User Panel
Posted: 9/2/2005 5:28:23 PM EDT
Buying my first AR, just wonder if I really want to invest about $50 extra for the chrome lined barel while knowing it is not as accurate as chrome moly or stainless and some manufacturers not even offer it. I will be mostly shooting in the range with cheap ammo, don't see I would even do rapid fire or bump fire and I may not shoot more than 500 rounds a year. I know chrome lined is much more durable but I may never see that much life in my casual shooting. It is easy to clean, but I clean my guns anyway. Most sport rifles are with standard chrome moly barrels, just wonder if anything special in ARs or .223 caliber that I should really have the barrel and chamber chrome lined. Understand when M16s first introduced, barrels were not chrome lined and later added for reliability and durability, but those are battle rifles. Stainless steel is another option, but I think they all come with SAMMI chamber for accuracy. I actually prefer M16 chamber in 1:9 rate to shoot cheap ammo. Am I going to regret 6 months from now if I go with regular chrome moly barrel? Thanks.
Hank |
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Not sure really, because I always got chrome
I have 3 barrels... all chrome lined. I dont regret spending the extra cash for it. |
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I'd always go with a chrome lined barrel. I have 3 AR's and all of them have chrome lined barrels.
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I have both and I don't regret having barrels without the chrome lining.
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Try to shoot it out and if you do change it. A new barrel is not that expensive .
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No chrome in three of my AR's.
No rust either, and I live in the Pacific North Wet. The one with the Clot M16 upper has chrome. |
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I don't regret it. I may eventually get a chrome-lined upper. On a A2 setup. But with my current flattop I don't care. I have no worries about rust either. I have seen a lot of regular old hunting rifles put through a lot with no rusting.
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Most of my SS barrels are 5.56, and I have no regrets with those. I've not had problems with chrome or non-chrome, but there is certainly a difference when you clean the non-chrome....
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I'm getting 1 MOA groups at 100 yds with chrome-lined barrels so I really don't know where is "not as accurate" myth is coming from. Unless it's not offered in a particular model I'll always go chrome-lined. |
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My match rifle has a stainless barrel for optimal accuracy (better than me anyway). My others have chrome-lining so I don't have to worry about cleaning after shooting. More important for you, a chrome-lined chamber has more lubricity - as a casual plinker (no offense intended) you will likely want to shoot Wolf ammo at some point as its half the price of brass-cased ammo... Wolf .223 ammo tends to suffer from stuck case jams in non-chromed chambers.
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I would have gotten chrome-lined barrels in 2 of my AR's if it was available. M&A Parts didn't have a chrome-lined M4 kit and RRA didn't have chrome-lined 20" barrels.
Needless to say, I'm not swapping them out for chrome lined barrels because I feel that they will do just fine. My future purchases will be chrome-lined though. They just clean up easier and quicker and I'm not shooting ammo accurate enough to tell any accuracy difference one way or another. WIZZO |
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I've put thousands of rounds of Wolf thru 2 non-chromed barrels, both .223 chamber, both from Model 1 sales, the ONLY stuck case I EVER had was a brass case once. |
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Thousands of rounds of wolf down the pipe of my non-chrome lined barrel. No stuck cases...or malfunction for that matter. Using old and new wolf. |
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Is there anything special in AR or .223 caliber that really makes chrome lined important in this type of rifle? $50 is not really too bad consider AR accesorieare are much more expensive. I don't mean chrome lined is not accurate, I know it is still more accurate than me. Thanks.
Hank |
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Most military weapons are chrome lined, most sporting weapons are not. Probable just because "battle rifles" are subjected to long periods of time out in the shit, imagine what a M16 out on a Long Range Recon Patrol in Vietnam circa 1969 would have seen. Many nights in the rain on watch. |
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No chrome in my carbine. It seems to work just as well as my 60yr old M1s that arent chrome lined either.
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Alright buddy, not so fast with the BS accusations please. It is a well understood benefit of chrome-lined chambers that they demonstrate more lubricity. It is also well known that some Wolf ammo has a greater propensity to stuck cases. I'm not saying that Wolf will never work with a non-chromed chamber, but neither do I think it is statistically valid to call BS on the basis of your very limited "experience". |
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Chrome lined barrels are accurate... The modern techniques used today to chrome line barrels is a lot different than back in the day...
In general, Stainless is a good choice if you plan to only shoot paper... Chrome-moly if your sure to clean it soon after shooting it... Chrome lined chamber and bore if you want a more reliable barrel, IMO... Here's something to try: Run 50 rounds of cheap WOLF ammo through a non-chrome lined barrel, don't swab out the bore and let it sit a couple weeks, then try and clean the bore... It will make you wish it was chrome lined... |
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62,000 rounds, DAMN |
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Ive put over 3K of Wolf thru my SS Oly bbl.. I have never had a stuck empty.. Ive got 2K of it thru my M16.. I have no issues with it. |
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Yes, get the chrome. Why not? If you don't, after a while you'll be convinced you made the wrong decision. If you do, you'll probably be happy with it.
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I get chrome, but mainly because I'm a low maintenace kind of guy whose seen rust growing in the bore.
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Get chrome it's more than worth the extra $50. The accuracy issue is nothing to worry about unless you need to be shooting .25 MOA groups on a regular basis. You will not regret getting a chrome lined barrel!
Also, you may want to consider a 1/7 twist barrel as it will shoot all the cheap ammo just as good as the 1/9 and in 6 months when you decide you want to try 75-75gr ammo, believe me you will, you'll be good to go. The 1/9 barrels are about 50/50 for properly stabilizing the longer, heavier 75+gr ammo and you'll be pissed if you get a 1/9 that won't but you can 100% sure the 1/ will work. |
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Mongo- too funny! I was hoping someone would post that "Not this shit again" pic. GO WITH CHROME LINING! There is a reason the people that REALLY depend on their weapons (i.e. the militaries of the entire world) use chrome lining. M16s, AKs, FALs... the list goes on and on. Shal1 |
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And THAT was in one afternoon; Bump firing With no rest time |
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Not all will shoot that well. It is VERY common for a chrome lined barrel to shoot 3MOA. C4 |
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Ditto! My Noveske 16" (which I just ran through a Pat Rogers AAR class) has no chrome lining! Funning thing, mine was one of the FEW AR's that didn't have any issues. C4 |
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"Do you ever regret not getting a chrome lined barrel in your AR ?
YES Have a AR with a Douglas SS barre (20in length ) I would love to replace it with a chrome line or maybe a Match Quality CM barrel in a 20in barrel length (SDM style barrel ). Chrome is the only way to go |
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This type of thread kills me, people will actually wonder if they should spend an extra $50 for a chrome lined barrel, however they will have no problem hanging $1000 worth of junk that they will never use on their AR.
Unless you are buying a SS target barrel, why would you not buy a chrome lined barrel, it is the the best $50 upgrade that you could possibly make, period. The benefits of chrome lined barrels, barrel life, ease of cleaning, etc. The down side of chrome lined barrels are NONE. Chrome; the $50 dollar question, LOL. |
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Negative. The down side to chrome lined barrels is loss of accuracy in my opinion. I have owned a good number of chrome lined barrels and NONE of them shoot like my Noveske Chrome Moly barrel. Hell, I have had a bunch of SS barrel as well and they didn't shoot as well as my Chrome Moly either! C4 |
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I guess I'm lucky. I'm getting 1 MOA 10 shot groups at 100 yds from a RRA Wilson M4 16" chrome-lined. Or 20 yrs of DCM/CMP shooting is paying off. |
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The military answered that question 40 years ago when there were combat field problems (failure to extract jams) with the then new M16; one of the fixes was to chrome line the barrels (chambers, at least). If you are building a safe queen or are seeking to squeeze the most accuracy possible out of a barrel or going to shoot just a few rounds at a time then a non-chrome barrel may be OK. BUT, if you intend to fire a lot of rounds quickly, don't or can't keep your barrel real clean or shoot dirty ammo you need a chrome lined barrel. If you read through this forum just notice how many failure to extract problems there are and the lengths that members have to go to to "band-aid" remedy the problem..........you don't read these type problems from those with chrome lined barrels. Starting out with a good chrome lined barrel may well save you a ton of headache down the road.
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"The military answered that question 40 years ago when there were combat field problems (failure to extract jams) with the then new M16; one of the fixes was to chrome line the barrels (chambers, at least). If you are building a safe queen or are seeking to squeeze the most accuracy possible out of a barrel or going to shoot just a few rounds at a time then a non-chrome barrel may be OK. BUT, if you intend to fire a lot of rounds quickly, don't or can't keep your barrel real clean or shoot dirty ammo you need a chrome lined barrel. If you read through this forum just notice how many failure to extract problems there are and the lengths that members have to go to to "band-aid" remedy the problem..........you don't read these type problems from those with chrome lined barrels. Starting out with a good chrome lined barrel may well save you a ton of headache down the road.
-------------------------------------------------------------- Well put brother- I could not have said it better my self !! |
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If we are going to argue the accuracy point we should bring up the fact that FH's hurt accuracy. I know my accuracy suffered slightly once I had ADCO put the A2 flash hider on.
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Chrome lining was originally a band aid
to cover lack of maintenance/cleaning . The trade off was diminished accuracy but that isn't so much of an issue with improved lining techniques today . Keep it clean and lubed and you will never have a problem with a good unlined barrel . |
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Keep it clean and lubed and you will never have a problem with a good unlined barrel . -Thats funny they said the same thing to the man who serviced in Vietnam- If your traveling light and on the move you may not have time to stop and clean your rifle Going chrome is not the lazy mans way ,it,s the Smart way to go. One less thing to worry about. |
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Replaced all my unlined barrels with chrome-lined barrels for the benefits.
My rifle I refitted with a 20" chrome lined 1/7 FNMI M16A2 barrel shoots 1" groups from benchrest with match ammo. That's good enough for me and my average shooting skills. Worth $50? Yes I would say so, but it's a personal choice. |
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