What is the difference between a chrome lined barrel and a chrome moly Wilson barrel?  What is the benefit of each?  I'll be ordering my upper soon from an dealer on this board and I want to make an informed purchase.  Thanks.

Chrome lined lasts longer is easier to clean and also resists rust and corrosion better...

ETA: Chrome-moly barrels have the ability to be highly accurate when broken in properly and are the least expensive of barrel choices... Unlined chrome-moly barrels normally have the shortest life of any material because they experience erosion from bullet friction at a  faster rate compared to chrome lined barrels... If used as semi-auto only, this life can still be thousands and thousands of rounds... As I have already said, plain chrome-moly isnt resistant to corrosion or fouling and is the most difficult to clean... With all of this said, a quality unlined chrome-moly barrel will more than suffice for the average AR15 owner...

Chrome Lined is basically a chrome-moly barrel where the barrel and chamber are internally lined with a thin layer of chrome through an electro-plating process... Chrome lining offers resistance to rust, corrosion, fouling and is easier to clean... Barrel life is also extended when chrome lined...

Lining a chrome-moly barrel with chrome also has the possibility of reducing accuracy... Therefore, a chrome lined barrels is often used more as a work/CQB/SHTF barrel, not as a match/target/competition barrel... Although I have seen some truly excellent accuracy from various chrome lined barrels...

So I guess it's worth the extra 30 bucks.

Quoted: Quoted: So I guess it's worth the extra 30 bucks. Its up to you. Given 2 equal barrels, with one chrome lined for an additional $30, I'd spend the $30 on ammo.  It doesnt take much maintenance to keep a barrel in good shape, and I dont see much prolonged combat in NW OH.  I have many 50yr old M1 Garands that weren't chrome lined and they still shoot great.

Try putting $30 worth of wolf ammo down a chrome-moly tube, let it sit a couple weeks then try to clean it... I bet You'd wish you had spent that $30 on chrome lining instead of ammo...

But like C4 has said, it all depends on what your after...

I have chromemoly (unlined), chrome lined, and stainless steel barrels (not "target bull" barrels).  I just can't tell a difference in practical accuracy.

Thanks for the quick replies and good info guys.  I'm good about cleaning my weapons.  I do it everytime I shoot them.  I'm going for accuracy but I want something with a good barrel life also.  I think I'm going with the chrome moly barrel in a RRA flattop upper.  Thanks again.

You could go with a stainless M4 or Gov't profile barrel and get the best of both...

TS

The barrel being made of stainless is not the best of both worlds.  It does not offer the level of protection from corrosion that hard chrome does (though it is better than a standard unlined chromemoly barrel), nor does it offer the ability to handle high levels of abuse, heat and extended sevice life a chrome lined barrel does. The chamber of a stainless steel barrel does not have the reduced friction of a chrome lined barrel.

Thanks.

Chrome lined barrels are the way to go in my opinion. They just make more sense. I've owned a chromemoly barrel and it hasn't been bad, but after playing with M16A2s and other machine guns, I gotta say chrome lined barrels are so much better. I've managed to shoot over 100s of rounds without maintenance of my weapon (while shooting in rain and dirt everywhere for a few days), and when it came time to clean my weapon, it was very easy to clean out the barrel. Same with the M249 SAW...