Q: I am always reading about the advantages of stainless steel over chrome moly, which seems to be a poor alternative.
Another subject for argument seems to be the excellence of hammer-forged barrels compared with button-rifled. You seem to show a preference for the former. Why?
Dennis Hicks
A: There are many different types of barrel steels which have different physical characteristics and to describe the various types would require a book. So let’s look at the two common types.
The most common barrel steel is the 4140 series chrome moly which is an alloy of 0.80-1.1% chromium, 0.15-0.25% molybdenum, about 0.5% carbon, and up to 1% manganese. This is a tough alloy, well-suited to high-pressure, high-velocity cartridges. It machines well and produces extremely accurate barrels.
In terms of accuracy, it can be beaten by stainless steel, but many of the best modern hunting rifles have chrome moly barrels.
In recent years the emphasis has been on stainless-steel barrels, which has contributed to a significant improvement in accuracy. It is an expensive, high-quality steel made to rigid specifications which results in a high degree of uniformity.
It is claimed the better grades of stainless wear longer, resist erosion better and foul less than other steels.
Stainless steel barrels used to be bright and shiny but the problem has been beaten by Cerakoting them.
The advantage of chrome moly is its high tolerance for low temperatures, which gives it a higher margin of safety for Arctic conditions where extreme cold is encountered.
A chrome moly barrel can be made a little lighter than stainless because barrel walls can be made a little thinner.
The question of whether button rifling or hammer-forged barrels are better is largely a matter of preference since today both methods have reached perfect form and excellence.
It’s my opinion, however, that the hammer-forged barrel is unquestionably the super-accurate barrel of the future.
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