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I love my salt-bath nitrided (SBN) barrels.
I also love the look of bead-blasted stainless steel (BBSS) — and it has a practical aspect of being non-reflective when hunting. Probably my most accurate barrel is an 18" Satern cut-rifled from waayyy back, in BBSS.
Anyway, wondering if you guys have a preference for SBN or BBSS or don't care?
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I like the matte stainless look the best.
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Bead Blasted Stainless has a nice, subdued look.
Since it only affects the exterior, bead blasting avoids the concerns of steel temper variations due to the high temperature process or dimensional irregularities in the bore.
https://www.kriegerbarrels.com/faq#salt
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For a pure target barrel I think SS provide very good accuracy and I like the bead blasted matte finish. I’d rather have the black SBN finish on barrels 18” and shorter. My one SS barrel is a 20” Shilen which is my dedicated target gun. I think it really boils down to personal preference.
The buying public like options, if you don’t have it they can’t buy it. The Group Buy Lilja barrels sold very well and I think they were SS or ordered as Cerokote for a different color.
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I like the bead blast matte look of my custom Bartleins best.My pre fit Criterion’s are either silver or black.But,in the end,what matters most is if they are accurate.If they aren’t,they get sold and replaced.
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i like the bb look, but after working with bead blasted 316 stainless every day for over 10 years, its a bitch to maintain
picks up finger prints, shows scratches easily, ect
i opted for cerakote in a color that mimics bead blasted
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mdram Wrote:i like the bb look, but after working with bead blasted 316 stainless every day for over 10 years, its a bitch to maintain
picks up finger prints, shows scratches easily, ect
i opted for cerakote in a color that mimics bead blasted I actually thought it was easy to maintain.
When I got my first 6.5 grendal AR Bartlien (bead blasted)barrel I went to the tactical shop my buddy runs to install it.He lets me use his vise and tools.Anyway the gas block was tight going on.So,he hits it with a brass hammer and left a few scratches on the barrel.I about had a fit.He laughed and sprayed some Break Free CLP on it and used a brown scrub pad.Worked like magic.I haven’t scratched it yet,but I know what will fix it.
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mdram Wrote:i like the bb look, but after working with bead blasted 316 stainless every day for over 10 years, its a bitch to maintain
picks up finger prints, shows scratches easily, ect
i opted for cerakote in a color that mimics bead blasted
What he ^ said
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VASCAR2 Wrote:For a pure target barrel I think SS provide very good accuracy and I like the bead blasted matte finish. Id rather have the black SBN finish on barrels 18 and shorter. My one SS barrel is a 20 Shilen which is my dedicated target gun. I think it really boils down to personal preference.
The buying public like options, if you dont have it they cant buy it. The Group Buy Lilja barrels sold very well and I think they were SS or ordered as Cerokote for a different color.
What he said!
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Jumping in way late here. I like BBSS for its bare look. Additionally, it's a good base surface for painting.
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My line of MONSTER 6mmARC barrels including the 20 and 12 currently in production will be BBSS.
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BFT,
Any update on the 20" 6mmARC barrels? I am so looking forward to playing with it.
Greg
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Yes, update on the 6ARC MONSTER 20s is that my October 19 date has been pushed into November. Manufacturer is having supply-chain issues.
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NOOOOOO!!!! hahahaha, sounds like my luck with everything this year.
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Personally, I like Nitride/QPQ better. Bead blasted stainless scuffs too easily for my taste.
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Rkangel Wrote:Personally, I like Nitride/QPQ better. Bead blasted stainless scuffs too easily for my taste.
Manufacturer mentioned that to me. I wanted a satin bead blast. Manufacturer said that scuffs too easily and encouraged me to go more matte, so I did.
I'm hoping stainless steel allows us to establish a baseline of what to expect from accuracy, since the 6mmARC cartridge is still relatively new.
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I've had a Green Mountain GM-M20 BBSS fluted with a Wylde chamber for 4-5 years that is consistently sub-MOA with ADI 69gr SMK factory .223. And it looks wunnerful!
DOJ+FBI+IRS+AFT=NKVD. Joe Stalin and Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria are tap dancing in hell right now...
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Bead blast surfaces are excellent for Cerakoting.
They are more conducive to oxidization compared with a polished stainless, but I prefer to just coat everything anyway and never worry about the surfaces again.
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BluntForceTrauma Wrote:Manufacturer mentioned that to me. I wanted a satin bead blast. Manufacturer said that scuffs too easily and encouraged me to go more matte, so I did.
I'm hoping stainless steel allows us to establish a baseline of what to expect from accuracy, since the 6mmARC cartridge is still relatively new.
Agreed. My BA matte stainless barrel was very touchy in this regard. I'm guessing it must have something to do with the size of blasting media they use. The "tooth" that's left can get knocked down easily and show scratches.
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