action and barrel coating
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benchracer
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The answer to that question would depend greatly on the conditions under which you expect to use your rifle. Though I am not a fan of stainless, it has some pretty big advantages in very wet environments and places where salt water is present.
I use coatings on my rifles (all regular chrome moly steel), but keep in mind that the coatings mostly protect the exterior metal surfaces. I know of no coating that seals the surfaces of the bore. Likewise, most coatings are not applied to chamber or bolt locking lug surfaces/recesses. Because of that, stainless still holds some advantages in certain situations.
I use coatings on my rifles (all regular chrome moly steel), but keep in mind that the coatings mostly protect the exterior metal surfaces. I know of no coating that seals the surfaces of the bore. Likewise, most coatings are not applied to chamber or bolt locking lug surfaces/recesses. Because of that, stainless still holds some advantages in certain situations.
All of my hunting rifles are stainless... I would never even consider a blued action/barrel. But what benchracer said is right on. if your gun is never going to see rain/snow/humidity/etc, then stainless will not do much for you. I backpack hunt and my gun is going to be more or less wet every morning. in the tent there is too much condensation from breathing, and outside everything is covered in dew.
although, the first elk rifle i bought over two decades ago was blued, and when I installed a custom stainless barrel I had the entire setup teflon coated. I hunted with that rifle for years in a lot of bad weather and the teflon protected the action perfectly.
And even though my guns are stainless, i still teflon coat them. The guy that did the work on my rifles owns blackicecoatings.com and his work is exellent. I would highly recommend them. Very affordable too.
although, the first elk rifle i bought over two decades ago was blued, and when I installed a custom stainless barrel I had the entire setup teflon coated. I hunted with that rifle for years in a lot of bad weather and the teflon protected the action perfectly.
And even though my guns are stainless, i still teflon coat them. The guy that did the work on my rifles owns blackicecoatings.com and his work is exellent. I would highly recommend them. Very affordable too.
A chromoly action is a better action.
Chromoly is stronger.
etisll40
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Re: action and barrel coatingblackicecoatings.com,
wtt
wtt
.
I know of no coating that seals the surfaces of the bore.
Melonite/ nitriding treats (coats) everything. Montana rifleman says he has his done. Im very interested but there's not a lot of access it that treatment for me right now. Id like him to post pics of the finished product.
I used ceramicoat on a SS barrel once ,prepped the hell out of it and it still chips.
I know of no coating that seals the surfaces of the bore.
Melonite/ nitriding treats (coats) everything. Montana rifleman says he has his done. Im very interested but there's not a lot of access it that treatment for me right now. Id like him to post pics of the finished product.
I used ceramicoat on a SS barrel once ,prepped the hell out of it and it still chips.
benchracer
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I am aware of the melonite/nitriding process, but I have understood that as something that provides increased lubricity and resistance to throat erosion. What little I know about that had me thinking of it as a better alternative to moly, but that is about all I know on the subject. I have never seen it discussed as having anti-corrosive properties, though I suppose that might make sense.
Are you privy to any information regarding the anti-corrosive properties of such a treatment? I have only heard of this being applied to internal surfaces. Is it commonly used to coat everything? If not, it would seem that having internals nitrided and externals coated with something else would be a much more expensive alternative to stainless.
By an insignificant amount, it's not like stainless actions are failing due to this supposed weakness.
I'm with the other poster who said all his hunting rifles are stainless, mine are also. I live in a wet humid environment and stainless offers significant benefits I can't overlook. I won't even consider building or buying a chrome moly rifle for hunting. If it's a safe queen or only gets pulled out for target shooting then it really doesn't matter, but anything that gets hunted is stainless for me.
If you want it coated then cerakote is the most popular. I like the look of bead blasted stainless so I don't coat mine.
Insignificant is somewhat subjective. It's about 30% stronger, I don't consider that insignificant. It's true stainless actions aren't failing from weakness. It's also true that chromoly actions aren't failing from rust. If that were happening the chromoly bolt in your stainless action would fail. Stainless also galls easier, that's why it has a chromoly bolt.
An action is easy to coat. A coated chromoly action will be more corrosion resistant than a bare stainless action action. The coating will also improve the operation of either action. If you like the bead blasted bare stainless look, you could coat a chromoly action with NP3 and it would be stronger than stainless, more corrosion resistant, smoother to operate, and still have that look. You could also coat your stainless action and improve everything except the strength.
It is a hot salt bath. Everything is treated. I should start a thread specifically for melonite so guys who've had it would give their experiences.
benchracer
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That would be very useful. I see guys talk about nitriding their barrels, but have seen very little reported in the way of concrete results from doing so. As I understand it, Meloniting is a method of HBN coating, correct?
