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Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
Rifles, Bullets, Barrels & Ballistics
Nitrided rifle barrels?
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<blockquote data-quote="Rockfish Dave" data-source="post: 1068563" data-attributes="member: 14257"><p>I've treated 6 rifle barrels, 3 pistol barrels, 4 muzzle brakes, and one action. </p><p></p><p>I am breaking in my second barrel on a new build now. When I finish I will ship the action, muzzle brakes and barrels off for treatment as well.</p><p></p><p>It makes cleaning a ridiculously easy task. The treated action is by far the smoothest I have, and stays cleaner since I don't lube it. I have actions with other coatings, including DLC IonBond, and the Nitrided action beats them all.</p><p></p><p>There are differing claims on barrel life, but to put it in perspective: Treating adds 8%-12% to the cost. I get easier cleaning and increased corrosion resistance and I'd only need to increase the barrel life by a small margin to see it break even. </p><p></p><p>I don't bother with setting back and rechambering barrels since by the time I pay postage, and smithing fees I'm well on my way to a new barrel. Melonite barrels can and have been rechambered but it takes carbide tools and someone with experience to do so.</p><p></p><p>I have not noticed any increase or decrease in accuracy. My barrels hammered before treatment and hammer after. I have heard of decreases in accuracy with button rifled barrels, but not with barrels with cut rifling provided the pre-treatment and post treatment are done as I explain below. Mine are bartlien gain twist cut rifled barrels.</p><p></p><p>The black color can be worn off (noticeable on the bolt) but the case hardness and increased corrosion resistance remains.</p><p></p><p>When breaking in a barrel take your time. The goal is to get to a point where it no longer copper fouls <u>with a minimum amount of rounds, heat and pressure. </u></p><p><u></u></p><p>Since I load my own I usually use reduced power loads for my break in. Again, I want to reduce heat & pressure while still removing any tool marks at the lands. In my experience it has taken as few as 25 or as many as 40 to achieve a broken in barrel. </p><p></p><p>If it is a used barrel, I wouldn't send it of for Nitriding. There is a very specific reason why, and although I can wrap my mind around it, I am not technical enough to explain why. So just suffice it to say, only treat new barrels with a minimal number of rounds down the pipe and in such a way to minimize heat and pressure (if you hand load).</p><p></p><p>Shoot one, clean for at least 5 rounds. I have done this for up to the first 10 rounds. Stripping the copper each time.</p><p></p><p>Shoot 5 and clean, stripping the copper. I usually do this for 2 strings. Taking my time between shots to keep the barrel cool.</p><p></p><p>If it still is fouling I'll shoot a 10 shot sting and clean like above.</p><p></p><p>If the barrel is no longer copper fouling, I clean it like it will be used in surgery, until there are nothing but clean patches (both carbon and copper). I run a oiled patch down the barrel and pack it for shipping.</p><p></p><p>For the action, I make sure I had at least 70% lug contact. Regardless, I will normally lap the lugs with fine grit even if I have >70% contact. Before shipping my action off (or any of the other actions for that matter) I clean the paste off, then sonic clean the action and bolt face. For the action I sprayed it down with oil and packed it for shipping.</p><p></p><p>When a barrel or action comes back from treatment it will have lot's of residual salts and a thin film that needs to be removed. When cleaning the barrel it is easiest to spray everything down with Kroil and let it sit a day. Next use a bore brush one size smaller than the actual caliber. I run it through the barrel around 20 times. Run a oiled patch down the barrel. Next the correct size brush, and a patch like above. Repeat with a new brush and patch one more time. Finally I'll clean with normal solvents. In the end I will burn through 3 brushes. I can actually feel the salts in the barrel, it's very gritty.</p><p></p><p></p><p>For the action I do the same with Kroil. I'll use drill bits <u>by hand</u> to remove the residual salts from the pin holes and plungers. I use a brush to clear the inside of the bolt, etc. </p><p></p><p>If it sounds like allot of work, that's because it is. But the end result is worth it to me.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Rockfish Dave, post: 1068563, member: 14257"] I've treated 6 rifle barrels, 3 pistol barrels, 4 muzzle brakes, and one action. I am breaking in my second barrel on a new build now. When I finish I will ship the action, muzzle brakes and barrels off for treatment as well. It makes cleaning a ridiculously easy task. The treated action is by far the smoothest I have, and stays cleaner since I don't lube it. I have actions with other coatings, including DLC IonBond, and the Nitrided action beats them all. There are differing claims on barrel life, but to put it in perspective: Treating adds 8%-12% to the cost. I get easier cleaning and increased corrosion resistance and I'd only need to increase the barrel life by a small margin to see it break even. I don't bother with setting back and rechambering barrels since by the time I pay postage, and smithing fees I'm well on my way to a new barrel. Melonite barrels can and have been rechambered but it takes carbide tools and someone with experience to do so. I have not noticed any increase or decrease in accuracy. My barrels hammered before treatment and hammer after. I have heard of decreases in accuracy with button rifled barrels, but not with barrels with cut rifling provided the pre-treatment and post treatment are done as I explain below. Mine are bartlien gain twist cut rifled barrels. The black color can be worn off (noticeable on the bolt) but the case hardness and increased corrosion resistance remains. When breaking in a barrel take your time. The goal is to get to a point where it no longer copper fouls [U]with a minimum amount of rounds, heat and pressure. [/U] Since I load my own I usually use reduced power loads for my break in. Again, I want to reduce heat & pressure while still removing any tool marks at the lands. In my experience it has taken as few as 25 or as many as 40 to achieve a broken in barrel. If it is a used barrel, I wouldn't send it of for Nitriding. There is a very specific reason why, and although I can wrap my mind around it, I am not technical enough to explain why. So just suffice it to say, only treat new barrels with a minimal number of rounds down the pipe and in such a way to minimize heat and pressure (if you hand load). Shoot one, clean for at least 5 rounds. I have done this for up to the first 10 rounds. Stripping the copper each time. Shoot 5 and clean, stripping the copper. I usually do this for 2 strings. Taking my time between shots to keep the barrel cool. If it still is fouling I'll shoot a 10 shot sting and clean like above. If the barrel is no longer copper fouling, I clean it like it will be used in surgery, until there are nothing but clean patches (both carbon and copper). I run a oiled patch down the barrel and pack it for shipping. For the action, I make sure I had at least 70% lug contact. Regardless, I will normally lap the lugs with fine grit even if I have >70% contact. Before shipping my action off (or any of the other actions for that matter) I clean the paste off, then sonic clean the action and bolt face. For the action I sprayed it down with oil and packed it for shipping. When a barrel or action comes back from treatment it will have lot's of residual salts and a thin film that needs to be removed. When cleaning the barrel it is easiest to spray everything down with Kroil and let it sit a day. Next use a bore brush one size smaller than the actual caliber. I run it through the barrel around 20 times. Run a oiled patch down the barrel. Next the correct size brush, and a patch like above. Repeat with a new brush and patch one more time. Finally I'll clean with normal solvents. In the end I will burn through 3 brushes. I can actually feel the salts in the barrel, it's very gritty. For the action I do the same with Kroil. I'll use drill bits [U]by hand[/U] to remove the residual salts from the pin holes and plungers. I use a brush to clear the inside of the bolt, etc. If it sounds like allot of work, that's because it is. But the end result is worth it to me. [/QUOTE]
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