SS Barrels. Tough Enough?

[No Bananas]

I'm still learning about ARs, their parts and how they function. I learn a lot through experience and by pestering you guys here :D.

I'm going to get another lower reciever and send it in on a form 1 for SBR. I want this one's main barrel length to be 12 or 12.5".

I've been looking at the SS barrel uppers. Larue and Noveske to be specific. I read post after post of how folks love these two. Take em to classes and supposedly beat the tar out of em. I seem to remember a post by Steve from ADCO where he used a SS barrel (can't remember manufacture, bit don't think it was Larue or Noveske) and put it through a torture test, and it came through very well.

When I read Noveske's website about barrel care for their SS polygonal tubes it seems like they are more for accuracy than SHTF. They go over a very specific break in, and most notably, state not to overheat the barrel as it will cause it to wear faster and lose accuracy. Yes, I'm sure this would happen to any barrel (chromed or not), but does it happen very fast for the SS polygonal tubes? They also say not to shoot it dry or it will really foul your barrel. Geez, seems like it needs a lot of TLC. I know the Noveske is spot on for accuracy, reliability and gives a velocity boost, but what if the S does HTF? Can I depend on it if I have to heat it up? Unless the SHTF, I'll probably shoot about 2-3K rounds a year out of it. Will it last a while or will I toss the barrel in five years?

Anyway, I guess I'm asking those in the know if I the Larue and/or Noveske can stand the test of time and take a beatin'?

[bullitt5172]

Here is Steve's post you referenced:



18 Months and 15,000 rounds later, I’ve leaned quiet a bit about an 11.5” SS barrel and how it will handle hard use. After over a year of weekly, if not daily hard use(including a classes with Hackathorn and Super Dave), numerous other shooting events, and adding a steady amount of sustained full auto, Its time to see what’s left of this barrel. A few weeks ago I spend some time testing the Geissele select fire trigger burning through over 1500rds of his ammo almost as fast as we could load and swap the 10 mags we brought; definitely the hardest day of its life. I shot it one more time at 50yds, and was easily still hitting golf balls, but made the decision to take it apart and see how it looks.

Think back 18 months to when the upper $tainless $teel barrels were the must have because of the “extended life”, and “increased” muzzle velocity, and whatever hype was being spouted at the time. I compared several different barrels – and yes for some reason the SS barrels do produce more muzzle velocity than chrome lined barrels. Regardless of the rifling, or brand – SS barrels of the same length, by different makers, will produce the same muzzle velocity as the others.

This is the first barrel I played with the idea of moving the gas port 1” forward-as it would be shot suppressed almost all the time. It began life as a Wilson, SS 1:8 16” CAR barrel I purchased from Rock River. My shop guys cut it down, threaded it, plugged the gas port and drilled a new hole 1” forward.

It was mostly shot semi auto, but did see a significant amount of full auto use – most all just burning through mags for fun – so it was sustained full auto. I always cleaned the barrel after every use with Hopped #9 – wet patch dry patch. Every 5K rounds I’ll spend 30 minutes with copper remover, wet patch dry patch until the patches came out white.
From day one it was an easy 1MOA shooter, - last time it was sandbagged and shot for “groups” was around 12k rounds, and it shot great. It was shot out to 600yds once, 330yds a few times, and the extent of its consistent longer range work was smacking a 6” plate at 250yds. (To this day that plate is a piece of cake with ball ammo). The majority of the rounds impacted targets at 50yds and closer.

Overall the last 18 months have been boring. Clean or dirty – and shooting suppressed makes EVERYTHING dirty. Semi or full auto, rounds fed and extracted like clock work from the Wylde chamber. The unpainted parts of the barrel are now gold/copper colored by the excessive heat. Last March when it was below freezing, M855 was clocked at 2718fps, 3 months later at 50 degrees 2752fps, and recently at 75degrees 2780 fps. I’ll lump those variances into temps and different lot numbers.
According to a GI TE gauge – it has worn so that 2” of the rod enter the rifling – the gauge has another 1” before the reject line. I’m not sure what, if anything the reject line means, because the gauge was made for 20” chrome lined 1:12 M16 barrels? But there is measurable wear.

A big surprise came when I measured the land/throat erosion with my stony point gauge. I checked when new, and never remembered to check again until yesterday. After all that use, the OAL of the cartridge to seat into the lands increased by 50 thousandths. That’s almost nothing for that much use.

I’m not sure what I expected from this barrel. I understand how barrels last and SS barrels wear, leading to long range accuracy loss, but I had never known first hand of a hard use SS carbine barrel. There’s not much to say, the barrel has held up fine, and is still a good barrel for that application today. If SS barrels that cost twice much last as long, under the same circumstances, I’ll be amazed. So yes, a SS barrel is more than good enough for a fighting gun.

And who would believe it handled all that full auto without “M4 cuts”!

testing trigger/endurance for suppressor vid

[C4IGrant]

I'm still learning about ARs, their parts and how they function. I learn a lot through experience and by pestering you guys here :D.

I'm going to get another lower reciever and send it in on a form 1 for SBR. I want this one's main barrel length to be 12 or 12.5".

I've been looking at the SS barrel uppers. Larue and Noveske to be specific. I read post after post of how folks love these two. Take em to classes and supposedly beat the tar out of em. I seem to remember a post by Steve from ADCO where he used a SS barrel (can't remember manufacture, bit don't think it was Larue or Noveske) and put it through a torture test, and it came through very well.

When I read Noveske's website about barrel care for their SS polygonal tubes it seems like they are more for accuracy than SHTF. They go over a very specific break in, and most notably, state not to overheat the barrel as it will cause it to wear faster and lose accuracy. Yes, I'm sure this would happen to any barrel (chromed or not), but does it happen very fast for the SS polygonal tubes? They also say not to shoot it dry or it will really foul your barrel. Geez, seems like it needs a lot of TLC. I know the Noveske is spot on for accuracy, reliability and gives a velocity boost, but what if the S does HTF? Can I depend on it if I have to heat it up? Unless the SHTF, I'll probably shoot about 2-3K rounds a year out of it. Will it last a while or will I toss the barrel in five years?

Anyway, I guess I'm asking those in the know if I the Larue and/or Noveske can stand the test of time and take a beatin'?

A SS barrel will not outlast a chrome lined barrel. They will however give you 10,00-20,000 rds before you start to see a decrease in accuracy.

IMHO, with accuracy capability of the N4 barrels, I see no reason to ever buy SS barrels again (unless you are serious bench rest shooter). The N4's are lighter, give you a much higher round count and are pretty close to a SS barrels accuracy.


C4

[The Archangel]

I know the Noveske is spot on for accuracy, reliability and gives a velocity boost, but what if the S does HTF? Can I depend on it if I have to heat it up? Unless the SHTF, I'll probably shoot about 2-3K rounds a year out of it. Will it last a while or will I toss the barrel in five years?

Anyway, I guess I'm asking those in the know if I the Larue and/or Noveske can stand the test of time and take a beatin'?

Define your SHTF scenario? In a realistic scenario (with a wet-dream rating of 9.5 out of a possible 10), you'll probably only be able to shoot 4-5 people MAX (and only if you're Korean on the roof of your grocery store business).

Now if your SHTF scenario involves advancing hordes of Zombies, then your Non-Chrome-Lined SS Noveske barrel will still outlast your ability to reload (unless you take a MagpulDynamics Advanced Carbine course) before your perimeter gets overrun and the Zombies start the slow digestive process of converting your brain into Zombie fecal matter (yes, hot chicks and Zombies do poop).

I'm replacing my 10.5" LMT for a Noveske 12.5" Crusader. :D