Stainless vs chrome-moly

[ajvigs]

Sorry if this has been discussed already, but what does one give up to the other in regards to barrels? And which do you prefer and why?

 

[gerry]

I prefer stainless but a chrome moly barrel that has be coated with something like Cerakote is good too when it comes to weatherproofing a gun. I am going to get my stainless barreled 35 Whelen coated too, even stainless barrels can have rust form in nasty conditions like goat hunting.

 

[DrMike]

Either will serve you well. As Gerry says, coating is a necessity of the rifle is going to be in the elements.

 

[CMBTshooter]

I'd go stainles, but I live on the beach and my chromoly action on my .308 rusts easily since the finish is worn and I'm not partial to refinishing the rifle every year.

 

[Oldtrader3]

The stainless steels (400 series) are Martensitic with higher carbon content than 300 series stainless which can not be hardened by tempering. Martensitic steels (stainless or chrome moly) will rust relatively quickly, if not tempered above RC45. Most gun parts except the action and bolt lugs are not hardened above a sunshine anneal (Rc35-38) and will rust fairly quickly in the combination of high humidity and heat.

I live 300 yards from Puget Sound. I keep all of my firearms lightly lubricated and in a gun safe at 100 degrees F to allay humidity. As a result, I do not have much trouble with rust.

 

[Guy Miner]

I had to think back a moment, but all my custom barrels have been stainless. That's typical among match shooters, because they re-barrel frequently, and the stainless barrels don't need any additional finish applied. Quicker and less expensive than getting a barrel blued when a match shooter is replacing a barrel every year or every other year.

I do like to get mine bead-blasted, which cuts the glare. The .308 Green Machine Krieger barrels get treated to a real high tech finish too: Krylon spray paint... :roll: I paint that barrel every now and again. It's been a while now, looking a little beat up.

The Model 70 I bought not long ago has a Douglas barrel, according to the builder, and I didn't think to ask if it was chrome-moly or stainless when he and I were talking. I suspect it's chrome-moly because of the nicely blued finish.

Guy

 

[Oldtrader3]

Nowadays, you can bead blast 416 SS with 304 SS beads which will give the stainless Martinsitic barrel a more corrosion resistant Austenitic (304 SS) finish than has been previously available.

 

[Guy Miner]

Interesting. I didn't realize that the steel could be made even more corrosion resistant by a process like that.

Good to hear from a smart guy now and again!

Thanks.

Guy