Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters ? for Mule Deer,,, Re: chrome lined barrels

Yeah, that's the basic theory. But I've also seen military research indicating chrome-plating didn't significantly retard the erosion of the steel UNDER the chrome. My limited experience with a few chrome-lined barrels tends to agree with this.

My own 26 Nosler Model 48 doesn't show much throat erosion after around 250 rounds, and the Pac-Nor barrel is not chrome-lined.

I like my 26 Nosler, a M-700 7RM rebarreled with a 26" #2 SS Shilen. After around 400 rounds, I can see very early erosion with the Hawkeye. Nothing to worry about, it's still a half MOA shooter.

It would be interesting to see if chrome lined barrels were as accurate as premium SS tubes.

I'm a hunter and this barrel will last me as long as I will hunt. I do have a number of rifles to shoot, so this one doesn't get all the wear.

It's a flat shooter, kicks about like a 7RM. I use 869 and 872 powder with Fed 215's, 140 NAB's/NPT's and 120 E-Tips/TTSX's.

DF

bigsqueeze,

The 26 has been around long enough that Nosler's gotten plenty of feedback about barrel life. Most customers report at least 1000 rounds, or a little more, though one said his lasted 1600 rounds before accuracy deteriorated.

Of course, a lot depends on how they're shot. Getting the barrel hot means shorter barrel life, of course.

Mine has been shot more than it probably would have been by somebody else, because most shooting has been done to test loads for articles. Otherwise I might have only shot it half as much, enough to confirm its best load and then get the scope dialed-in--which didn't take much.

AMRA,

For the last year or so have had a 4-12x40 Leupold VX-R with the FireDot Wind-Plex reticle mounted on the 26, as much to test the scope as the rifle, since I'd had the rifle for long enough to try various loads. So far I like it.

I've heard(probably here) that chrome lining can hurt accuracy.

Not John, obviously, but here's my set up. A Z3 4-12x50 BT with turret marked with Sharpie for yardage. It's a duplex and works well.

I got this smoke damaged 7RM BDL for cheap. I was able to use the factory stock, pillared, glassed and free floated it, added a Timney 510. I added a RUM box, made sure the box didn't bind.

Even though the 26 Nosler is a 3.4" round, I like the full 3.6" mag. Gives more room for longer COAL's.

Lot of performance on the cheap...

DF

Yeah, that's the basic theory. But I've also seen military research indicating chrome-plating didn't significantly retard the erosion of the steel UNDER the chrome. My limited experience with a few chrome-lined barrels tends to agree with this.

My own 26 Nosler Model 48 doesn't show much throat erosion after around 250 rounds, and the Pac-Nor barrel is not chrome-lined.

Other than the RUM box did you have to do anything else to make sure the fatter 26 Nosler round would feed well?

Yes.

The fat Nosler round wouldn't pass between the rails, had to open them up.

JB said he had a 700 that would pass the Nosler round. My .375 H&H M-70 Classic will pass the Nosler round.

So, I guess it depends on the action. Cutting the rails back a bit isn't that big a deal, may need some tweaking for smooth feed.

DF

FN SPR sniper rifles have chrome lined barrels, and I have never heard anyone complain about their accuracy. Got the info below from Sniper Central 2014 review of an FNH SPR A3.

"One interesting feature that is not found on most other precision rifles is that the bore is chrome-lined. It is generally accepted that chrome-lining a barrel, unless done correctly, can negatively affect the accuracy of the barrel. FN claims that they have the process mastered, and the .5 MOA requirement seems to confirm that they have, and that the positive effects of a superior barrel life and the ease of maintenance outweigh the difficulty and costs of doing the chrome lining. The FBI required a 10,000 round barrel life without losing the .5 MOA accuracy requirement and the FN was able to pass those tests as well. An older out of production SPR A4 rifle we had on hand here does not have the chrome lined barrel, but checking the current FN catalog shows that all of their current lineup of SPR rifles have the chrome lined bores."

What cartridge were they talking about? I would be surprised if any 50,000 psi rifle would hold its accuracy for 10,000 rounds.

Have a pretty good idea of how long it takes to erode a .204 barrel.

bellydeep,

Heat is the major factor in barrel erosion, eroding the steel, which eventually causes cracking of the surface. Even if chrome-lined, the chrome can crack too, which actually accelerates erosion because cracks in surface of steel keep the super-heated gas circulating in that area, rather than blowing down the bore.

I did this with one of the J.C. Higgins rifles mentioned by natman, a .270 Winchester. Like his rifle, mine was very accurate, but eventually the accuracy started deteriorating. My bore-scope revealed that the surface throat cracked just like it would without chrome-plating. It may have taken longer, but I don't know.

One thing that can help when the cracking starts is a few fire-lapping rounds, which smooth out the cracks and slow the erosion. I did that with the .270 but it didn't help as much as it had in other rifles, so I rebarreled it to 6.5x55.

Chrome inside a machine gun barrel does extend useful life, but machine guns don't normally require fine accuracy, so when it starts cracking in the throat area it's no big deal.

FN SPR sniper rifles have chrome lined barrels, and I have never heard anyone complain about their accuracy.