vs a chrome lined barrel?  (besides the increased price).

are they any heavier?  i seem to remember seeing pistols with a stainless steel slide that were heavier than the version with a non stainless slide.  is SS inherently heavier than regular steel?

Quoted: vs a chrome lined barrel?  (besides the increased price). are they any heavier?  i seem to remember seeing pistols with a stainless steel slide that were heavier than the version with a non stainless slide.  is SS inherently heavier than regular steel?

The chrome lining surface is harder than stainless surface, and will take more abuse from things like cleaning rods.  Barrel life seems fairly similar.  I am not sure if chrome lining resists throat erosion a little better or not.

In the same profile - the weight difference between stainless and chrome-moly steel is negligible.

We are seeing more and more "fighting" barrels move to stainless.  Not saying it is better....

Quoted: vs a chrome lined barrel?  (besides the increased price). are they any heavier?  i seem to remember seeing pistols with a stainless steel slide that were heavier than the version with a non stainless slide.  is SS inherently heavier than regular steel?

They are really shiny in bright sunlight unless they are coated black.

Quoted: Quoted: vs a chrome lined barrel?  (besides the increased price). are they any heavier?  i seem to remember seeing pistols with a stainless steel slide that were heavier than the version with a non stainless slide.  is SS inherently heavier than regular steel? They are really shiny in bright sunlight unless they are coated black.

If someone doesn't want to paint the barrel, they can just get it beadblasted to a flat finish and it won't reflect.

No idea if it's true or not, but I've heard that SS will allow lead/copper build-up in the bore a bit easier than carbon steel.

It's my understanding that SS is more prone to galling than regular steel since it is softer. It would only be an issue on moving parts like a semi-auto slide though.
I think.
Jim

As I understand it, the Chrome-Moly - especially when chrome lined - is more resistant to extreme heat.  Chrome lining should also be easier to clean that SS.  Another thing I have read is that due to the different chemical properties of the steel, the finish typically applied to stainless barrels is much less durable than that applied to chrom-moly.  This won't affect it's corrosion resistance, but it will affect it's appearance/create more shine in sunlight.
Of course I may be wrong, this is just what I've read here and in a few other places.  I'm not an expert.


-K

I wish an expert would step in here. I think the problem is that stainless steel isn't as hard as moly steel.
I know it's much tougher to sharpen a stainless blade than a good carbon steel blade.
Stainless steel is tougher, and is slightly more corrosion resistant than other steels.
For any real technical answers we need someone who knows more than me.
I know a chrome-moly barrel is usually more accurate than a stainless barrel. I assume it is because it is stiffer but I don't know.

Jim

The biggest problem is when you use an aggressive copper solvent it can leach out the copper Ions from the SS resulting in pitting. Stuff like sweets and the like should not be left in the BBL if used but cleaned immediately. I tried it several years ago with an old SS BBL I had given to me. I used sweets 7.62 and left it in overnight for 2 nights swabbing it out the next day and reapplying more sweets. I did notice pitting that I had not seen before tho it was very small. I had cleaned the bore before I did this so it was not pitting that had been covered. [I think]

Quoted: The biggest problem is when you use an aggressive copper solvent it can leach out the copper Ions from the SS resulting in pitting. Stuff like sweets and the like should not be left in the BBL if used but cleaned immediately. I tried it several years ago with an old SS BBL I had given to me. I used sweets 7.62 and left it in overnight for 2 nights swabbing it out the next day and reapplying more sweets. I did notice pitting that I had not seen before tho it was very small. I had cleaned the bore before I did this so it was not pitting that had been covered. [I think]

Sweets will do that to a carbon steel barrel also. Be very careful using Swets.

Stainless is every bit as hard as carbon steel and probibly even harder in a lot of cases and it also more wear resistant. Not all stainless steels are but a lot of stainless used in guns and knife blades are.

Does Sweets have ammonia in it?
Jim

Quoted: I wish an expert would step in here. I think the problem is that stainless steel isn't as hard as moly steel. I know it's much tougher to sharpen a stainless blade than a good carbon steel blade. Stainless steel is tougher, and is slightly more corrosion resistant than other steels. For any real technical answers we need someone who knows more than me. I know a chrome-moly barrel is usually more accurate than a stainless barrel. I assume it is because it is stiffer but I don't know. Jim

The reason a Stainless blade is harder to sharpen is because it's usually harder than carbon steel, hence once it's sharpened it stays sharp longer.]

As far accuracy I have two stainless barrels that I'll put up against a carbon steel barrel any day, one is on a Winchester Heavy Varmint in .308, and the other is a J&T heavy varmint upper in 1 X 8.  Both are sub-moa.

Quoted: They are really shiny in bright sunlight unless they are coated black.

Stainless can be had in any color, look at the slides on Sig pistols.

Quoted: The biggest problem is when you use an aggressive copper solvent it can leach out the copper Ions from the SS resulting in pitting. Stuff like sweets and the like should not be left in the BBL if used but cleaned immediately. I tried it several years ago with an old SS BBL I had given to me. I used sweets 7.62 and left it in overnight for 2 nights swabbing it out the next day and reapplying more sweets. I did notice pitting that I had not seen before tho it was very small. I had cleaned the bore before I did this so it was not pitting that had been covered. [I think]

Ammonia will do that to most steel, it's called "Crazing", the ammonia attacks the steel, after an extended period of time, leaving microscopic pits.  Which leads to increased leading, copper fouling.

Special-K, I'm not sure if Chrome lining is more resistant to heat than SS is.  My thinking on the subject would be, maybe.  The advantage would lie in the throat area of the barrel.  Perhaps since Chromium is harder than SS, you might gain a miniscule amount in reduced throat erosion.  Though that may have to do with hardness rather than heat.  But I would think the advantage would be hard to notice.  Just my .02, YMMV.

why are stainless steel AR barrels usually 1x8?

There's normally a good bit of wear difference in a stainless steel barrel compared to  a chromelined. The chromelining is much harder and not only does it take less to fouling and heat but were a normal stainless barrel will hold it's peak accuracy for around 6000 to 7000 rounds, were a chromelined barrel can hold it's peak accuracy for even as long as 12,000 to 15,000 rounds. This is why you will see a chromelined barrel highly sought after in battle rifles. This is also why you won't see a chromelined barrel on a match rifle. Chromelining has always been harder to get as even a surface on and stainless steel and chrome-moly barrel are usually more accurate and the common choices in match barrels. Todays chromelining processes are much better than the days of old and they can get a much more even surface for the barrel now and have the best of both worlds in a way.
When my usgi chromelined wears out on my M1A I plan on putting one of Smith Enterprises new 18 inch chromelined barrels on that is chambered for M118LR a military 7.62x51mm match quality round. They are suppose to be a very accurate barrel.

Here is a threads worth reading about stainless barrels: yarchive.net/gun/barrel/barrel_steel.html and yarchive.net/gun/gun_steels.html.

There is a lot of chrome in stainless barrels - they are at least 10.5% chromium.  I think 4140 is less than 1% chromium.

In my experience stainless is more accurate and easier to clean.

They have solved the galling problem using alloys.

Stainless is more expensive. Chrome moly (on the whole) has more accuracy potential than stainless or chrome lined. Chrome lined last the longest with stainless and chrome moly about the same.
I like stainless because of the lower maintenance needed and am willing to pay extra just for that small bit of convenience

No less an authority than Krieger barrels states on their website,"Stainless Steel....It is inadvisable to use stainless steel in very cold temperatures,I.e. below 0 Deg.,and 416 stainless should not be used in lighter contours than listed."
Perhaps a problem with brittleness in extreme cold?Personally I prefer chrome moly barrels but it's a side effect of despising stainless in knives.I like carbon steel blades,cast iron cookware, M-14's,and Ithaca 37's.I'm a charter member of the Brotherhood of Forged Steel and Walnut.