Barrel Question

[OLEJOE]

Should a magnet stick to a stainless barrel? Do some stainless metals contain other elements that would make this possible ? I have a stainless(?) barrel I would like to ....change the color on and I don't have access to an oven to cure any of the bake-on finishes with. What would be the best option to do this vs. Krylon ?

[missed]

Yes some stainless is magnetic. The Brownell's paint does not require baking. Krylon would work but durability is not as high as some of the other products.

[OLEJOE]

Thanks. I've thought of having it nitrided since hunting season is over but I haven't finished my load development. Wonder if the nitriding would change anything about which load it likes best ?

[missed]

I don't have any experience with the nitride coatings personally, but I would imagine that with the lower friction it may make some small changes.

[thomae]

From what I have read (so take this with a grain of salt): Nitriding is generally not recommended after a certain number of shots (but I don't know what that number is). If I recall correctly, it has to do with erosion.

Also, when you decrease the friction of the barrel, you also decrease the speed at which a projectile exits the barrel under the same conditions. It's counterintuitive, but true. So you may have to work up new loads after nitriding.

There were some very extensive threads about nitriding barrels about a year or so ago, hopefully, you should be able to find them by searching on the forum.

Edit: not sure what happened to the post. Corrected para 1.

From http://www.savageshooters.com/archive/index.php/t-9263.html, Freedom Gunworks says:
Clean up - Your barrels need to be as clean as possible before sending them in. I suggest not firing more than 30 rounds through the barrel before sending it in. I recommend a few rounds to soften any burs from the machining process and smooth out the transition from the chamber to the bore leads. If you send in a barrel that has fire cracking or throat erosion the process could cause negative effects, radically decreased bbl life and a loss of accuracy.

[Russell D]

The stainless steel used for rifle barrels is 416 or 416r, it's considered a lower grade steel because it is a magnetic steel

I have had a few barrels nitrited, I like it a lot because it is such a hard surface finish it reduces barrel wear, which increases life and im they are a lot easier to clean!

The round count doesn't make a difference on whether or not you can nitride the barrel; if it has a lot of rounds and has throat erosion all the nitriding will do is slow the rate the throat is eroding, if the barrel has been fired whether it's been 1 round or 1000 the barrel has to be spotless inside otherwise it can compromise the process. We have had fired barrels nitrided before but depending on how clean it is we may charge a fee for cleaning the barrel so there are no issues.

[Wildboarem]

Word on the street is MMI is the most reputable nitrider going as most don't seperate gun parts from other parts and batch times are critical. mmi recommends less than 60rds. They don't take direct clients anymore so you have to find a sub to ship your parts to too have it done. If I was nitriding a lower quality item I wouldn't be as discerning, but if I spent a pretty penny on a custom barrel I would want the best nitriding.

[Russell D]

My opinion may be a little biased, but MMI trutec, now Parker Trutec I would say is the best in the industry. That's who we use for all of our stuff and once we have a large enough order to send the turn around time is typically a week. I have had my 1911, two barreled actions quite a few barrels done by them and I have nothing to complain about.