2 Silly things that have bothered me about some century guns

[migkillertwo]

Okay, maybe I'm just venting, but I am very curious about two particular guns "imported" by century arms international. I'm talking, specifically, about the GP1975 and the AK-74 built on the nodak spud receiver.

Why do these not have chrome-lined barrels? In my experience, it usually adds about 40$ to the cost of a gun to chrome-line the barrel, at least when I shop around for AR-15s. How could this not be the same for the AK barrels?

I mean, right now the "bulgarian" made ak-74s have non-chrome lined US made barrels, and the guns themselves cost about 370$. Surely you guys agree that plenty of people would pay 410$ for an AK-74, or 450$ for an ak-47 that has a chrome-lined barrel, what looks to be a good muzzle break, and actually "looks" like an AK-74.

Am I missing something?

 

[sappyg]

i think arsenal uses chrome lined barrels.

 

[nalioth]

Neither of the guns you mention are imported by Century.

They're produced here using imported parts and the cheapest US parts available.

Century is interested in mass-production with high ROI. Chrome lining doesn't figure into that.

 

[Hanzo581]

I thought chrome lined barrels were only necessary if you used corrosive ammo? And don't you lose some accuracy with chroming?

Just asking...

 

[nalioth]

I thought chrome lined barrels were only necessary if you used corrosive ammo? And don't you lose some accuracy with chroming?

If you don't clean your chromed barrel after shooting corrosively primed ammunition, it'll rust up real nice, just like non-chromed barrels do.

Militaries spec chrome lined barrels for longevity. Full auto firing wears barrels, and chroming them makes them last longer.

Your argument isn't logical, anyway. The United States hasn't issued corrosively primed ammunition since before the M16 came along. Why does the M16 have a chrome lined barrel?

The accuracy loss chrome lining brings isn't really noticeable in a service weapon. Marines qualify regularly at 800m with their M16s. You wouldn't want to chrome line the barrel of your precision benchrest rifle, though.

 

[jerkface11]

Militaries spec chrome lined barrels for longevity. Full auto firing wears barrels,

Not quite right. They want chrome lining because they use steel cleaning rods. Look at a counter bored mosin to see what happens if you don't chrome line.

 

[nalioth]

Militaries spec chrome lined barrels for longevity. Full auto firing wears barrels,

Not quite right. They want chrome lining because they use steel cleaning rods. Look at a counter bored mosin to see what happens if you don't chrome line.

Again, we'll use the M16 as an example: The flash hider protects the crown. Why is the barrel chrome lined?

 

[buttrap]

The barrel is chromed for the same reasion that the navy has used chome in naval guns since around 1915. It reduces rust and wear. Barrel life of a M-16 is twice as long with a chrome bore as a non plated bore.
As for AKs some may pay 450 for a chrome US made barrel gun but I sure won't when you can still find real AK chrome barreled guns for around that price.

 

[surfinUSA]

The chrome lining on the m-16 also aids in extraction and reliability. Its an inexpensive option that any self defense rifle should have.

 

[sturmgewehr]

Chorme lining, as mentioned, increases barrel life. Even in a semi-auto, chrome lining prevents premature wear when you rip off magazines as fast as you can or bump-fire your rifle. It does help keep corrosion at bay for a short while, but doesn't protect the rifle from corrosive salts. You still need to clean your rifle ASAP and preferably with hot soapy water.

 

[CornCod]

I have a Century Yugo Underfolder with an unchromed barrel. The old Yugoslavia never chromed the barrels of their AK's because they never had a domestic source of Chromium. Chrome lining only becomes an issue if you shoot thousands of rounds a year out of your rifle. Since my yearly round counts are in the hundreds for that particular rifle, it won't become an issue until my 90th birthday......if I make it that far.

 

[benEzra]

Century SAR's and (AFAIK) most WASR's were/are chrome lined, though I'm not sure about the newest WASR's. The Polish Tantals that used U.S. barrels AFAIK weren't chrome lined, and I don't believe Yugoslavian AK's are chrome lined.

As long as you're using noncorrosive ammunition and are storing the rifle indoors, chrome lining mostly improves durability. A non-chrome-lined barrel will suffer much more throat and gas port erosion from a given number of rounds than a chrome-lined barrel will.

 

[sturmgewehr]

CornCod, round count is one factor, but also how hot you get your barrel is another and generally more important, IMHO. If you fire 100 rounds back to back, you're causing excessive wear in the leade / throat area of the barrel, especially if your barrel isn't chrome lined. The temperatures generated upon firing in an average rifle are substantial, far more than you would think. It doesn't take long to start the wear process, only a relatively few quickly fired rounds. This is more of a factor on a precision rifle than a military rifle however, and degradation of accuracy in an AK won't be as pronounced to most shooters.

Another factor is the quality of the steel. I suspect some US made, non-chromed barrels aren't necessarily as well made as hammer forged military grade barrels, chrome lining or not. The barrels on low cost AK are typically built by the lowest bidder in an effort to keep costs as low as possible. Quality or longevity aren't likely considered as important as a lower cost.

Here's a good read if you're interested in chrome lined barrels in general.

http://cheaperthandirt.com/blog/?p=2678

 

[GunTech]

Chrome doesn't rust, sorry. It is there for corrosion resistance, but also aids longevity.

Not only do chrome barrels cost slightly more, but they require better tolerance in other parts because you cannot short chamber and then cut headspace to each bolt like you can do with a carbon barrel on a gun made from surplus parts. The chamber is cut prior to hard chroming.

 

[sturmgewehr]

GunTech, good points.

Chrome does offer protection to the bore and parts of the gas system (those which are chrome plated) from the mercury fulminate. It's the rest of the rifle that isn't protected by the chrome plating that the corrosive salts act fairly quickly upon. While in a system like the AK, corrosion of these other areas rarely effects the overall performance of the rifle, to those of us who like to keep things purdy and rust free it can be an issue. That's why I say scrub your rifle out with water after you're done shooting, chrome lined barrel or not.

 

[Shear_stress]

Century is interested in mass-production with high ROI. Chrome lining doesn't figure into that.

This is the answer. Century is a low-price, high-volume seller. They import cheap guns and sell cheap guns assembled here. They have little interest in selling guns that are anything more than purely functional (and sometimes not even that, but that's another thread). It is unrealistic to expect them to include merely "nice to have" features that would cut into their slim margins.

 

[Tommygunn]

Chrome does offer protection to the bore and parts of the gas system (those which are chrome plated) from the mercury fulminate.

Mercury fulminate is still being used in primer manufacturing somewhere in the world?

 

[migkillertwo]

Mercury fulminate is still being used in primer manufacturing somewhere in the world?

Surplus ammo from Russia and Ukraine has fulminated mercury.

 

[Tommygunn]

....you learn something new here every day ......

 

[Quentin]

Century SAR's and (AFAIK) most WASR's were/are chrome lined, though I'm not sure about the newest WASR's...

I'm curious about this. My WASR-10/63, bought in 2006, has a Romanian chrome lined barrel and I believe all did until the last year or so. Is it true that recent WASRs have US made barrels (federal law) that are not chrome lined? It's certainly one way to keep the price under $400 which often is the case today.

 

[nalioth]

Is it true that recent WASRs have US made barrels (federal law) that are not chrome lined?

This is an internet myth, fueled in part by Century offering "Romanian" AKs that are made right here in the USA out of cut-up parts and US barrels and ignorant folks not knowing the difference between a completely-manufactured-in-Romania Romanian and a US-made "Romanian".

The barrel ban affects "discrete barrels" in parts kits, not complete guns.