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Best stainless steel assault rifle6/13/2023 ![]() With decades of good sales, Ruger came to market with a great product and has continued to refine it over the years. All of our barrels are manufactured in-house in our Greater Cincinnati facility and rigorously tested to ensure superior quality and performance.Alongside the Marlin Model 60 we mentioned, the Ruger 10-22 holds a place as one of the most iconic and well-known. We carry a variety of pistol and rifle barrels in any caliber you may need. Whether you decide to go with 4150 or 416-R, we have you covered. Pick the barrel profile that best suits your application. Which works best for that application?īoth materials will perform well suppressed. If the focus is on barrel and parts longevity, 4150 will be a better choice. Even across aggressive courses of fire, stainless will provide excellent results. If your focus is on accuracy, go with a stainless steel barrel. I'm a high-volume 3-gun competition shooter, what about me? What fits best?įor first-time builders or those building "all-around" weapons, Faxon recommends 4150 steel for AR barrels. I'm just building my first AR and looking for a good "all-around" barrel. ![]() A nitrided barrel drastically increases corrosion resistance across all environments. That said, Faxon QPQ Salt Bath Nitrocarburizes all its barrels. It is a 400-series stainless steel, which is designed more for machining than corrosion resistance than say kitchen pans, silverware, etc. Which is best?Ĭontrary to the name, 416-R "Stainless" steel is not more corrosion resistant than 4150 steel. I live near the sea or in corrosion-prone areas. It will take 1,000's upon 1,000's of rounds to reach the end of usable barrel life. In civilian applications, steel will last ~30% more rounds before end-of-life. Spirited semi-automatic shooter (even 3-gun), common to civilian applications is not fast enough to get barrels to these extremes.Īs such for civilian applications, the difference in barrel life between the two is closer than commonly thought, especially with Faxon's use of QPQ Salt Bath Nitrocarburization. That said, this applies only to the highest temperatures barrels can reach, which is common only in fully-automatic fire applications. 4150 steel can handle extreme temperatures (over 700F) better than stainless. Generally speaking, 4150 steel is a better material choice for military fully-automatic weapons due to its heat mitigation and abrasion-resistant properties. As such, Faxon does not formally rate its barrels past stating that we will absolutely stand with any premium barrel in terms of barrel life. "Barrel life" is a very difficult standard to measure, as it varies significantly by volume of fire, duration, loadings, bullet materials, etc. I'm most concerned about "barrel life." Which lasts longer? Skilled shooters, however, will recognize the small improvements, especially in precision applications.Ĥ16r stainless steel barrels have reduced barrel life compared to 4150 but will stay more accurate over their usable life. That said and all things being equal, the differences in performance between 416-R and 4150 are small and many shooters do not see a difference. The machining properties of stainless allow it to take a better cut during machining, creating higher-definition rifling, crowns, and chambers. Generally speaking, 416-R stainless steel is a better choice for shooters requiring peak accuracy from their barrels. 416-R is commonly used where high accuracy is required. It is ideal for high-precision applications, as the free-machining characteristics of the material are excellent for creating high-definition rifling. Where common "416" gets brittle at freezing temperatures, 416-R is formulated to function in arctic conditions (typically recommended to -40 F). 416-R is "stainless" in name only, as it is still susceptible to corrosion but at a reduced pace compared to common steel. It is a high carbon content steel, which makes it resilient to high-heat scenarios and with its abrasion resistance, the barrels wear slower over time.Ĥ16-R Stainless Steel is "stainless" steel formulated specifically for gun barrels. This steel is the most commonly used today by various militaries, including the United States. The statements mentioned below will generally apply to lower grades of steel 4140 or regular 416, but the shooter should understand the trade-offs to using lower grades prior to selecting them.Ĥ150 or " Mil-Spec" steel is commonly used in heavy-fire applications. Typically, the answer to the question of 416r vs 4150 all depends on what you, as the shooter, are going for in your intended build and its application.įaxon only uses 4150 or 416-R steels in its barrels, the highest grade of each series of steels, carbon and stainless, respectively. 4150 Carbon Steel vs 416-R Stainless - Which is Right for Me?įaxon is often asked which barrel material we'd recommend for a given application.
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