Accuracy of Noveske Stainless Steel Barrel vs Chromed Barrel

[Ironman8]

Yes I understand that. It seems that the N4 Afghan with the Vltor VIS 9" monolithic upper is the one I am asking about. The other upper offered on 3 other N4's is the Forged Vltor MUR upper receiver featuring an anti-rotation interface with the hand guard which appear to have much longer rails.

Just looked at it. That is because it has the SB that needs to clear outside the VIS rail. The others are either standard lo-pro GBs or the SWS rail with SB cutout, thus can afford a longer rail.

What do you want to do with this rifle? What is the purpose of the build?

[samnev]

This is totally dependent on the ammunition.

I loaded up some Barnes TSX for hunting, and am getting about an average of 1.1" 5-shot group in my 16" Noveske SS barrel. If I took the best 4 from yesterday's group, I would be at .64". This is also with a stock GI trigger, so if I ever get around to putting a Geissele in, I'm sure I could be sub-moa with that load. I need to see what kind of groups I can get out of this same ammo in my Noveske 14.5" CL barrel...

With SMK's or Noslers, I expect to be closer to half MOA.

Also, I'm sure that I could tweak a little more consistency (= accuracy) out of my reloading process, which would help some as well.

Thanks for the reply. If you expect to get essentially the same results or even close I'd go with the CL barrel. I also only use Sierra SMK's in my AR's and TRG 22.

[samnev]

Just looked at it. That is because it has the SB that needs to clear outside the VIS rail. The others are either standard lo-pro GBs or the SWS rail with SB cutout, thus can afford a longer rail.

What do you want to do with this rifle? What is the purpose of the build?

Run some tactical courses, paper punching , self defense and I just like collecting the various quality AR's since my main obsession of collecting minty examples of US and foreign military rifles has been impossible over the last 5-10 years.

[Ironman8]

Run some tactical courses, paper punching , self defense and I just like collecting the various quality AR's since my main obsession of collecting minty examples of US and foreign military rifles has been impossible over the last 5-10 years.

Then why SS?

CL is the better choice for that application.

[samnev]

I didn't know which would be better that is why I asked the question. Thanks for your input I guess i will go with the CL.

[Ironman8]

I didn't know which would be better that is why I asked the question. Thanks for your input I guess i will go with the CL.

Lol, I thought you had it figured out about 5 posts ago

I'll put it as short and to the point as possible:

If it is anything precision related where you HAVE to wring out that last .25-.5" of accuracy, then SS is your best bet.

If this is for a "tactical" application where high volumes of fire are expected, then CL would be the choice.

You're already on the right track by looking at Noveske though!

PS- I believe (don't quote me on this) that the Noveske CL barrels are also a little lighter (due to profile) than the SS barrels IIRC.

[markm]

Thanks for your input markm.

PS, I've decided to go with the Noveske over the LWRC.

OH Lord! Noveske shouldn't even be mentioned in the same thread as those roaches.

Noveske is good stuff... I've just never been impressed with extraordinary accuracy. Pappabear has a new SS barrel from Noveske that is showing some promise.

We haven't tried it with a good magnified optic yet though.

[bp7178]

If you're shooting honest 10 shot groups with MATCH ammunition, from a chrome lined barrel the best expectation is 1.5 MOA. For a stainless, I'd say right about .75 MOA.

This is very ammo dependant. My stainless barrels are more accurate with a wider variety of ammunition. Typical for my chrome lined barrels has been about 2 MOA. My best group to date from a 16" Noveske was a 5-shot that was about .53" at 100 yards.

As a guide, I would ask what kind of optics you are planning on running. Anything magnified, outside of a RDS with a magnifier, I would suggest a stainless. For RDS, or select fire use I would suggest chrome lined.

Here are some honest Noveske reviews...

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_118/467919_.html

[MistWolf]

Either barrel will work for you. While a chrome lined bore generally isn't as accurate as a non-chrome lined bore, it will get the job done. If you're a hunter, it will easily hold groups within the kill zone of a bunny or squirrel. Notice I said "non-chrome lined bore" not stainless steel. A barrel made of stainless steel is no more accurate than a chromoly barrel of the same quality. The difference is that a chromoly barrel will lose accuracy gradually as the throat erodes. A stainless steel barrel will hold it's accuracy longer but when it does go due to throat erosion, it will go quick.

Chrome lined or non-chrome lined, stainless steel or chromoly, you will need to do quite a bit of shooting to wear out the barrel and by that time, a replacement barrel will seem cheap compared what was spent on ammo.

What does this mean? Just get the barrel you want and shoot it!

[bp7178]

I don't see how you can say both will get the job done if the job hasn't been defined.

The rate at which accuracy drops off depends on the material and design of the chamber/leade/rifiling. There are a few different flavors of stainless, and even among the same type the hardness may or may not be the same, which can be said about the other materials too.

The issue with non-lined barrels isn't the rate at which the throat is worn, but with corrosion in general.

I very much agree that if you are wearing out a barrel you can more than afford to replace it. However, if a barrel design limits you to maybe 1.5 MOA, and really a good chrome lined barrel is more like 2 MOA, and you aren't happy with that, you'll be buying twice.

If you aren't willing to spend .80 per round of loaded ammunition the difference is probably a moot point anyway.