Cryro a barrel yes or no?

[1911nut]

I just found out that my company does cyroing barrels.

I have read that it will help accuracy and life span.

Should I or not, pros /cons.

Thanks

Well there ya go Spud, you got that answered

 

[jackieschmidt]

I have all mine cryoed and yes it works. Throats don’t erode as quickly as non cryoed, easier to clean, and they don’t foul as quickly.
Yes it works and if not krieger wouldn’t be doing it before they gun drill their blanks.

Does Krieger still cryo the steel bar stock?

 

[JamesnTN]

Does Krieger still cryo the steel bar stock?

Yes they cryo before gun drilling. They use to cryo after they finished the barrel but got sued so they had to quit the second cryo process.

 

[Scott Harris]

I called Krieger on this subject and had a lengthy discussion with them. Here is what I was told:
1. Krieger started cryo treating their barrels years ago because it made machining the barrels much easier. Obviously, this improved the quality of the finished product, but the shooter was never in the equation. This was done to make machining easier. They built their own cryo facilities to keep costs and delays down.
2. About ten years ago, the quality of steel starting improving noticeably. Krieger noticed that machined barrel quality was the same with or without cryo treatment. But, they kept cryo treating the barrels anyway.
3. Krieger has expanded production capacity a lot in the last few years. So, they had to make a decision whether to expand their cryo treatment capability or dispense with it. Again, the cryo treatement was no longer needed to make machine work easier, but customers thought it was valuable so they kept doing it.
4. Krieger worked with bench rest shooters to determine whether cryo treatment improved barrel performance. They sent select competitors two barrels: one cryo treated and one untreated. However, they did not tell the shooters which were cryo treated and which were not. They asked the shooters to tell them how the barrels performed. The majority of shooters saw zero difference between the cryo-treated barrels and the untreated barrels.
5. Krieger decided not to invest in expanding their cryo treatment. They no longer do it.

 

[Thauglor]

Thank you Scott for the info straight from the horses mouth!

 

[johnnyi]

I called Krieger on this subject and had a lengthy discussion with them. Here is what I was told:
1. Krieger started cryo treating their barrels years ago because it made machining the barrels much easier. Obviously, this improved the quality of the finished product, but the shooter was never in the equation. This was done to make machining easier. They built their own cryo facilities to keep costs and delays down.
2. About ten years ago, the quality of steel starting improving noticeably. Krieger noticed that machined barrel quality was the same with or without cryo treatment. But, they kept cryo treating the barrels anyway.
3. Krieger has expanded production capacity a lot in the last few years. So, they had to make a decision whether to expand their cryo treatment capability or dispense with it. Again, the cryo treatement was no longer needed to make machine work easier, but customers thought it was valuable so they kept doing it.
4. Krieger worked with bench rest shooters to determine whether cryo treatment improved barrel performance. They sent select competitors two barrels: one cryo treated and one untreated. However, they did not tell the shooters which were cryo treated and which were not. They asked the shooters to tell them how the barrels performed. The majority of shooters saw zero difference between the cryo-treated barrels and the untreated barrels.
5. Krieger decided not to invest in expanding their cryo treatment. They no longer do it.

does Cryo make chambering the barrels any smoother for a smith? Perhaps the smith can realize the difference in chambering on a typical GS lathe. Perhaps makes better chamber ? I don’t know obviously just grasping at straws since I’m not a GS or machinist. Just wondering from your opinion ?? Or any other smiths opinion ?