Cr-Mo or Stainless steel?

Rudi

Rudi

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Is there any difference between a blued Cr-Mo and a stainless steel barrel accuracy/wear resistance?

I'm thinking of buying a Tikka T3 Varmint, and in my opinion the stainless is ugly. Beside this, it is more expensive than the blued. Does it worth the higher price?

thanks,

Rudi
 
Cocked&Locked said:
generally cro-mo has an edge in accuracy. It's harder and smoother then stainless. Stainless needs less maintenance
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I don't think CM has an edge in accuracy, I think possibly stainless does. 99.9% of competative Benchrest shooters use stainless...
 
My take on it is:

Cro-Moly is for Longevity, ie used in heavy use guns
Stainless is accuracy, ie used in accurate long range guns.

Stainless is also good for low maintenance barrels that will not see heavy use.
 
My personal opinion is that the average person will not notice the difference in performance under normal circumstances.

You will notice the difference in terms of cleaning and maintainence, where stainless clearly has the advantage.
 
The average user won't notice a difference. Even the 'stainless' barrels WILL rust if abused and not maintained, they just take MORE punishment before they start to rust.

I'd go cr-mo. Prettier, cheaper - it's all good.

Unless you're the type who never cleans or oils his guns, in which case I'd recommend selling all your guns and taking up crochet
 
Hey guys,

Thanks for the answers! I googled hard, but I couldn't find any scientific comparison between them, and based on your answers I can't go wrong with any of them. :)

Rudi
 
speerchucker30x378 said:
stainless lasts a bit longer but its main good point is that it will not rust.
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Depending on the quality & type of stainless steel, rust/corrosion can still occur.Not nearly as bad as non-stainless, but can still happen just the same.

I have seen stainless steel at my work show signs of surface rust/corrosion.

I have used Chro-Mo & Stainless barrels and both types have shot VERY well.The only thing I hate about stainless steel is that you can not parkerise it. Shine = Bad...............No Shine = Good......;)

SKBY.
 
Skullboy said:
Depending on the quality & type of stainless steel, rust/corrosion can still occur.Not nearly as bad as non-stainless, but can still happen just the same.

I have seen stainless steel at my work show signs of surface rust/corrosion.

SKBY.
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This is one aspect often over looked. 416R will corrode. 416R has excellent machinability as well.

Although I have never seen charpy impact tests for 416R SS, the general consensus is that ultra thin profiles are not recommended in low temp applications -30c. I'll have to get off my ass and see if I can find some test results for this material compared to CRMO 4140.....etc.
 
Skullboy said:
The only thing I hate about stainless steel is that you can not parkerise it. Shine = Bad...............No Shine = Good......;)

SKBY.
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Just as an aside: cold blueing might actually "stain" stainless steel a kind of medium gray - like the Radocy parkerizing - if it has a coarse finish. Not sure about all stainless, but I observed the effects on a sand blasted 440C knife blade that got slopped with spilled Hoppes cold blue.

And of course there are other finishes that you can use on stainless. Bead blast it for a natural matte finish maybe?
 
The Tikka T3 Varmint SS is actually bead blasted, so there is no shine, but together with the crappy looking plastic stock it looks really cheap.
Rusting? I will be long gone by the time my blued rifle stops working because of the rust even with just a moderate maintenance. So if there is no other real advantage, I will try to find one with the blued barrel.
 
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