Protrucker
45 Cal.
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2004
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Chrome will still rust, too!
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Wrought Iron Rifle Barrels
- Thread starter flintriflesmith
- Start date
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paulvallandigham
Passed On
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Chrome plating a bore fills in pores, and makes it much easier to clean. Residue cannot stick to the bore as easily when its been chromed.
However, The Bore MUST STILL BE cleaned.
Some Chromes do not stand well to using OIL in them, when stored. Check the Manufacturer's spec sheet that came with the gun, or contact the manufacturer. Oil may have additives that actually break down the chrome, and then your barrel can and will rust.
I have a Black Chromed Gun and it is cleaned, and then stored without oil on the finish or in the bore. A small drop of oil is put on the moving parts, and that is all.
Cleaning the barrel involves one pass with a patch and solvent, and one more pass with a dry patch to dry the barrel.
I don't believe chroming a barrel improves accuracy, but it does seem to hold onto residue much less from shot to shot, and as I have already noted, its easier to clean, but between shots, and at the end of the shooting session. Homer Dangler had one of his barrels Chromed back in the late 1970s, after I described my gun, and we discussed what effect chroming a ML barrel would have. He found that he didn't see any improvement in accuracy, but it made cleaning a snap.
Humidity will still condense moisture in the barrel, and that will adversely affect Black Powder. So, drying the barrel between shots is still required. Enjoy the Chromed barrel, but don't look at it as some " cure " that allows you to skip cleaning, or one that gives you better accuracy.
However, The Bore MUST STILL BE cleaned.
Some Chromes do not stand well to using OIL in them, when stored. Check the Manufacturer's spec sheet that came with the gun, or contact the manufacturer. Oil may have additives that actually break down the chrome, and then your barrel can and will rust.
I have a Black Chromed Gun and it is cleaned, and then stored without oil on the finish or in the bore. A small drop of oil is put on the moving parts, and that is all.
Cleaning the barrel involves one pass with a patch and solvent, and one more pass with a dry patch to dry the barrel.
I don't believe chroming a barrel improves accuracy, but it does seem to hold onto residue much less from shot to shot, and as I have already noted, its easier to clean, but between shots, and at the end of the shooting session. Homer Dangler had one of his barrels Chromed back in the late 1970s, after I described my gun, and we discussed what effect chroming a ML barrel would have. He found that he didn't see any improvement in accuracy, but it made cleaning a snap.
Humidity will still condense moisture in the barrel, and that will adversely affect Black Powder. So, drying the barrel between shots is still required. Enjoy the Chromed barrel, but don't look at it as some " cure " that allows you to skip cleaning, or one that gives you better accuracy.
What I was getting at was when we go to buy a used ML half of the time the bores are rust pitted. And I was just thinking that we would just see less used MLs with rusted bores if this chrome platting was used on off the rack production guns. I know how well chrome plated bores hold up on a SKS or AK when using that corrosive chinese and east German ammo, so I've always been sold on chrome platting. Beretta was the first to chrome plate shotgun bores when steel shot first came out as an answer to barrel damage from steel shot.
Its OK to leave oil in a chrome platted bore, but just dont leave copper/lead solvent in a chrome platted bore for an extended period of time. The process to get chrome to stick to steel is that the steel first has be platted with a copper or nickel base then the chrome can be added. This is where the solvent comes into play as being harmful to the chrome platting, because if the solvent reaches the copper it will eat at it and start lifting the chrome off.
Its OK to leave oil in a chrome platted bore, but just dont leave copper/lead solvent in a chrome platted bore for an extended period of time. The process to get chrome to stick to steel is that the steel first has be platted with a copper or nickel base then the chrome can be added. This is where the solvent comes into play as being harmful to the chrome platting, because if the solvent reaches the copper it will eat at it and start lifting the chrome off.
