will be running in the next few months, there is no way I'll be shooting 10k rounds for sure.

I do have a .240 Weatherby in the stainless Mark V action and it is deadly accurate. I don't even have the need to re-sight it every year for deer season, it's was always on the money. I basically stopped checking it every year since it never has changed on impact point or accuracy, and with ammo running anywhere from 47 - 59 for a box of 20, I don't like sending lead down range if I don't have too. So there is a plus for the S.S. barrel that I see with that rifle. I just remember a post, which may not have been on this forum, mentioning it took 1000 rounds to show some wear on a S.S. barrel. Of course with the Weatherby, I may not even take a shot during the year, and with the 300BLK, I'm figuring on shooting quite a bit, but no where near the 10K mark.

Guess I have a decision to make.....wait for a rifle, or take a stainless. But that's why I figured I'd ask the members thoughts, since their is an abundance of information on this forum.

I'll post a pic of what I end up with.

Thanks a bunch, I do appreciate the info.

aacdragon

[Dolomite_Supafly]

Of all the barrel treatments or coatings out there the salt bath nitriding is the absolutely best there is. Melonite is a trade name but it results in a barrel that is more corrosion resistant than most coatings and is magnitudes better than any form of plating. As a bonus it is generally pretty cheap.

If I had to put longevity in order it would be Melonite, chrome lined, stanless and then untreated carbon. There are also various metal alloys that help longevity. 41V50 has vandium in it vs standard 4150, this additional ingredient results in a better barrel.

Dolomite

[Dolomite_Supafly]

Here is a very interesting read on accuracy vs round count.
http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2003smallarms/john.ppt

It is a Power Point but worth it. Very intersting results in there. Also, take note to the gas port erosion. It lso shows that a gun with a dirty bore has a higher velocity than one with a clean bore.

Here is what they are reporting as far as accuracy loss vs round count:
Wpn @ 5,000 rd @ 10,000 rd
A------------8.2-------------16.1
B-----------10.2-------------9.7
C------------4.9-------------11.3
D------------9.1-------------14.4

Dolomite

[Whole Bunches]

I'm keeping track of bbl wear (throat erosion) using a throat erosion (TE) gauge. I normally shoot 5 jacketed bullet shots and let the bbl cool, so it really doesn't get very hot. Your post concerns stainless Vs chrome lined, so I will only post my figures for those.

PSA 16" chrome lined: I've only fired 374 jacketed rounds so far. So far, no bbl wear has been measured.

PSA 8" chrome lined: At 91 jacketed rounds, the TE had worn .05" from new. I've now fired 585 jacketed rounds with no further wear.

Core15 9.5" stainless steel: At 139 jacketed rounds, the TE had worn .075" from new. I've now fired 748 jacketed rounds with no further wear.

Looks like I need to keep shooting to measure more wear and get better data, but when you're spreading your shooting among seven 300 BLK barrels (and have another one waiting to be built into an upper), it can take a while. Based upon all of my 300 BLK barrels being shot in my non-abusive shooting regimen, barrel wear is a non-issue. Even my most worn barrel (Delta Company Arms steel, probably 4140, with no lining or bore treatment) will probably go 14,000+ jacketed rounds (a SWAG based upon rounds fired Vs bbl wear measured).

None of my barrels are inaccurate. My most accurate is a Daniel Defense CHF nitrited one. Probably made from 41V50, as DD advertises it as "Chrome Moly Vanadium".

Hold a gun to my head and demand I tell you which is best (for an AR in 300 BLK) and my reply will be, "Make sure your AR has a nice trigger; I use Geissele."

I hope this post helps in some way.

Edited to add: To the U.S. military and some others, when the throat has advanced/worn to 1", the accuracy life of the bbl has reached its end. In 30/06, in my experience, that has proven to be true with 3 barrels so far.

[Maryland_Shooter]

Interesting replies, and thank you for responding.

With the ammo prices going up, and not really knowing what the 300BLK will be running in the next few months, there is no way I'll be shooting 10k rounds for sure.

I do have a .240 Weatherby in the stainless Mark V action and it is deadly accurate. I don't even have the need to re-sight it every year for deer season, it's was always on the money. I basically stopped checking it every year since it never has changed on impact point or accuracy, and with ammo running anywhere from 47 - 59 for a box of 20, I don't like sending lead down range if I don't have too. So there is a plus for the S.S. barrel that I see with that rifle. I just remember a post, which may not have been on this forum, mentioning it took 1000 rounds to show some wear on a S.S. barrel. Of course with the Weatherby, I may not even take a shot during the year, and with the 300BLK, I'm figuring on shooting quite a bit, but no where near the 10K mark.

Guess I have a decision to make.....wait for a rifle, or take a stainless. But that's why I figured I'd ask the members thoughts, since their is an abundance of information on this forum.

I'll post a pic of what I end up with.

Thanks a bunch, I do appreciate the info.

aacdragon

According to Steve at ADCO, that's a myth and not fact; he busted that myth years ago. You aren't gonna wear out a stainless . . . write Steve AFTER you look at this info if you have questions:

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_4/518022_.html

[-k-]

The CL 300 BLK is new, so most dealers won't have any on the shelf yet. You can give us a call and we can probably tell you a few places that may have one in stock.

The 300 BLK should last much longer than a 5.56, with a larger bore and less powder barrel life goes up. Most people don't shoot enough to regularly (or ever) wear out a 5.56 barrel so I feel it's more preference than anything. Unless you intend to abuse it or practice break contact drills for a few hours straight, then get CL.