Chrome moly VS Chrome lined barrel

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  • trpsteelnuts

    Plinker
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    Jul 21, 2011
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    Looking at getting a new Rock River , AR15 or AR10, and trying to deside on the barrel.They offer chrome moly or chrome lined. Any opinions on either would be appreciated. The rifle will be semi-auto.
     

    Leo

    Grandmaster
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    Mar 3, 2011
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    Chrome moly barrels are marginally more accurate, esp if they are hand lapped. The Chrome lined barrels have a far longer service life. Make your choice according to what is important to you.
     

    melensdad

    Grandmaster
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    Apr 2, 2008
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    Out of the dozen or so ARs that I have at any given time, NONE of them are ever chrome lined. I prefer stainless over all of them but have quite a few chrome molly.

    Chrome lining adds cost and some durability IF you DON'T clean your gun. I'm not saying it is worse, its not. Its a trade off. You give up a little bit of accuracy to pick up some easy cleaning/lack of cleaning durability. The military uses them because the durability against corrosion if the soldiers can't clean the gun in a timely fashion.
     

    OZZY.40

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    Aug 24, 2010
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    Out of the dozen or so ARs that I have at any given time, NONE of them are ever chrome lined. I prefer stainless over all of them but have quite a few chrome molly.

    Chrome lining adds cost and some durability IF you DON'T clean your gun. I'm not saying it is worse, its not. Its a trade off. You give up a little bit of accuracy to pick up some easy cleaning/lack of cleaning durability. The military uses them because the durability against corrosion if the soldiers can't clean the gun in a timely fashion.

    What advantages do you gain with stainless over chrome lined? Does it have a longer barrel life?
     

    melensdad

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    The most accurate barrels and the most durable barrels are stainless. But accuracy depends on lots of things, like how its rifled, etc. Chrome are durable, but once the chrome fails (and eventually it will) the barrel is trash. Basically a chrome lined barrel will last a long time, but if it gets wet it will fail. If it is not cleaned it will resist corrosion better than chrome moly. Chrome moly will be slightly more accurate than chrome lined if all other things are equal.
     

    OZZY.40

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    The most accurate barrels and the most durable barrels are stainless. But accuracy depends on lots of things, like how its rifled, etc. Chrome are durable, but once the chrome fails (and eventually it will) the barrel is trash. Basically a chrome lined barrel will last a long time, but if it gets wet it will fail. If it is not cleaned it will resist corrosion better than chrome moly. Chrome moly will be slightly more accurate than chrome lined if all other things are equal.

    Since stainless is the way to go, what's the best rifling for it?
     

    03A3

    Expert
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    Jan 8, 2009
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    Yeah really. If you're not going to up the bar to stainless, get the chrome moly. The odds are you aren't going to shoot out the barrel, and if you do, have it rebarreled.
    Just do regular maintenance with the chrome moly and you'll be fine.
     

    melensdad

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    I am not positive but I think if the bore is chromed the chamber is too.

    On an AR15 if you get a 'chromed lined' barrel it does include chrome lining in the chamber too. Because of the fact that the chamber is the first couple inches of the barrel's bore, it would probably lead to catastrophic failures of the chrome lining if it started at some point in front of the end of the case because burning gasses from the expanding powder would impact the edge of the chrome. By lining the entire bore (including the chamber) it eliminates that as a possibility.
     

    MilitaryArms

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    Apr 19, 2008
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    I'd say pulled button.
    And I would say cold hammer forged. :D

    Many believe pulled button rifling stresses the steel which means as the barrel heats up with use, you will start to see a dispersion in the group... albeit very slight in high end barrels.

    Also, nitrite treatment is the new chrome lining. It significantly increases barrel life yet doesn't negatively effect accuracy. The primary goal of using chrome lining in military rifles (at least in the US) wasn't to prevent corrosion or to simplify cleaning. It was strictly meant to improve barrel life. That's why Nitrite treatment is all the rage these days and our next military rifle will likely use this process over chrome lining. The Bushmaster ACR for example uses a nitrited barrel vs. chrome lining.
     

    OZZY.40

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    And I would say cold hammer forged. :D

    Many believe pulled button rifling stresses the steel which means as the barrel heats up with use, you will start to see a dispersion in the group... albeit very slight in high end barrels.

    Also, nitrite treatment is the new chrome lining. It significantly increases barrel life yet doesn't negatively effect accuracy. The primary goal of using chrome lining in military rifles (at least in the US) wasn't to prevent corrosion or to simplify cleaning. It was strictly meant to improve barrel life. That's why Nitrite treatment is all the rage these days and our next military rifle will likely use this process over chrome lining. The Bushmaster ACR for example uses a nitrited barrel vs. chrome lining.

    How much of difference 10k, 20k, etc...
     

    melensdad

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    And I would say cold hammer forged. :D

    Many believe pulled button rifling stresses the steel which means as the barrel heats up with use, you will start to see a dispersion in the group... albeit very slight in high end barrels.

    Also, nitrite treatment is the new chrome lining. It significantly increases barrel life yet doesn't negatively effect accuracy...
    I would agree with you on the nitrite. But on a gun like discussed by the OP (RRA AR) its not even an available option.

    On the cold hammer forging I've seen a lot of variances. I think you can just as easily get a great one as you can get a marginal one.
     

    MilitaryArms

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    I would agree with you on the nitrite. But on a gun like discussed by the OP (RRA AR) its not even an available option.

    On the cold hammer forging I've seen a lot of variances. I think you can just as easily get a great one as you can get a marginal one.
    True, RRA I don't believe offers it. But high-end AR makers like Daniels Defense and BCM do. You can also swap out your barrel yourself, regardless of the brand of the receiver (of course) as part of an upgrade.

    All things can be poorly done. No particular manufacturing process insures good quality, that's something governed by a solid QC process. However, cold hammer forging is superior to button rifling, or so many in the community believe - hence the use of the process by top end makers such as DD, BCM and even HK. If properly done, the barrels exhibit longer life and improved accuracy over their button rifled counterparts. HK uses a proprietary alloy in the MR556A1's barrel along with the cold hammer forging process and claims the barrel life is extended.

    Something to consider.
     
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