stainless steel barrels... any downside?

[MyRoad]

I'm curious about stainless steel barrels, pros and cons. They are typically used in "Match" and bull barrels, so the implication is that they can be made to be more accurate.

Are there any downsides? Why aren't all AR's (for instance) using stainless barrels? Do they heat and cool as effectively under rapid fire? Is cost of materials or production a factor?

 

[Chipperman]

Money.

Some people think that a stainless barrel cannot be made as accurate as a non-stainless barrel, but color me skeptical.

 

[dfariswheel]

Color just about all Match shooters, Match barrel makers, and Match gunsmiths skeptical on that.

Go to just about any kind of shooting match, and about all you'll see are stainless barrels.

 

[MyRoad]

OK, so accuracy aside, is there any reason a person wouldn't want to "go into battle" with an AR with a stainless barrel? (other than the anti-tactical shiny barrel aspect)

 

[TheLaxPlayer]

Because it's hard to chrome line stainless. I believe all of our military rifles use chrome barrels because if it's ridiculously long life span and because it makes cleaning easier.

Cost as well, I don't think you can hammer forge stainless steel.

 

[MGshaggy]

Are there any downsides? Why aren't all AR's (for instance) using stainless barrels? Do they heat and cool as effectively under rapid fire? Is cost of materials or production a factor?

Downsides to a chrome lined barrel as opposed to a stainless barrel is accuracy. Because the chrome lining isn't as uniform as a plain stainless barrel, you'll get a little less accuracy from the chrome lined barrel. The tradeoff, however, is reliability; the chrome lining helps in the extraction and cleans up faster & easier. Most AR15's and M16's have chrome lined barrels - while accuracy is important, a slight loss of accuracy is acceptable for the greater reliability of the chrome lined barrel.

 

[buttrap]

The navy has been using chrome bores on the big guns since around or before WW-1. They never seemed to gripe much on groups at 10-20 miles.

 

[Slamfire]

A Douglas stainless barrel blank will cost you $68.00 more than a chrome moly.

Douglas does not mention bluing, but Krieger will bead blast your stainless barrel for $25.00 and charge you $100.00 to blue a chrome moly.

In the end, it will cost you about as much, if not more for a chrome moly barrel. So why not go stainless?. No finish to be scratched, won't rust.

There is no barrel life advantage between the metals, and there is no difference in accuracy.

Accuracy of a barrel depends on the skill of the guy making the barrel, and the quality of the installation (chambering and cutting the shank)

Modern chrome lined barrels are a lot better than they used to be. In fact, they are very good. The chrome lined barrel on my Armalite M4 type rifle is a very good barrel.

 

[10X]

Stainless barrels are more brittle. Usually this is not an issue.

It can be an issue if you are torquing anything on a stainless barrel, such as a flash hider on an M1a, you have to be more careful not to not damage threads.
You don't have the feel of the give when torquing like regular steel. Stainless snaps. I have seen this happen once.

In extreme (antartic type) cold stainless is reported to fail (split) sooner than carbon steel or chrome moly steel. I have heard about this, but don't have any personal experience.

Otherwise, it is personal preference.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Mostly cost.

Stainless steel can be hammer forged - Steyr sold bolt action rifles (now available at CDNN) with hammer forged stainless barrels.

There are many different kinds of stainless steel. The kind used for barrels is very different from what's used for eating utensils. The barrel stuff is not as corrosion resistant (though still much more than 4140 steel) as the cutlery stuff, but is stronger.

Stainless steel supposedly resists throat erosion more than other steels used, but I'm not sure how it compares to chrome lined barrels on that. The military occasionally uses other linings, such as Stellite, on barrels seeing extreme wear (Stellite was used on M60 barrels).