Rebarrel w/ a Chrome Moly barrel

W

Wallyl

New member
Can anyone tell me if I can rebarrel my Rem 700 w/a Chrome Moly barrel and leave unfinished? I would wax the outside and use a good gun oil in the bore between my shooting it at my range. I should think I will not have any rust or corrorsion. Have heard many target shooters don't bother reblueing to save some money.
 
You're talking 4140 steel. Of course it will rust! Hard core target shooters may not care, as they will shoot only under controlled conditions and wear out the barrel fairly quickly. If you want it to look nice, get a professional blueing job. If you don't care, get some Cold Blue and do it yourself. I did that on a Brownell's $86 Mauser barrel. It doesn't look bad, but no comparison to the couple I had E. R. Shaw do.
 
Does the OP like the look of white metal but can’t use stainless? If so he can reduce the risk of exterior corrosion with wax or a good oil applied regularly. This has worked for many shooters in the past. In a dry climate like here in Arizona the biggest risk is wear due to dust and dirt. In a wetter climate the risk of rust is much higher.

Be aware that cold blue may reduce the risk of surface rust slightly but it won’t provide 100% protection. Hot blueing is better but no guarantee. Oil is still a good option for a further reduction in the risk of corrosion. It’s really up to the OP’s desires for looks and maintenance.


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Today virtually actual target shooters use stainless steel barrels.

If you are extremely careful about maintenance you don't have to have the barrel blued, but no matter how careful you are the barrel will eventually start to tarnish and turn dark.

Also remember... unless you plan on constantly removing the action from the stock the barrel will corrode under the stock.
Removal of the action and barrel is something target shooters usually NEVER do until it's time to have it rebarreled.

These days you do have options on protection for bare steel.
These are various types of coatings that will protect the steel.
These are usually "paint" type epoxy or ceramic coatings, many of which can be applied at home.
 
You can leave it in the white, though location will have a lot to do with possible rust or not.

If its for target shooting its a non issue. If its a hunting rifle, then stainless (or bluing) is better.

Coin flip as to advantage of stainless over C moly for wear. As near as I can tell maybe a tad upside with stainless but not enough to drive the bus one way or the other over.
 
Thank you...probably best to coat it as Dfariswheel mentioned. I am a target shooter; the rifle is a Rem700 with a 26" target barrel. Duracoat looks to be a good choice....or perhaps flat black Rustoleum paint.
 
I have a lot of parts that are in the white.
If you live in a dry climate, your hands are not "rusters", and you keep the metal protected, it will stay decent for some time.
But, eventually, it will start to rust. Mother nature always wins. It will rust eventually.
 
I bought a 700 once that had been left where one side of the barrel rusted, I sanded the entire barrel with 400grit wet and dry for adhesion then primered and painted it. It was not very durable but looked ok, eventually it was re-barreled with a stainless steel barrel.
Virtually all target shooters use stainless steel barrels probably because they would rather put the money into the barrel rather than pay for cosmetics.
 
I just got a call from the gun shop that is rebarrelling my 700 Rem...they had an issue w/the barrel being stuck and had to mill slots on the old barrel to remove it. I was then told that the new barrel I bought "in the white" from CDNN Sports, is in fact a SS barrel. Lucky me!
 
Yes, it sure was . It was advertised as a Remington new factory 26" 700 barrel "in the white". I assumed that meant a non SS barrel. I won't be using it for hunting and so the matte finish is not a problem for me.
 
Where I store guns is a bit on the damp side. I hang a piece of zinc on the metal part as sacrificial anode. It is a known electrochemical trick to fight corrosion. It seems to work all this years. I don't hunt, so I wouldn't know. Did any one trick this trick on their hunting rifle?

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
Glad it worked out, but wanted to add Shilen sells barrels blued. I have 2, both look great and shoot very, very well.
 
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