Unfortunately I do not have the time to go into the differences in carbon steels, so If you decide stainless steel is not for you, you will have to do the rest of the research on your own. A chrome-lined carbon steel barrel will meet the needs of the majority of shooters, and in many instances may even meet specific needs better than a stainless steel barrel.

If you still don't know if you want a stainless steel barrel, you probably don't need one and can stop reading this now. That said, FN makes some impressive accuracy claims about their chrome lined, cold hammer forged carbon steel SPR bolt-action rifle barrels. How much depends on how uniformly the chrome lining was applied. In theory, chrome lining should reduce the accuracy of the host barrel by creating slight variances in bore dimensions.

The only notable difference as far as accuracy is concerned is whether the barrel is chrome lined or not. You can make an inaccurate barrel out of stainless steel just as easily as you can make an accurate barrel out of bare carbon steel, however most high end barrels are likely going to made from stainless steel for longer life compared to bare carbon steel. Chromium is much tougher than 400-series stainless.Īt this point many of you are probably thinking, 'What about accuracy?' Truth is, as far as I can tell and from what I have gathered from the barrel makers themselves and shooters much more experienced than I, is that accuracy boils down to the barrel making process itself, not the host material. This does not mean that stainless steel will resist throat erosion better than a chrome lined carbon steel barrel - it will not. All else being equal, a stainless steel barrel should theoretically experience less throat erosion than a plain carbon steel barrel, given identical firing schedules. Stainless steel is more resistant to heat and abrasion than plain carbon steel. The second advantage to stainless steel vs plain carbon steel as it relates to barrels is the 'toughness' of the metal. Likewise, melonite treated carbon steel is much more rust resistant than any of the 400-series stainless steels. In fact, a chrome lined carbon steel barrel with a well oiled parkerized finish will usually resist rust better than a bare stainless steel barrel due to the finishes applied to the inside and outside of the barrel. The 400-series stainless steels (also known as martensitic stainless) used for barrel making are more resistant to corrosion than carbon steel, but will still rust if neglected.

However, don't be fooled into thinking stainless steel barrels are rust proof. First is a higher corrosion resistance when compared to an unlined, uncoated standard carbon steel barrel. There are two main advantages to a stainless steel barrels.

Gun barrel steel grades