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Posted: 12/28/2004 8:43:58 PM EDT
| I know chrome lined barrels arent for bench rest guns, but I wanna know. how good does it get? Not with a red dot scope or a eotech, but a real scope. Cheap ammo (military type) and tailored handloads. Im looking for a do it all upper and seeing if chromelined is accurate enough for me.thanks |
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It would have helped immensely if you had stated what barrel length of "chrome lined upper" your planning on smuggling into that commie state your livin in. Even better if I knew what ranges you were expecting to use it at......, or the twist rate and rounds you intend to shoot in it........, hold on while I get my crystal ball.......  As it is, 20", 16" and 14.5" quality chrome lined 1/7 twist uppers using quality 77grn. SMKs from Black Hills or handloaded get MOA accuracy at 100 yards easily. Quality 11.5 " chrome-lined uppers, 1/7 twist using the same rounds will be in the sub 2MOA range easily at the same distance. Most quality 1/9 twist CL uppers will easily duplicate the accuracy of the ones above with quality 69grn. SMKs Is that good enough for ya????? Mike ps - when are ya moving? |
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I have a 1in 9 20 inch chromed bushmaster upper. I have yet to play with the higher then 55 gr ammo (just got a few boxes of bullets but they are sitting on my reloading bench). I have used mil pull down powder and nosler ballistic tips to get about an inch at 100 yrds with this combo. That's off a rest with a scope. With the A1 irons, I can normally get decent 2 inch groups with the rifle with pull down powder and 55 gr pulled bullets. I can reload these for about the price of wolf if the brass cost isn't factored in. With better bullets, I am expecting that the rifle will shoot MOA or better. Oh, and I have fired between 5000 and 10000 or so rounds through this upper. |
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I have a 5.56 1/7 NATO Gov. Profile 20" chrome lined barrel on my Competition SR. It opens up with the BHA 77's but with handloaded SMK 69's, it will hold off the bench 1" groups (ten shot) at 200 yards. The thing with Nato chambered chrome lined barrels is....Some will be tack drivers, some will hold a decent group, and otheres will spray all over the place. It's kind of a hit or miss. 
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Modern chrome-lined uppers aren't less accurate (than unlined match barrels) because of the chrome-lining, but because they aren't made with match-quality barrel blanks or chambered with a tight match chamber. Instead, they are made using standard quality blanks, which typically give accuracy (with match-quality ammo) in the .8-1.5 MOA range. That's match accuracy by 60s standards, but obviously not by today's. If you did actually have a properly set-up match barrel chrome-lined, accuracy loss would be less than .1 MOA, if that. But no one does that, at least, not for AR barrels... -Troy |
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Chrome lined Bushy 14.5 M4 1-9 shoots around 1-2" with everything put through it except the el cheapo Wolf, PMC, and a few others. Same rifle with handloads shoots in the MOA arena. Have several others that are about the same and a 20' Bushy that flat out SCREAMS with handloads. Have gotten .5MOA with Varmint bullets from that tube. Sometimes, God smiles. Also have seen a Chrome lined Wilson match barrel from Bravo Company (6.8 not .223) leave me in spasms of joy over a sub MOA group @ 100m. My pet is a 14.5 LMT upper that with proper attention to conditions, shoots in the .9s with plain old M855 ball occaisionally, and does wonderfull things with handloaded 69gr Sierra MK's. However, the scope is mounted to test mechanical accuracy under ultimate conditions with a certain load, and off of the sterile bench. In essence it is testing in a vaccum with theoretical data produced. Little practical value, and there is a differnce between the harmonics of the bags on the bench and from off the shoulder in the field. Nothing wrong with Chrome, and too much right. Have seen many Stainless barreled bolt rifles suffer from less accuracy than a common 20" chrome lined Bushy in the same chambering. Prarie dogs at 400m+ or contending at Perry or the supershoot might give a guy a reason to not go chrome. But then I find comfort in Jeeps, reliable old tractors, and wool long underwear. MOA is all too common with the better made Chrome lined barrels that are assembled on rifles that have seen proper attention in assembly. It's actually a boring constant to the point that ammo is now the suspect if it dosn't happen with a well made AR rifle. Match ammo, and tailored handloads is the most common constant. Military ammo and civillian equivalents are not to be expected to bear the same results, no matter if the bore is chromed or not, but exceptions DO happen, and more often in the last 15-20 years. What kind of a standard of accuracy are you after? S-28 |
| I had the same question before I bought my Bushmaster V Match. I sent an e-mail to Bushmaster and they replied that BOTH the stainless and chrome V Match are capable of .5 MOA with match grade anmmo. All things being the same, I bought chrome for the durability. |
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