Stainless Steel--Pros and Cons

[getitdone1]

What are some of you guy's thoughts about stainless steel guns?

Does regular steel make for a smoother operating gun than stainless?

Will a stainless barrel take longer to "shoot-out" than a regular?

Is a stainless barrel potentially as accurate as a regular steel barrel?

Do any of the outstanding shooters use stainless barrels?

My guess is most or all of the gun manufacturers use the same type of stainless steel for their guns--
or do they? Is one type considered the very best?

Does any gun come with ALL stainless parts other than stocks? I've always thought it kind of self-defeating when they make a gun with a stainless barrel and action but on the inside they use regular blued steel parts.

I understand that some guns are stainless but with some type of finish that makes them look blued. Is this good, durable?

Don

[Griff]

Understand the following is only my opinion based on limited experience with 3 guns, a 1911, an AR & a Rem 700.

What are some of you guy's thoughts about stainless steel guns?
Does regular steel make for a smoother operating gun than stainless? Yes!
Will a stainless barrel take longer to "shoot-out" than a regular?No.
Is a stainless barrel potentially as accurate as a regular steel barrel?Has nothing to do with the material, accuracy is more a function of barrel consistency and bullet fit.
Do any of the outstanding shooters use stainless barrels?Yes
My guess is most or all of the gun manufacturers use the same type of stainless steel for their guns--
or do they? Is one type considered the very best?416 is considered the standard, IIRC, but there are better and worse alloys being used.
Does any gun come with ALL stainless parts other than stocks? I've always thought it kind of self-defeating when they make a gun with a stainless barrel and action but on the inside they use regular blued steel parts. That's a very good question. The answer as far as I know is, NO. And for good reason. It is nearly impossible to get stainless as hard as engagement points for things like sears, firing pins etc. require
I understand that some guns are stainless but with some type of finish that makes them look blued. Is this good, durable? My Rem 700 is black phosphate coated... I don't know that it's as durable as a blued gun... but, I've had nary a scratch in it... there are some "rub" marks, that make it appear a bit shinier in places... ie: where it sits in the safe with the barrel against the rest, but it's taken years for that to appear.
Don

The 1911 galled badly. But, it was an early '70s gun... and it's stainless was much softer than my Rem 700 or my AR barrel. I got rid of it quickly. I got it, because I had a nickeled NM Gold Cup that I didn't really want to shoot (engraved and a safe queen)... I've since gotten over that... and although I still don't shoot the safe queen... I ain't gettin' another 1911 in stainless.

Both the 700 and AR are two of my most accurate rifles. But... even had I gotten them in blued steel, given the tolerances held in barrel manufacturing, they would be just as accurate.

Stainless barrels take a different break-in than carbon steel barrels. In fact, I don't think modern carbon steel barrels need much in the way of break-in if they are hand lapped prior to being shot. Stainless is recommended to have a rather detailed break-in, even for lapped, air-gauged barrels. I've read differing opinions on barrel life between stainless and carbon steel. Which is accurate? I don't know, I haven't shot out either of the stainless barrels in my safe. But, the stainless AR only has around 1,000 thru it and only around 300 rnds thru the 700.

I can't even give you a direct comparison between the two 700s I own, as they are very different barrel profiles. The carbon steel '70s gun is a rather light hunter model, and the '90s stainless gun is a heavy varmit profile. Both are 7mmRemMags, with 9-½ twist, but... both are capable of less than ½-MOA with specific loads... the stainless being the better with all loads I've tried (all handloads, neither rifle ever seeing a factory round)... but I think that's more a function of the profile and quality of the stainless barrel (custom ordered as a police sniper gun), than the production carbon version. And some due to the differences in scopes.

[vancelw]

Griff seems to have covered the bases pretty well.

I like stainless simply because I hunt in all kinds of weather and at the end of the day it's easier to wipe down a stainless gun and give it a thorough cleaning later. I've had blued guns flash rust on me.
Yes, yes, yes I know someone is going to say stainless will rust. I know it will. (I just got a good deal on a stainless rifle because it had some exterior corrosion) But it is much more forgiving if it doesn't get immediate attention.

Blue an wood guns are pretty and I appreciate the beauty of a well-made firearm. But LOTS of my guns are stainless/composite.

I thought the corroded gun mentioned above might be my first cerakote project, but it cleaned up pretty well with Flitz, so I'm still waiting for that ugly gun that needs a facelift.

[Griff]

WOW! How could I have forgotten? I also have a mdl 65 Smith & Wesson revolver. The lock parts on it were changed out from stainless to CCH steel shortly after I got at the advice of our department armorer, as he didn't think the stainless parts would last long... and the trigger was very narrow, and my shooting scores reflected a improper trigger engagement. After trading to a serrated wide trigger from a mdl 19, scores improved back to where they'd been with my mdl 10. This gun has well over 10,000 rounds thru it... as it was my duty gun, and I practiced about 3 days a week at the police range and used it for competition for 4 years in both PPC and Steel Challenge type matches...

It's as accurate today as the day I bought it (after the trigger & hammer change). My first outing with it after the trigger/hammer change I shot a 300/35X score on the PPC course (300 max.), and my last qualifying score was a 300/36X. The only other changes are a Pachmyer grip and an orange insert for the front sight.

[harry]

Look at the bottom of page 3 about 416 SS.

http://www.kriegerbarrels.com/RapidCat/ ... anyId=1246

[7.62 Precision]

Very few guns if any are made completely of stainless steel. Most will have springs and maybe other small parts that are not. The worst will have only the major parts that are externally obvious made from stainless and almost all the internal parts will be the same as used in the blued versions. Some manufacturers are moving to more and more stainless springs - I don't know if that is good or bad in each case.

Stainless is good for preventing rust, even if the entire gun is not stainless, because every part that is stainless is one part that is more resistant to rust and you have to worry about it less.

I generally prefer stainless for a barrel if I want accuracy, or if I want weather resistance. There are advantages to the material for both purposes.

I don't mess with barrel break-in procedures. I think they are usually designed to wear out barrels faster so the barrel manufacturers can sell more barrels. I just shoot the barrel, and sometimes they get better after a bit of shooting, but not because a brass bullet is wearing down and smoothing a steel bore, but because rough edges left from chambering get burned off with shooting.

Some trigger assemblies are fine made from stainless. Others I do not trust. Certain trigger designs need hard steel.

Most stainless has increased friction, which can be noticeable in certain applications, like stainless 1911s, for example.

When choosing, consider needs, application, and your preference.

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

First, it should be noted, most stainless guns and gun parts are made from the 416 alloy family. It the scheme of things, it is not a true stainless like most people think. The most common stainless, as in marine, is of the 316 family. But, even it will rust slightly. In a salt spray environment over time you will see slight flecks of rust on the 316. The problem with making guns from 316 is the galding issues. Its soft, so you shoot it one time you will probably never get it back apart because threads weld together.
The 416 alloy has a higher carbon content so it can actually be hardened for uses like gun making. But, it will more readily rust, too. Not as quickly as blue steel, but more readily than the 316. The best thing about the 416 gun stainless is it can easily be buffed to restore the finish. So, it tends to retain its resale value better than blue steel guns. particularly handguns.

In some applications stainless is easier, as in less money to work. For example I offer this flush safety plug for the ugly add-on safety on the current stainless Rossi 92's.


I can do the same for the blue guns but it now requires re-blue-ing the bolt. This adds to the cost.



BTW, 416 will attract a magnet. 316 won't.

As for rust resistant, and great barrel life hard chrome is the best I have found.

[Ben_Rumson]

Nate pointed some of this out...

In the beginning there was much talk about the cost of the tooling for SS firearm manufacture i.e. overcoming the machining qualities of SS and finding tooling that didn't wear out frequently. Now with a few decades of manufacture under their belts, I suspect manufacturers have cut those costs and now are cutting a fat hog, because they get an acceptable finish much cheaper than they can if they have to produce a gun with nice bluing...
On the plus side for us, it isn't any big trick to keep your SS firearm looking factory..

[Chuck 100 yd]

Go to any large or small benchrest match and you will be hard pressed to find a barrel made of carbon steel.

[MrMurphy]

As 7.62 said, the barrel break-in procedures are mostly people thinking up random things to do.

I used to sell precision ARs, well known for extreme accuracy (guaranteed sub minute assuming good ammo and the shooter had a clue), usually approaching half-minute.

Guys would call me or email me regularly (multiple times a day) wanting to know break-in procedure for our stainless barrels. Our answer? Shoot it.

Some of them were doing the fire one, clean it, fire another, clean (x5) then fire five, clean it, prostrating yourself to the gods of Camp Perry in between cleanings, using lube bottled between the thighs of Cuban virgins or some other stupidity, to absurd lengths. And they could not believe our answer was simply lube the rifle a bit (being straight out of the box) and start shooting.

They still shot sub minute.

I like stainless guns in general for weatherproofing and have not found stainless pistols to shoot 'rougher'. I understand the galling issues with early stainless 1911s, but this isn't the Nixon presidency either anymore...

[jkbrea]

I have both but before I retired, my duty pistol was a stainless Kimber .45. My hunting rifle is a stainless Tikka and a Marlin XLR 45-70, also stainless. Heavy use in bad weather takes its toll and I hate to admit it, I'll sometimes let it sit a day or two before I can get to it after hunting or working in the rain, other than a quick wipe down . The stainless guns also get dropped and dinged but its very hard to see any visible damage unlike bluing. With that said, I really prefer the looks of wood and blued steel.

[Chuck 100 yd]

I have both blued and stainless guns and like both. None are any slicker than an other of the same make but made of one metal or another. I have 9 Ruger Super Blackhawks. Half of them blued and the other half are Stainless. They are all fine.
For Cowboy Action,all my six shooters are stainless. They clean up sooo easy. And no holster wear can be seen on them.

[Old Ironsights]

I prefer stainless whenever possible...

To the extent that my main BP shooters (including flintlock) are Stainless.

Comes from being around a lot of saltwater.

That said, my Savage 99, 10-22 and HK-91 are NOT stainless... though I wish they were.

[Panzercat]

Less on the construction side, some hunters don't like stainless because it's inherantly 'flashier' than blued finishes, thus making them more easily seen by whatever they're hunting.

[Old Ironsights]

Less on the construction side, some hunters don't like stainless because it's inherantly 'flashier' than blued finishes, thus making them more easily seen by whatever they're hunting.

Not when bead blasted to a nice matte grey...

[7.62 Precision]

. . . or can be coated.

[vancelw]

Less on the construction side, some hunters don't like stainless because it's inherantly 'flashier' than blued finishes, thus making them more easily seen by whatever they're hunting.

That makes perfect sense, but in practice I can't ever recall an instance where game (or varmints) spooked from the flash of one of my guns.
But, when black bear hunting i did cover my entire barrel with camo tape, just for that extra precaution.
And some day I'm going to cerakote a gun for kicks and it will probably be my stainless .243 Encore barrel in an earth or sage tone with sagebrush camo hand brushed on it. If anything would see the shine it would be coyotes or crows for sure.

[6pt-sika]

On bolt action or heavy barrel guns I prefer to have a stainless barrel if possible . I used to think ed s break in but I've kinda gotten away from it . Now I'll clean the new barrel shoot a fouler then a couple three shot groups and clean again . I follow that practice when working up load's 7-13 shots clean and follow that procedure . Some say that's to much cleaning and some say not enough . Personally I don't care what they think I'm the one doing the cleaning and more importantly paying the bill !

[Malamute]

I'll be the odd man out (not too surprising to those that know me), I don't really care for stainless guns. I've had several and traded them off, I just didn't like them. I'm, not very kind to my guns, but have had little real trouble with blued guns. Yes, the finish wears off from holster wear and handling, especially in the dry dusty places I've lived, but that doesn't bother me much. The bit of rust or stains here and there don't bother me that much either, but I don't take much care with their finish when I've been out in rain or snow, they may get wiped off,...or not, and they rarely get cleaned or oiled. They hold up fine all things considered. They always work though.

[jeepnik]

Handguns I definitely prefer stainless. Not for appearance but for the fact that my hands can dissolve a blued finish is a heart beat.

The galling of early stainless semi autos did happen, but it easily avoided by using the right lubricant. I use Gun Slick on slides and such for early models. As mentioned later ones didn't have the issue to the same degree, but they still need proper lubrication. Using different grades of stainless went a long way to solving this.

Rifles, I prefer stainless in those that will be exposed to sever weather. For "normal" use, you cannot beat wood and steel for appearance and feel.

Never had a stainless shotgun, seems most that are called stainless or "marine" have a stainless barrel with a "coating" of some sort on the receiver and internal parts.

Since I bought my first S&W model 60, I haven't looked back. I love my blued revolvers, but to save them I have to make sure I wipe them down with a oiled or more recently silicone impregnated rag as soon as I'm finished shooting them.