New Nitrided barrel

[RAGGED]

This may be an odd question but does anyone know if it would be a bad idea to have a stainless action Nitride coated as well? I would like to have my new barrel coated but would like the action to match, any reason why this wouldn’t work? Also the local metal place we use offers “salt bath nitride” I assume this is what I would want or is there something different? Thanks for the help!

 

[spclark]

Not an odd question at all! The answer is a little vague though as it depends on just which action and what kind of stainless was used.

The place that generated all the interest in this process won't do some brands of actions owing to how they've been hardened.

Given that the process requires temps ~ 1,200° F there's risk of change to the metallurgical properties of the steel used, as well as dimensional changes.

That's the main reason why I chose not to have a new space gun barrel treated. I didn't want to risk the barrel extension or the joint where it's secured to the barrel.

Nitrided barrels look really cool & I can understand the desire to have an action done to match. There are risks which have to be evaluated very carefully before one decides to proceed.

If you trust your local vendor, they know their process best & ought to be your best source of information.

 

[RAGGED]

Not an odd question at all! The answer is a little vague though as it depends on just which action and what kind of stainless was used.

The place that generated all the interest in this process won't do some brands of actions owing to how they've been hardened.

Given that the process requires temps ~ 1,200° F there's risk of change to the metallurgical properties of the steel used, as well as dimensional changes.

That's the main reason why I chose not to have a new space gun barrel treated. I didn't want to risk the barrel extension or the joint where it's secured to the barrel.

Nitrided barrels look really cool & I can understand the desire to have an action done to match. There are risks which have to be evaluated very carefully before one decides to proceed.

If you trust your local vendor, they know their process best & ought to be your best source of information.

Thank you for the response. I did place a call into Trutec and was told the treatment only surface hardens the metal and penetrates less than .001" so I can't see how that would impact the integrity of a bolt action.

I will look into it further but does anyone happen to know if you need to ship a stripped bolt action via FFL? I know when I've sent firearms back for service I shipped them directly to the MFG so I would assume this falls under the same conditions as ownership is not transferring.

Also anyone happen to know what the friction coefficient of nitride on brass is? Would it be less than brass on bare steel? If it were in fact slipperier would it make sense for a guy a have some dies coated

 

[BoydAllen]

Ragged,
The point isn't how deep the treatment penetrates, but the temperature that the action is heated to, which would go all the way through. I would stick to what your action manufacturer will OK.

 

[RAGGED]

Ragged,
The point isn't how deep the treatment penetrates, but the temperature that the action is heated to, which would go all the way through. I would stick to what your action manufacturer will OK.

I see, I must have misread something, I was assuming the worry was over hardening and thus making the metal brittle, the actual worry is undoing the heat treating procedure, got it. The action is nothing special, just a little budget Savage build, my guess is Savage would not make any sort of formal comment on this matter, I would expect them to say don't touch it, less risk on their part but no help to me.

 

[memilanuk]

Is there a limit to how many rounds down a tube before having it treated? Say for instance I have a barrel that probably has 2500rds through it, shoots *really* nice, probably one of the best shooting barrels I've had to be honest - and it only seems to get better with more rounds through it. Problem is the throat has moved a bit and if it moves much more, well it'll be too much. Yes, I could have it set back first but its one of those things where its shooting so well I *really* don't want to screw with it - but if I could 'preserve' it at this point and get another several thousand rounds of it that would be pretty awesome

 

[Erik Cortina]

Is there a limit to how many rounds down a tube before having it treated? Say for instance I have a barrel that probably has 2500rds through it, shoots *really* nice, probably one of the best shooting barrels I've had to be honest - and it only seems to get better with more rounds through it. Problem is the throat has moved a bit and if it moves much more, well it'll be too much. Yes, I could have it set back first but its one of those things where its shooting so well I *really* don't want to screw with it - but if I could 'preserve' it at this point and get another several thousand rounds of it that would be pretty awesome

I called and asked them about doing it to my 6.5x47 Lapua barrel that has 2000 rounds through it and they said it's not recommended because they sometimes start to fowl up real bad if done with a high round count. So just keep shooting it and see how many more accurate rounds you can get out of it.

 

[memilanuk]

Erik,

I wonder if it would make a difference if its a .308 Win instead of something thats usually a little harder on the throat?

Maybe I'll have to see about having it set back a smidge after all...

Thanks,

Monte

 

[Erik Cortina]

No, it doesn't matter. They recommend only breaking the barrel in, less than 50 rounds before you send it in.

Set it back and keep at it! ;D

 

[butchlambert]

My 2 barrels are going to Joel Kendrick next week. One is a great shooting Rock Creek 30BR barrel with 100-200 rounds through it and a Bartlien 6PPC barrel that I will finish chambering today. Both have been CRYO'd by Control Thermal Technology.
My first Melonite QPQ barrel was done by Joel several years ago. It was a Kreiger 6PPC and had 5000 rounds through it before it disappeared.
It doesn't make it shoot better, just a lot longer. It is slippery and you will need to adjust your load.
I believe they will not do Howa and Weatherby receivers. They have done Bat receivers. You need to visit with them about the receivers.
Butch

 

[Heavies]

Does this treatment negate the need for the use of anti-friction bullet coatings(HBN, Molly), for fouling control?

 

[spclark]

No, and from reports I've heard continuing to use them doesn't seem to present problems either.