Chrome Moly or Stainless Question.

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pyscodog

Active member
A guy at the range today has a rifle built. He used a Hart barrel. He claims for maximum accuracy, he needs to clean this barrel after every 2 shot foulers/ 5 shot groups ( 7 total rounds fired). He said a moly barrel would go 25-40 rounds before an accuracy loss. Any opinions on this please. I wanted to hollor the dreaded words Bull Sh1t!
pyscodog
 
Some people are more fond of Chrome Moly barrels. There is a huge following of guys where I work that love chrome moly barrels. I just think thats there preference. I always ask those guys if they want to go to the range and shoot and they never do. I am sorry if I am generalizing with guys and chrome moly. This has been my experience though. I am planning on purchasing a varmint/target chrome moly barrel to find out for myself. I guess all this typing is for nothing cause I dont really know???????????????
 
416R stainless barrel steel is softer (27-29 Rc) than work hardened chrome molybdenum (37-38 Rc). In theory and all things being equal, that will mean the chrome moly barrel will have a better barrel life than stainless.

On the other hand, stainless is much more machinable than chrome moly and therefore it's easier to make a (machined) barrel with closer tolerances and better finishes.

In a premium custom barrel that probably doesn't matter much since 100% of the barrels are 100% quality control checked (air gauged and bore scoped) and the manufacturer is going to reject any barrel that doesn't meet specs.

In the case you give psychodog (if the guy isn't full of it) Jack is no doubt spot on and the guy has a rough barrel. Given that it's a Hart barrel, I would suspect that the barrel itself is near perfect, but that the gunsmith who reamed the chamber screwed up and left machining marks at the throat.

The best custom barrel in the world is only as good as the gunsmith who finishes it.
 
Its true, Chrome lined will last a little longer than a stainless barrel, but I have done several tests where stainless match barrels with Enfield rifling beat out the chrome line ones. As nmleon said, stainless is easier to machine and make more precise.

When it all boils down to it, people believe the notion that chrome line will give them longer barrel life. But were talking into the 20K range. Your average shooter and the majority of shooters will never see 10K let alone 25K. Of course there is the ease of cleaning a chrome lined v's none.

Our poly rifling give much better barrel life than an Enfield rifled barrel but with the added accuracy you get from a stainless match barrel with the ease of cleaning from a chrome lined.

BHW Staff
 
Here is a clip from Hart
"Each barrel is contoured on a CNC lathe, then hand lapped to ensure the best possible interior finish. Every barrel leaving our shop is individually inspected several times to make sure it meets our high quality standards. If you feel you have a problem with any barrel, you may send it to us for an inspection. If the inspection shows we are at fault, the barrel will be replaced FREE of charge. Otherwise barrel will be returned at the customer's expense."

You hear all kinds of things at the range.
 
QFT. Some shooters have it in their heads that they need to clean their barrels far too often. A Hart barrel will shoot with the best out there. Many of the best gunsmiths I know use Hart barrels exclusively and they are superb shooters.
Joel Russo shoot a 4 shoot group at a mile that was less than 5" and the final shot (#5) was near the bottom of the target. He did not blame his Hart barrel!
Like you said, some of the stuff you may hear at the range makes you want to scratch your head and say "Huh"?
 
Chrome lined is a different thing altogether than chrome moly. In a chrome lined barrel the bore is chrome plated. It's designed to take the heat and wear of full auto military weapons (but accuracy suffers).

Chrome moly is a type of steel alloy. It's the metal that your typical blued gun barrel is made of. Chrome moly is short for chromium molybdenum, the two main alloying metals used in the steel.
 
I told the guy that Hart barrels were lapped at the factory and pretty much let him know he was full of it. He still insisted if you want 1/4 inch groups, you need to keep the barrel clean.
Do all the BR shooters clean after 7 rounds? I figures they would run out of time with all that cleaning. No time for shooting! JMO
 
Most BR shooters do clean after every target. But you might shoot up to 20 shots on the target with your sighters. BR shooter are also going for the last thounsands on every target every target also. Case in point last weeks Super shoot was won by .001. That's 20 targets over a time of 4 days.
 
Often times matches as large as the Nationals or, the Super Shoot, are decided by very small differences in the Aggs. It makes the importance of scoring the targets accurately, all the more important.
 
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Hey Stainless steel barrels ( 416R) are tougher to machine then Chrome Moly. They are less forgiving then Chrom Molly ? Has any one ever tried to cut stainless steel with a band saw ? You need to turn the speed down. It takes longer.Some times a different blade ! How about working with stainless steel nuts and bolts. Ever had a SS nut lock up on you ? Its because SS doesn't give like steel. 416 R SS has had sulphur added to it to make it more machinable . 416R is also called martinistic steel. The SS steel used in our guns can rust.Its above average Stainless steel designed for gun barrels.There are many grades of SS the grade category is determined by how they respond to heat treatment .
 
In my experience CM is a lot tougher to thread and chamber than 416SS. Now, 304SS, which many bolts and nuts are made from, is the pits to cut, drill and tap.
 
Originally Posted By: EddieHarrenIn my experience CM is a lot tougher to thread and chamber than 416SS. Now, 304SS, which many bolts and nuts are made from, is the pits to cut, drill and tap.

+1
I've used a lot of 303 and 304 SS, and 304 is tougher than hades.
I don't think that Hart barrels need cleaning after two shots..
I bought my first Hart barrel in 1968, and have bought 7 more since them. Four of those were used on centerfire benchrest rifles. At matches, I only cleaned these barrels between relays, or after 15-20 shots taken during the relay. Accuracy never deteriorated during the 15-20 shots.
I've never receive a Hart barrel that wasn't perfect in every respect.
The only barrels I use for SS rifle builds are Hart barrels.
And, as Eddie and Leon stated, 416 is easier to machine than CM, at least that's what Clyde Hart told me 42 years ago.
 


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