.22RF barrels will last several lifetimes of steady shooting with very judicious cleaning, ie: basically once in a coon's age. Back in the pre-war era, serious rimfire match shooters insisted on soft steel versus harder alloy steel for their barrels. Winchester catered to that by offering the M52 with a choice of low carbon or nickel steel barrels. Was that due to magical qualities of soft steel and lead? Don't know, but my personal theory is that it was easier to machine the soft steel and as such was easier to get a smoother finish in the bore which in turn aided accuracy. Boutique barrel makers of the time such as Harry Pope held to the use of low carbon steel for rimfire target rifles too. I wonder if one could specify a soft steel .22 barrel from a current barrel maker, and if it really would make a difference in this day and age?
Last edited by gnoahhh; 09/22/16.
