steviebiggun

Will a stainless barrel last longer than a regular blued barrel ? and how about break-in do you do it the same as the blued ?. And I have one more. will a higher quality rifle ( sako, Kimber, etc ) take less timeand require fewer shots than a lower quality gun. I guess what I'm asking is the rifleing better on one model vs another thanks.

James B

This will be a matter of opinion bi time. I don't care for tainless barrel. They seem to be to be less accuate. This expierence come 95 percent from stainless handguns. I have never had a problem with non stainless guns rusting. Given simular care, I think they would both last about the same amount of time. I don't care for the looks of Stainless although a very dull stainless finsh is in my lower level of acceptance.

bigcountry

Straight from Kreiger barrel website. Now, I couldn't see all that much more time for stainless. But these are the barrel folks.

Q: Which is better Chrome Moly or Stainless Steel?
A: For the most part neither one is better than the other. The only difference we find is that sometimes the chrome moly might take a little longer to break-in and might have a little more affinity for copper or seems to show it easier. In terms of barrel life and accuracy, we can find no difference

stubblejumper

The vast majority of bench rest shooters use stainless barrels,so obviously they are not less accurate.As for barrel life,most barrel makers that I have spoken to(other than kreiger) have told me that stainless is slightly less resistant to throat erosion.

game4lunch

I prefer the stainless. I like the idea that I can expose it to Rocky Mountain weather and still look showroom new after years of use. (No scratches, rust pits, etc)
Consider this: The U.S. Army's crack and exclusive sniper squad all shoot stainless barrels. They also prefer the .300 Win Mag!
Oh yeah, the 2nd half of your question . . .
I believe pricehas a direct corellation to the quality of materials and craftmanship, no matter what product you're talking about. Another truth: many companies charge according to what the "market will bear", instead of what it cost them to make it.
All that being said, I don't think you could notice a difference in accuracy if you had the opportunity to shoot any 3 or 4 rifles of varied price in a side by side test. I personally took more big game with my Savage 7mm Mag than either my Ruger MarkII or Sako .338 Mag. Probably if you were seriously going into competitive bench shooting, you'd want to pay for that minute difference. But expect to be beat out by the guy next to you shooting an old Ithica!

muddracer

stainless barel for deer hunting i prefer that barel bc if the sun hits it just right it will reflect and it might just scare off a deer.

bigcountry

I am not sure guys, but it sounds like he wanted to know about accuracy, breakin and stuff, not astetics.

trailer

Sako guarantees the same accuracy on the barrels whether it’s stainless steel or the blue barrel. That should have something to say about accuracy in either one...

stubblejumper

Actually a bead blasted stainless barrel will reflect less light than a blued barrel.

Roskoe

Although I have the greatest regard for the folks at Kreiger Barrels, it has been my experience that stainless barrels can be ruined quicker from faulty cleaning techniques/equipment than CM; and stainless barrels tend to have a little better accurate barrel life when chambered for significantly overbore calibers. They both seem to have about the same accuracy potential.