Interesting thread, from a Canadian perspective at least. Of course I have no idea what generated this question...
I suspect it is a non-issue but I struggle with this as well. Instinctively my reaction to the use of 6061 is bad.
However, properly treated, I wonder if the 6061 really gives up all that much?
My concerns may be more based in the fact that typically, companies that have used these materials have cut corners that really DO matter.
Much like the finish under the FSB...it may not matter at all from a user perspective, and simply be indicative of a company which, generally speaking, doesn't give a shit. But if a company does everything else bang on, are you going to avoid them because they don't think there's a point to putting a finish on the barrel before they mount the FSB?
Anyway, hopefully some more materials-expert people will give their thoughts.
Last edited by misanthropist; 11-20-11 at 14:50.
Full disclosure: I'm the editor of Calibre Magazine, which is Canada's gun magazine. In the past I've done consulting work for different manufacturers and OEM suppliers, but not currently. M4C's disclosure policy doesn't seem to cover me but we do have advertisers, although I don't handle that side of things and in general I do not know who is paying us at any given time.
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