Chrome Molly or stainless?

[Stix]

What are the pros and cons of each?

I plan on buying a new tikka or savage in .308 soon and am worried about point of aim changing with a hot barrel and throat erosion. I reguarly fire 5 shots quick, sometimes 10-15 if i catch the pigs in the open.

I'm not buying a varmint barrel, it will be a sporter.

Cheers

Stix

 

[WildRose]

Stainless all the way.

As for the barrel wt. Don't go with a light sporter weight or you will regret it especially if you are shooting over 300yds.

I'd say go with a light VT contour at a minimum.

 

[meat head]

Stainless all the way.

As for the barrel wt. Don't go with a light sporter weight or you will regret it especially if you are shooting over 300yds.

I'd say go with a light VT contour at a minimum.

DEAD ON all the way!gun)

 

[Derek M.]

Stainless for me too.

Your rapid fire practices will erode your throat faster than you like but I understand the reason why. Good luck with whatever you choose to get in terms of bbl contour. I don't like varmint barrels.

 

[Stix]

I'm buying a stock rifle along the lines of a Tikka T3 hunter or CZ 550 American, These are not varmint type barrels but will they maintain a 1 moa group with 5-10 shots at 500 meters?

I have read that Chrome Molly being harder it withstands rapid fire better than Stainless. Although SS maintains accuarcy for longer and is easier to clean, barrel life is about the same.

My main concern is point of impact changing with a hot barrel, it seems CM may be a better choice?

 

[WildRose]

Stainless for me too.

Your rapid fire practices will erode your throat faster than you like but I understand the reason why. Good luck with whatever you choose to get in terms of bbl contour. I don't like varmint barrels.

I should have addressed this.

Never fire more than 5 rnds in 5 minutes as a matter of routine and it won't be a big issue.

More importantly worry about accuracy, not speed. It doesn't matter if you put a thousand rounds downrange if you don't anything.

Work on the accuracy/precision and with repetition the speed will come....

 

[Derek M.]

I'm buying a stock rifle along the lines of a Tikka T3 hunter or CZ 550 American, These are not varmint type barrels but will they maintain a 1 moa group with 5-10 shots at 500 meters?

No way to tell.

My main concern is point of impact changing with a hot barrel, it seems CM may be a better choice?

No way to predict.

An accurate barrel is an accurate barrel, no matter if it is CM or SS so says most all good barrel makers.

I'm going to tell you my opinion regarding factory rifles based on my experience. Most are unreliable for repeated accuracy at the distance you are posting (500 meters). I'd guess that a Savage is the most accurate factory rifle available as I understand their barrels are button rifled. If you can get a Tikka or a CZ to maintain your level of expectations for accuracy with rapid fire with either SS or CM, I'd really like to be kept in the loop and read your experience.

There's just too many variables to generalize/answer your question. You may buy a rifle with a CM barrel that shoots like a dream or is a flat out lemon. Same for a SS. I've got a Hart barreled 270 and it is a #1 contour. It maintains less than MOA at 500 yards (not meters) with adequate cooling time. I don't rapid fire anything of mine.

 

[kcebcj]

What are the pros and cons of each?

I plan on buying a new tikka or savage in .308 soon and am worried about point of aim changing with a hot barrel and throat erosion. I reguarly fire 5 shots quick, sometimes 10-15 if i catch the pigs in the open.

I'm not buying a varmint barrel, it will be a sporter.

Cheers

Stix

This is off the Lilja Precision Rifle Barrel website. Personally I'm old school and like a blued barrel so my choice is Moly as it is eaiser to blue. In your situation the stainless would probably be the better choice.

Q. What are the differences between chrome-moly barrels and stainless steel barrels?

A. We buy our steels directly from the steel mills. Our steel is made to our specifications as far as chemistry and heat treatments are concerned. Our chrome-moly is a modified 4140 type steel and the stainless steel is type 416 with a few extra steps and tests in its manufacture. We have used steel of both types from several different mills and have settled on what we feel is the best available.
The primary difference between the two types, as far as rifle barrels are concerned, is that chrome-moly can be blued and stainless steel cannot be using conventional methods. Rifle barrels made from stainless steel will last longer, as related to throat erosion, than chrome-moly. Stainless steel resists heat erosion better. Also we can get a slightly better internal finish when lapping with stainless steel.
Approximately 90% of the barrels we manufacture are made from stainless steel. In our experience, most of the chrome-moly barrels we make go on high-grade custom hunting rifles that are going to have a nice custom made wood stock. And some shooters insist on having a blued barrel.
An exception to the above is the large number of 50BMG barrels we make from chrome-moly. Our recommendation for steel choice with 50BMG barrels depends on the bullet type the shooter intends to use. If you are going to use conventional jacked bullets, such as the Hornady or ball ammunition, then the stainless steel barrels will probably last longer and foul less. But if your choice is one of the custom made lathe-turned bullets made from brass, bronze, copper, or even steel, then the chrome-moly barrels will probably last longer and give better accuracy. Please see our comments on moly coating and these types of bullets. If you plan to shoot both types of bullets then the chrome-moly barrels are a better choice.

 

[WildRose]

No way to tell.

No way to predict.

An accurate barrel is an accurate barrel, no matter if it is CM or SS so says most all good barrel makers.

I'm going to tell you my opinion regarding factory rifles based on my experience. Most are unreliable for repeated accuracy at the distance you are posting (500 meters). I'd guess that a Savage is the most accurate factory rifle available as I understand their barrels are button rifled. If you can get a Tikka or a CZ to maintain your level of expectations for accuracy with rapid fire with either SS or CM, I'd really like to be kept in the loop and read your experience.

There's just too many variables to generalize/answer your question. You may buy a rifle with a CM barrel that shoots like a dream or is a flat out lemon. Same for a SS. I've got a Hart barreled 270 and it is a #1 contour. It maintains less than MOA at 500 yards (not meters) with adequate cooling time. I don't rapid fire anything of mine.

I've got a LOT of experience with the CZ's particularly the .204 and 300wm.

My experience is that there is no more accurate out of the box rifle on the market and they held up very, very well for me.

I made the mistake of cooking the barrel fairly frequently on the .204 shooting Prairie Dogs on quite a few occasions and it was still shooting sub MOA to 500yds past 2000 rnds.

I'll say this, when it did "lose it" it was gone in less than a box of ammo.

Krieger solved that for me. SS all the way with the replacement.

 

[snowpro440]

I have to go with what works and also what I see at the benchrest matches . Stainless steel in a heavy contour for accuracy and rapid fire . No problems there .I have yet to see a chromemolly barrel setup on the bench unless its factory or sporter class. 10-20 shots in under 5 minutes has very minimal effect on accuracy and point of impact change with a varmint contour .