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CLBME
15 February 2013, 11:13
Good afternoon- I am working on my first build and would like to know the pros and cons of a stainless barrel. I'm going to buy a 16" mid-length barrel. I'm looking at the BCM/DD hammer forged barrels and have seen several stainless barrels as well, most notably on Rainier's site and have seen a Lothar Walther one as well. Is there a reason I would want to use a stainless barrel? Are there drawbacks? I have searched but not found an answer.

Thanks,

Christian

MoxyDave
15 February 2013, 13:05
Disclaimer: I have no real-world experience in the matter but I've done a lot of reading on the subject. YMMV.

That said, stainless barrels can be highly accurate. The chrome lining in most AR barrels can sometimes vary in thickness and density, causing slight irregularities in the bore and affect accuracy. However, stainless barrels require more care than your typical mil-spec barrel, and they might not last as long.

I personally believe that unless you're a match-accuracy shooter, you wouldn't notice any difference by using a stainless barrel. They do look wicked cool though!

CLBME
15 February 2013, 14:22
Hi MoxyDave- Thank you for the answer. Is stainless then geared toward accuracy? Is that's its designed purpose? I do agree they look good!

UWone77
15 February 2013, 17:48
What is the intended role of this barrel? If it's general all around use, I think a good CL barrel is what you want to use. BCM/DD CHF barrels that you mentioned are some of the best. With the right ammo and shooter, you can get good accuracy out of them. The stainless barrels I own tend to be more accurate but if you're going to mainly bench rest shoot, you may consider a stainless. They don't typically last as long as CL barrels. With that said, I have yet to shoot out a stainless barrel, simply because match ammo is a lot more expensive.

In the end, it's all pointless as we all know you'll eventually get both. ;)

CLBME
16 February 2013, 06:13
Thank you for the reply UWone77. I cracked up at your last line. Ultimately you're probably right.............

This rifle will be a general all-around use one. It's not a target/bench rest gun so I am not searching for ultimate accuracy so to speak. Now that I know what stainless is geared toward I will be getting one of the BCM/DD barrels as you noted.

Thanks again.


In the end, it's all pointless as we all know you'll eventually get both. ;)

niner
18 February 2013, 09:14
...In the end, it's all pointless as we all know you'll eventually get both. ;)

This is what I did :) I built my wife's with a 16" CL DD bbl and mine with an 18" ss rainierarms bbl. I just finished mine before this whole mess started and I sure am glad. SS is a whole lot heavier, mostly due to the contour vs. the CL more than the length.

CLBME
18 February 2013, 17:05
Thank you Niner for the reply. I didn't consider weight- thanks for the information. I have my sights set on a future build using an 18" SS barrel after my current build is complete. Which barrel did you use from Rainier?

csmith
18 February 2013, 18:26
Thank you Niner for the reply. I didn't consider weight- thanks for the information. I have my sights set on a future build using an 18" SS barrel after my current build is complete. Which barrel did you use from Rainier?

I'm actually looking at their 18" SS barrels for my current build. I figure their standard match barrel is a good enough value for my accuracy expectations, especially when the next step up is $120.

niner
18 February 2013, 19:30
Thank you Niner for the reply. I didn't consider weight- thanks for the information. I have my sights set on a future build using an 18" SS barrel after my current build is complete. Which barrel did you use from Rainier?

this one (http://www.rainierarms.com/?page=shop/detail&product_id=815)

CLBME
19 February 2013, 05:42
Thank you Csmith and Niner- Yes, for the price they seem to be a great option and fall within my future budget. Maybe they will be available at some point.....................(-:

CGS
19 February 2013, 06:38
All of the barrels on my personal firearms are stainless, except my M1A barrel and some low end hand guns. Draw backs? price. Stainless tends to cost more than chrome moly or chrome lined counter parts. Stainless is also hard to machine if in the future you want to have the barrel cut down or threaded etc... When I am doing a gunsmithing service to any stainless part I add in extra for wear and tear on my cutters.

I want to agree with Moxy's words. The stainless is typically more accurate, but the average shooter won't experience much gain. For me a 3" group at 200 yards is totally acceptable. For some, they won't be happy if their holes aren't touching. I'll put it toyou like this about my guns, if the gun throws a shot it's shooter error every time. I was discussing with some guys who know more than me, I'd really like to do some testing to measure and compare, but for now funds prohibit such a test, but I wanted to gauge the accuracy level of chrome moly vs chrome lined since we always hear chrome lined is not accurate, but we know our boys in theater are shooting chrome lined so what gives. Turns out the accuracy loss is something like .5 MOA which if I were the shooter I would consider acceptable trade off for a gun that goes bang every time. But the stainless will do that too.

Why do I like stainless so much? It's more forgiveable on cleaning and care. Firearm stainless WILL rust, unlike the stainless BBQ you have outside. However firearm stainless is much much less likely to rust when compared to chrome moly or chrome lined. I'm a maintenance free kinda guy.

If you want some Daniel Defense or DPMS barrels let me know. I have. PM me.

CLBME
19 February 2013, 11:04
Thank you CGS for the reply and help.