Nitride the barrel

[ironheadmike81]

Counting the days to a new beefy barrel from Sinman! Very Excited!!! Starting to wonder

if folks have Nitrided a barrel brand new, and/ or broke in first, then had it done?

Anybody out there done it BOth ways? (358Hammer?) All thoughts, discussions

on the matter would be appreciated...Thanks all.

[rsbhunter]

Count me in on that...although tomorrow i am doing some fire forming with a BRAND new CBI barrel from Jim, has been fluted and throated for 140 VLD's...Then it will either be sent to SSS for there brake, or to be nitrided..depends on the recoil...i know it won't hurt, but i like to see the hit...rsbhunter

[ironheadmike81]

I can see the point of breaking a tube in, finding a node that drills, then, bam,

sending it off to be nitrided; preserved in that state. I had another thought

where a quality lapped barrel might be better treated as is new...?

[lostart]

No experience with nitriding here, but most barrels are lapped before chambering which may leave small burrs. I would think it would be best to do a break in routine and clean really well before sending it to be nitrided.

[GaCop]

Hammer should chime in with an answer. I too would like to know the best procedure.

[rsbhunter]

I'm waiting to hear from hammer as well. He has the most experience with this process...although i did break mine in today, cleaned it squeaky clean (wasn't that hard) and it is now in the hands of FED-EX going to get muzzled at SSS, then sent to be nitrided!!!!!!rsbhunter

[ironheadmike81]

I'm waiting to hear from hammer as well. He has the most experience with this process...although i did break mine in today, cleaned it squeaky clean (wasn't that hard) and it is now in the hands of FED-EX going to get muzzled at SSS, then sent to be nitrided!!!!!!rsbhunter


How exactly did you break it in? # of shots, so forth. 1 then clean, 2 more,clean again...
is there a routine you subscribe to? if you dont mind me asking. also, what was involved
for the final cleaning to wind up squeaky?

[rsbhunter]

Mostly i watch for copper fouling, 1 shot , clean..this bbl (CBI) cleaned up real easy from the start..maybe 4 shots,with a 1 to 1 clean ratio, then three shots...barrel was clean after 3-4 patches.....Cleaned with k-12, let sit, brushed with a NYLON brush, then patches till clean..then to make sure, Montana's extreme copper killer on a patch, sit for 10 min...and patch again....no copper, no nada...clean patches.....boxed it up, sent it to be braked and then nitrided....rsbhunter

[rinodods]

Who is doing the nitride for you rsbhunter? Most of the prices I have seen are based on doing batches of parts. I'm thinking about having this done on my next barrel.

[wch]

+1 on who's doing the nitriding for you?

[rsbhunter]

OK, i'll let the cat out of the bag, there is a place called Freedom Gun works Inc., out of Georgia that sends them off...i called the actual company that does the nitriding and they don't want the hassel of dealing with a bunch of one barrel orders, so Freedom Gun Works is kinda like there agent. Plus The guy that owns it is a gunsmith, and i promise you, from talking to this guy, he knows his stuff!!! He builds custom guns from start to finish, and will talk to you, doesn't just want your money.....Rare to find someome that isn't getting a big $$$$ order that will talk to you...any way, tell him Russell from New Mexico sent you, i told him that i build Savages, and he knows of our site....maybe we can get a batch order together and save a couple bucks? P.S. make SURE all the machine work is done to the bbl before it is treated, this process takes the "skin" of the steel to a level off the Rockwell hardness scale...also make stainless black, almost like it is blued...FYI rsbhunter

[mscott71]

I just had mine nitrided at MMI. Actually I had 2 barrels done. 1 was a Criterion 30" 7mm RM and the other was a 26" Savage 22-250. I put about 20 rounds through each to establish accuracy and velocity. Turn around time was less than a week. Cost was $60 per barrel + $20 return shipping and there is a $100 minimum. Accuracy was not affected in either direction best I can tell and I gained an average of 50 fps. The biggest benefit will be a longer barrel life, but obviously that will take a while to prove.

Here's this year's rifle.
Savage 7mm Rem Mag
30" Criterion bull barrel ... nitrided by MMI
RWS brake
Bolt knob from Midway installed by me
16x SS, EGW base, Burris Signature rings
Choate Tactical painted with stone texture paint
Matte Black DuraCoat
175 SMKs moving 3,100 fps

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h270/mscott_photos/7mmrm1.jpg

[ironheadmike81]

Thanks rsb and mscott!
Mscott- AWESOME rig, really. very good job, I am a Choate Tactical fan and the whole
rifle turned out cool as hell. Those numbers spell potent mojo too.
The barrel coming from Sinman is for a .338 Edge project that I am using a Choate for
also, some pix in picture post, if it turns out close to that good I will be happy.
with what I have heard so far, its gonna be break in, find an accuracy load, then
off with the tube & send to Nitride.

[rinodods]

Thanks for the MMI info. Last I saw they had a $200 minimum. $100 is pretty doable if you need at least 2 barrels done. I'll have to look into them again.

[rsbhunter]

Am i mistaken, or is MMI also TruTec ? When i contacted them, the guy said they went through Freedom Firearms....If i can go direct, would probably save some $$$$ do you have a phone # to contact them? Thanks for any info...rsbhunter

[rsbhunter]

contacted them (MMI) and was tolgd that they aren't taking anything from individuals..in fact, the salesman didn't seem to interested in doing rifle bbls at all...He (Tom i think his name was) said they only do parts from companies! Hope he gave me wrong info, but he is there salesman....rsbhunter

[ironheadmike81]

...and what about the 3 diff types of Nitride treatments they had listed?

any info on which is what or what is better for a rifle barrel?

[mscott71]

Here's info from a 6mmBR article:

To learn more about salt-bath nitriding for barrels, or to place a processing order with MMI-TruTec, email joelkndrck [at] aol.com, or call Joel at (704) 616-6442. Joel, a past 600-yard Shooter of the Year, is very knowledgeable about both shooting and the nitriding process. He can give you well-informed answers to your questions. Price for nitriding depends on quantity — call Joel for pricing details.

[rsbhunter]

The type of nitriding is the QPQ...some call it Black nitride.....Thanks for the info....i still think we need to get about 5-10 guys wanting to do this...send our bbls to the guy closest to the place, and do a group deal..even with shipping, we MIGHT be able to get a 40-50, even 60.00 per bbl price...beats 100.00 + shipping........check around and see if there is any interest...rsbhunter

[ironheadmike81]

Oh Hell yes! count me in!! If my Sinman barrel shows up in time

to join the party, I surely will...

hopefully a few more interested shooters join in and its on.