chrome lining, why is it so important?

T

tahunua001

New member
hello all.
I'm not trying to sound overly critical and start a flaming war so forgive me if this post is a little abrasive. a lot of shooters(especially among the AK/AR groupies) that are full out emphatic that they will never buy a gun that does not have chrome lining the barrel. what is the point? I know it's supposed to protect the barrel but protect it from what? I have a 25+ year old remington 700 that I inherited from my dad. I will guarantee you that it does not have chrome in the barrel and yet it's probably shot more(higher velocity/heavier) ammo than most of these ARs over the course of 25 years and it's still a sub MOA rifle. it's not rusting to pieces(even with less than gentle treatment and poor maintenance these last few years...so in all seriousness, all bias aside
Why is it so important to have a chromed barrel?
 
It doesn't rust ,doesn't collect as much powder residue or copper ,easier to clean. I have shotguns and pistols with chrome plated bores and I find it a great idea !
 
Chrome lineing will be very easy to clean,and be able to handel corisive ammo better ,and will last longer than non chrome lined due to the hardness of the chrome . Nitride coatings will also provide the same hardness and protection. If you clean your rifles after use CHROME LINEING is not an issue in a REREATIONAL USE RIFLE. ;)
 
I have a 25+ year old remington 700 that I inherited from my dad. I will guarantee you that it does not have chrome in the barrel and yet it's probably shot more(higher velocity/heavier) ammo than most of these ARs over the course of 25 years and it's still a sub MOA rifle.
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I have well over 8K rounds through my AR and it is but a couple years old. Compared to many AR/AK shooters, that is a low round count.

That being said, 8K rounds through a Remington 700....wouldn't you be looking for a new barrel by now? Have you really put that many through your Rem 700 in the past 25+ years? Most high power distance shooters replace barrels every few years because they won't hold sub-MOA with that much use. The throat is the first to erode away which causes a notable loss of accuracy. (High power shooters keep track of their round count for a very good reason.)

I'm thinking you are greatly underestimating the number of rounds an AK or AR owner can put through their rifles on a per year basis. As for the benefits of a chrome lined barrel, barrel life is greatly extended over a non-chromed barrel. Easier cleaning, easier extraction, etc. are other benefits. However, comparing extraction between a bolt gun and a semi-auto is rather silly, IMO.....apples to oranges.
 
Chrome lining in a barrel increases barrel life and makes it more resistant to rust and corrosion, but at the cost of accuracy. Now before anyone nitpicks that statement..let me expand on that...


Chrome is easier to clean-Yes it is....but, it was intended to contract less buildup over hours or days of firing without the oppurtunity to clean it..i.e. combat use....If your a recreational shooter this should not be an issue...


Increases barrel life: The Military has a need for this, as their weapons are fired enough that it becomes a cost factor. As a recreational shooter, even though I am a very active one, I doubt I will ever "wear out" a barrel.

At the cost of accuracy: This is something also, that unless you are a match shooter, will never be noticable. It DOES make a difference, but a very very slight one. this is due to the chrome lining not having a consistent thickness inside the bore...we are talking microns here.....Only the best shooters would ever really be able to tell the difference.

Right now, we are in a time that Mil-spec is en vogue and all the rage...Many people want Mil Spec this and that, and Operator approved and tactical this and that...And I have to admit, I am one of them...But in all actuality, it doesn't REALLY mean a whole lot. I have been the subject of giggling at the range because my AR-15 Carbine has a fixed carry handle, and no cut-out for an M203 grenade launcher...Was asked why I would own such a "wannabe" rifle...

So before I digress to Far...Chrome and not chrome is more personal preference than it is utility.
 
The benefits to chrome lining have been explained, but there's a couple drawbacks to it too.

1) Cost. It isn't free, and it does make things more expensive.

2) Accuracy. Chrome lining can't be applied to as fine a tolerance as an unchromed barrel, so the result is often a small drop in accuracy. This is why you don't see chrome lined competition rifles; if you're going for extreme accuracy, you don't want chroming. Usually it's at this point the stainless steel barrels start coming in (to give some of the cleaning ease of a chromed barrel, but again, it costs yet more).

For some uses I consider chrome lining to be if not essential than the next thing to. For other uses it means nothing and may actually be counterproductive.
 
ARs and AKs are designed for ease of cleaning by people that are not freaks about maintaining their weapons. You can teach someone that has never handled a rifle how to clean an AK in about 15 minutes. ARs take 30 minutes. Chrome bores make it easy to do it right. Chrome lined AR BCGs and gas Keys help to make it easy to clean correctly. YMMV and JMHO;)
 
I have well over 8K rounds through my AR and it is but a couple years old. Compared to many AR/AK shooters, that is a low round count.
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say whuh?
I have had my AR for almost 3 years and put about 800 rounds through it
I've had my AK about 2 years and put about 900 through it
I've had a 9mm AR for a a year next month that's seen about 400 rounds through it. I would think that would be about the average
your 8K rounds(if you bought cheap-ish bulk) would have cost around $1200 a year...I dont know a whole lot of people that can afford to shoot that much. even if it was wolf 7.62x39, you are looking at $600 a year ammo prices which is beyond your average shooter. the only people I could imagine shooting more than you would be a person who shoots professionally.

this rifle went through a trigger happy dad who hunted everything that had a centerfire season, a teenager who did the same as well as was loaned to some native american friends who really liked hunting year round and the pre 9/11 days where a box of good 243 soft points were cheaper than a box of wolf 223 is today. all of this was before I took possession. this gun has seen thousands upon thousands of rounds, I wont even make an attempt to count. I know I've put at least 300 through it myself and I haven't shot more than a box through it since I joined the navy 3 and a half years ago. dont underestimate the number of rounds a bolt gun can see over decades of use.
 
This makes me want to to break out the polytech legend and a good rest and see what type of groups I can get with it with several types of ammo. It would be cool to meet up with someone else with a different ak to see if there really is any difference and maybe shoot some other toys for fun. Obviously the legend has a chrome lined barrel and yes it make sit a breeze to clean after shooting a lot of rounds. I have read that the chrome lined barrels were hand selected for accuracy for the legends. I don't know for certain if that's true.

I know these are military rifles.... but... What about guns like the polytech legend match and high end dragonov's... They were supposedly made for higher accuracy. Did they use chrome lined barrels?
 
chrome lining provides increased protection from corrosion for the chamber and bore. This was important in the hot humid jungle. It is important if you are firing corrosive ammo. I am curious about the new nitrided barrels. Might be a very good option.
 
I have had my AR for almost 3 years and put about 800 rounds through it
I've had my AK about 2 years and put about 900 through it
I've had a 9mm AR for a a year next month that's seen about 400 rounds through it. I would think that would be about the average
your 8K rounds(if you bought cheap-ish bulk) would have cost around $1200 a year...I dont know a whole lot of people that can afford to shoot that much. even if it was wolf 7.62x39, you are looking at $600 a year ammo prices which is beyond your average shooter. the only people I could imagine shooting more than you would be a person who shoots professionally.
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Your shooting habits are yours.. not ours. None Chrome lined will work for you because honestly your guns aren't even broken in yet.

I shoot over 1000 rounds a month through my AR... sometimes even over 1000 rounds a week. I've shot over 1000 rounds through my AR in an afternoon before.

My current AR I built is less than a year old.. and is already nearing the 9500 round count mark.

I will NOT carry a handgun until it has fired 2500 flawless rounds through it... one FTE or FTF resets that count during a break in. My carry gun at the moment is about a year old now.. and its right near 7000 rounds thought it...

Your guns are not even broken in yet... not everyone is a monthly weekend warrior plinker.
 
my apologies...I guess I forget that my salary is close to poverty level sometimes and just assume it's average... I couldn't imagine gettingto shoot 10,000 in the next 10 years no less the next year. I guess that's why I'm a mediocre shot with a rifle :D
 
Reloading and working at a gun shop helps more than you would think. I don't have money to throw away on things, Student loans kill me. But I hand load single stage for accuracy... and I pay 3 friends (usually in pizza beer and wings during the the sunday games) to reload progressively for me. All 3 of them have Dillon presses and can crank rounds out super fast. I work for a very large FFL, so not only do I order stuff at cost, IE ammo and components... some manufactures will even like me pro-staff order stuff for a bigger discount.

I save all of my own brass... but I am also a scavenger.... there are a lot of people with AR's now that just pop off some rounds for fun and leave.. so my range is always filled with .223 brass.

Even to buy loaded ammo.. off the shelf... locally... I am generally looking at $240 for 1000 rounds of American Eagle tactical.

Shooting... and nice beer... are my only hobbies. I am 25 and not married and no kids either. I have a modest car... modest furniture... and a modest flat screen TV, and I pack my own lunches. Other than that my money goes to shooting and firearms.

If you want to shoot for groups... you can squeeze out more accuracy with a SS barrel. If you just want to shoot a lot.. and not have to clean as much (I clean my AR roughly once every 3-4000 rounds.) than get chrome lined.

I beat the snot out of my AR's and run them dry and barely clean them... why? Because I want to know in the extreme chance... they will work come hell or high water. When I do clean them however.. I take them apart... put everything in the parts washer in the gun smith's room at work over night.... then dry it all off, and use EEZOX. Which I feel comes out a lot cleaner than most people cleaning AR's by hand.
 
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I envy you quite a bit, I would kill to get 1000 rounds for 240. I dont have reloading presses, and right now I'm bobbing around in a giant bath tub and saving every pennie I have for the next 6 months so when I get out I can get a modest car, a modest apartment, and if things go bad while job hunting, a couple months of wiggle room.
 
really is about longer barrel life more than anything a semi auto goes through alot of ammo compared to a bolt action and really getting a chrome lined barrel doesnt cost that much more to get 2-3 times more life out of it.
 
I guess I always just think everyone is as ADHD as me and all my friends. we get a new gun and it's awesome for a few months and then something new catches our eye and we stop shooting the old stuff. even though I love my AR15 to death I shoot my AK way more(dispite the fact that I really am not that impressed with it) but now that I've got a 9mm AR I am shooting the AK way less. I guess I'll have to force myself to shoot all three next time I get some leave.
 
I'm convinced that the major reason for a chromed barrel is the corrosive primers, low quality powder, and need for idiot proof weapons.

The ak has been described as the weapon that you can bury under a hog shed for a year, dig up and shoot your neighbor with. You can't get that sort of reliability with a plain carbons steel barrel, and stainless cost mroe than chrome did.
 
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