527 Barrel etched

[Gerald D.]

Without knowing the complete history of the barrel and what may have been done to it and used on it there is no way to know for certain. I owned a Weihrauch that when scoped had chatter marks from leade to muzzle, incredible.

[Lenard]

ere is a reply I received from the powder company. His response actually brings up another question, what is the barrel quality of the steel.

Your response.

oad data
Ramshot Customer Service <customerservice@ramshot.com>
To [email]lenard
Today at 8:27 AM

Lenard,

The reason you see the problem in a chrome moly barrel and not in a stainless barrel is for the same reason you can cut chrome moly steel with a cutting torch but you can’t cut stainless steel with a cutting torch. A cutting torch oxidizes the steel. Adding nickel to the steel helps keep it from oxidizing. It’s the same principal that happens with the flame produced by the gun powder.



Accurate 2200 is too fast of a powder for the TAC 20. Accurate 2520 is the ideal powder as pressures will be lower and barrel life with be longer. You should also see better accuracy as the case fill will be much better



Don W.

CSR Western Powders

406-234-0422

[georgeld]

This reply brings up more detailed questions too.

There's so many mixtures of stainless it's baffling to anyone that knows much about such things. This guy is right about cutting "SOME" stainless with a torch. Just depends on how much chrome is mixed in. Same as having a magnet stick to it. Some SS will hold a magnet, many others won't.
I HAVE cut 'some' stainless with a torch, some cut just as nice n easy as any black steel I ever cut. Others the fire went out so much it was like trying to cut cast iron with a torch.

My most recent torching was the first in five years. Rider brought me some AR50? I think it was to make swinging targets from. I'd get a nice cut started and the fire would go out or go cold. Damned near impossible to cut a decent run. I had some scrap handy and cut it just fine. I was so disgusted with my cutting of three 8" discs that I welded a stob on back and turned the edge's on the lathe!! Most times I'd just grind them enough to clean up the mess and figure it was me being out of practice. This time I believe it was more than just me, I really feel there's something in the AR plate I'm not familiar with enough to cut. IF I get back to it again, I'll try to read up in the books ahead of time. I used to be a pretty decent torch hand when I was welding for a living, but, like most things I've done, that's many years ago. Fact is, it's getting where just about everything I've done has been many years ago!! Can't be age yet, can it??

[montdoug]

Back more years than I care to admit to I remember reading about the topic of "barrel etching", it was in "Precision Shooting". Memory defrugalties aside, the thought process of writers in "Precision Shooting" went like this. The general consensus was that Shooters Choice MC7 and Kroil 50/50 was a great cleaning mixture. Also a lot of folks seemed to like Sweets for occasional use. I remember reading however that if you used Shooters Choice dry the barrel out well and patch with alcohol, then dry patch to kill the chemical reaction of the Shooters Choice before using Sweets. The reasoning being the combination of the two chemicals would etch your barrel if you didn't.
I've always adhered to that concept cause both are strong chemicals, it seemed to make sense then and still does for that matter. I don't remember any caveats about Stainless or CM barrels and I guess I always took it for granted that in that crowd all would be using Stainless. That is the only time I remember "barrel etching" being an issue. That probably has nothing to do with your situation what so ever but the term brought it to mind.
Never seen or experienced it, hope I never do.

[Lenard]

montanadoug

One of the conclusions I have come to after all of this, is that I will not be buying any carbon steel barrels in the future. I will admit pushing the 40 vmax pretty hard in the 223 CZ.

My unproven diagnosis of all this etching, is that being ball powders do generate lots of temperatures and as carbon steel barrels are not the same, the combination can be drastic to a barrel. After all one has to pay the price for learning. After all, this is not "Gentle Dental".

[Daryl]

Ackley always thought the stick powders burned hotter than the ball powders and that ball powders would extend barrel life 1/- due to bring rounded and less abrasive moving into the throat under pressure - and 2/. due to burning cooler than sticks.

[GLWenzl]

I switched over to ball powders in the late 90s. It's been a good move for me personally in both SS and CM barrels.

I also switched to wipeout and that CZ 20 caliber barrel that has some etching has never seen any other cleaners (like all my other rifles).

I'm not sure the cause of etching but I have a couple 8 lb jugs of Data 2200 that doesn't get used anymore. When I read that guys was having good success with 2200 in their 17 hornets I wanted to try it but just don't want to take the risk of another etched barrel...

I also prefer SS over CM but so fave the only real life advantages I have actually noticed are that the barrels are way cooler in direct sunlight (when not shooting them) and I don't have the added cost of bluing them.

[Lenard]

I really have to wonder if the problem could be the steel. On 6mm BR, one fellow said his 527 barrel was a gonner in 500 rounds. He also said pieces of the lands had flaked off. Since we have no way of being able to know the quality of steel, we will never know.

One thing is for certain. When Lyman came out with the borescope, it has changed how people will buy guns.