Range Test Mcmillan EOL Outdoorsman

[WildRose]

Wildrose, Thanks for the link, it was actually very informative... The only diffrence now is that the Schneider Barrels are button rifled barrels vs forged. Also, what is the process to have the barrel Melonited? Will it effect the barrel diameter or headspacing when reinstalling the barrel?

It's not supposed to change the dimensions at all, just heat treat to relieve all remaining stresses and hardens the steel to a very high level. It also is a permanent rust/corrosion protection.

I won't have the barrel pulled for it, I'll have the entire barreled reciever done together unless someone tells me a good reason not to.

Just google "melonite treatment gun barrel" and/or nitride salt heat treatment.

Everything I've read on it is extremely positive including greatly extended barrel life. I have yet to talk to anyone that didn't feel like it was more than worth the cost.

 

[Outlaw6.0]

It's not supposed to change the dimensions at all, just heat treat to relieve all remaining stresses and hardens the steel to a very high level. It also is a permanent rust/corrosion protection.

I won't have the barrel pulled for it, I'll have the entire barreled reciever done together unless someone tells me a good reason not to.

Just google "melonite treatment gun barrel" and/or nitride salt heat treatment.

Everything I've read on it is extremely positive including greatly extended barrel life. I have yet to talk to anyone that didn't feel like it was more than worth the cost.

Or Salt Bath Nitriding The process was originally designed for fasteners introduced to high corrosion such a salt water (ocean) etc. The RockWell hardness goes up quite a bit, effectively extending the throat life of your barrel. But also making it harder than all get out. Some 'smiths have declined to set back a barrel that has been Melonited. I have read several good comments from guys who have Melonited both the action & barrel...

 

[WildRose]

Or Salt Bath Nitriding The process was originally designed for fasteners introduced to high corrosion such a salt water (ocean) etc. The RockWell hardness goes up quite a bit, effectively extending the throat life of your barrel. But also making it harder than all get out. Some 'smiths have declined to set back a barrel that has been Melonited. I have read several good comments from guys who have Melonited both the action & barrel...

Eh long night HA!

That was my concern as well but I've had several people tell me that after treatment they are actually even better for machining and that anyone with the tools to work stainless will have no problem with the melonite treated bbls.

Being as it's the internet and a fairly new process you can find all sorts of pro/con info out there.

PS. One of those who did tell me that they actually machine better afterwards is a custom gun builder and very close friend I have a great deal of respect for and faith in so till proven otherwise that's the way I'm going. He's also the one who suggested doing the entired barreled action fully assembled so that the stress relief wouild be completely even throughout and since he was an aeronautical engineer in his previous life I'm going with it.

 

[Outlaw6.0]

Eh long night HA!

That was my concern as well but I've had several people tell me that after treatment they are actually even better for machining and that anyone with the tools to work stainless will have no problem with the melonite treated bbls.

Being as it's the internet and a fairly new process you can find all sorts of pro/con info out there.

PS. One of those who did tell me that they actually machine better afterwards is a custom gun builder and very close friend I have a great deal of respect for and faith in so till proven otherwise that's the way I'm going. He's also the one who suggested doing the entired barreled action fully assembled so that the stress relief wouild be completely even throughout and since he was an aeronautical engineer in his previous life I'm going with it.

We could/should probably open another thread to discuss the merits of melonite & any possible short comings. That way we don't hi-jack LTLR's thread. I would really like to discuss this more.

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

Me and my family have been doing quite a bit of shooting the past month and no writing so I thought I would update where we are with this project. I have been dialing in four different bullets to 1000 yards so while we are doing the hunting test we will also be testing bullets on game. The beauty of this rifle is that it shoots all bullets well which makes this project much easier. The four bullets are the 210 Berger, 208 Amax, 200 Accubond and the 200 Cutting Edge.

I have had to work up new loads for all the bullets because of the new lot of retumbo faster than the old lot I have had for several years. Basically it averaged out dropping the charges 1.5-2 grains. This will be the last update on this thread. The next update will be starting a new thread as we complete each hunt and discuss the bullet used and details about the hunt.

Our hunting begins next week with antelope and continues through November ending with whitetail deer. We have hunts lined up for elk with some premium tags that may produce a good one, buffalo, mule deer, etc. over the next three months nearly continuous hunting. We are all very excited testing the rifle in various field and weather conditions to see how the rifle performs. The treatment on the metal parts to prevent corrosion will be put to the test I am sure in temperature extremes from over 100 degrees to below zero and snow. I am anxious to see how the treatment performs on the moving metal parts to see if the action remains the slickest moving I have ever shot.

Here are a few of the recent targets we shot while getting the scope dialed into the loads with various bullets. I have shown quite a few of the Berger and Accubond targets so I included the Amax and Cutting Edge in these to show the ability of the rifle to shoot various bullets.

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

These are a series of targets as we were dialing in this particular bullet with two shots at each yardage testing drops. We did this out to 1000 yards for each bullet but I thought these pictures showed a good idea of two realistic shots at an animal at the various ranges. The 1.8" two shot at 700 yards was pretty good shooting for any rifle.

 

[Outlaw6.0]

That is tremendous shooting! I highly anticipate your follow up report, especially the report of the terminal ballistics of the CEB's. I have a pile of them for a 6.5WSM awaiting some fuzzy wuzzies this year as well

Thank you for contributing useful information to this site.