Stainless vs Chrome lined

[jesuvuah]

Hello guys. I am putting together an upper, or at least planning on it. It is going to be DMR/SPR type upper. I plan on going with a 16" Middy. Should I go with stainless or Chromed. I know that stainless is supposed to be more accurate and chrome is supposed to have a longer life, but are there any other pros or cons? any reliability issues with SS? I only shoot about 1-2K a year so round life is not a huge concern. But I do want a reliable gun that could hold up if the S were to hit the proverbial Fan.

[ASH556]

Hello guys. I am putting together an upper, or at least planning on it. It is going to be DMR/SPR type upper. I plan on going with a 16" Middy. Should I go with stainless or Chromed. I know that stainless is supposed to be more accurate and chrome is supposed to have a longer life, but are there any other pros or cons? any reliability issues with SS? I only shoot about 1-2K a year so round life is not a huge concern. But I do want a reliable gun that could hold up if the S were to hit the proverbial Fan.

You round count is low enough that you shouldn't burn out a quality SS barrel too quickly. I'd say it depends on the glass you intend to use. A high-powered variable would make the SS barrel worthwhile. If you're just trying to get hits with a RDS or low powered variable, the SS barrel would be a waste.

[jesuvuah]

Well, I currently have a 1-4 viper pst I could throw on it, but was considering stepping up to a 2.5-10

[MistWolf]

Chrome lining technology has improved over the years, but still has a minor impact on accuracy, maybe a half minute to a minute at the most.

Being made of stainless does not automatically make a barrel more accurate than one made of chromolly. It's just the wear characteristics of the two materials is different. Chromolly wears gradually and the shooter will see groups open up accordingly. Stainless steel holds together until chunks break away from the rifling. Group sizes will stay the same throughout the life of the barrel, but when they open up, it will be sudden and it will be noticeable. Because group size remains steady throughout the life of the barrel, competition shooters prefer stainless steel

[NHbowhunter]

Chrome lining technology has improved over the years, but still has a minor impact on accuracy, maybe a half minute to a minute at the most.

Being made of stainless does not automatically make a barrel more accurate than one made of chromolly. It's just the wear characteristics of the two materials is different. Chromolly wears gradually and the shooter will see groups open up accordingly. Stainless steel holds together until chunks break away from the rifling. Group sizes will stay the same throughout the life of the barrel, but when they open up, it will be sudden and it will be noticeable. Because group size remains steady throughout the life of the barrel, competition shooters prefer stainless steel

Well said, MistWolf!


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[Tooth & Nail]

Here's a link to Noveske's explanation of the differences between their chrome lined and stainless barrels, as well as their use recommendations: http://noveskerifleworks.com/cgi-bin/imcart/display.cgi?cat=106
Of particular note is their recommendation that a chrome lined barrel be chosen if high rates of fire / heat are anticipated.

[C4IGrant]

Hello guys. I am putting together an upper, or at least planning on it. It is going to be DMR/SPR type upper. I plan on going with a 16" Middy. Should I go with stainless or Chromed. I know that stainless is supposed to be more accurate and chrome is supposed to have a longer life, but are there any other pros or cons? any reliability issues with SS? I only shoot about 1-2K a year so round life is not a huge concern. But I do want a reliable gun that could hold up if the S were to hit the proverbial Fan.

You first must define your accuracy needs. If you say that you MUST have under 1", then go with a QUALITY SS barrel. Note, if you are not going to use QUALITY ammo (Hornady, BH's, etc), don't even bother with the SS barrel then.

Since you mention reliability, then you are going to want a SS barrel with a 5.56 NATO chamber. Many SS barrels do not have this. So I would suggest you stick with Noveske or BCM as two of the best options.

It has been my experience that hammer forged barrels will typically shoot around 1-1.5" with GOOD ammo. This, coupled with the fact that HF barrels can be had in a LW/Pencil configuration might be your best option.


C4

[jesuvuah]

Well I just saw this
http://palmettostatearmory.com/index.php/featured/psa-16-mid-stainless-chf-w-m16-bcg-and-ch.html


and it is to tempting to pass up. I verified with them that it is a FN made barrel so I hope it is of good quality. I have always wanted to try a SS barrel so I guess I will find out if I like it. If not, well I never seem to have trouble selling guns or gun parts, especially with this president. I will probably shave off the front site and put a FF tube on it and see how she shoots.

[TriggerFish]

Since '85 I have used SS for PD hunting w/AR: hand loaded .223 - 50 gr 1/4 MOA.

For FA, M16 - chrome lined, mil-spec ammo, minute-of-paper-plate.

[JSantoro]

Orange Search button. I used the title you selected for this thread, which netted the following:

https://www.m4carbine.net/gtsearch.php?cx=003496919632624929056%3Adhiwgm0hbaa&cof=FORID%3A10&ie=UTF-8&q=Stainless+vs+Chrome+lined+&sa=Search&siteurl=www.m4carbine.net%2Fsearch.php&ref=www.m4carbine.net%2Fshowthread.php%3Ft%3D138162&ss=