Are high end .22 bbl's made of the same steel as Centerfire?

[Hellbender]

Everyone seems to think .22 barrels are more fragile than centerfire barrels, at least as far as cleaning is concerned.

Are they made of softer steel? Supposedly button rifled barrels are softer, for the button to form the rifling.

But what about a Krieger/Bartlien/etc. cut rifled barrel?

 

[ZG47A]

Carbon steel is often preferred by custom barrel makers for barrels using lead bullets only, i.e. blackpowder and .22 Rimfire barrels BUT every maker has their own way of doing things .

 

[D_TROS]

THE top barrels in rimfire benchrest are Shilen and Benchmark. Both stainless. Nearly all top manufactures make a slow twist .22 cal barrel. They also all cost $300+

Well worth it in my opinion...almost as important as the rimfire smith who assembles them.

GL
DT

 

[skinnj1]

The rimfire barrels I have machined all cut with the same feeds and speeds I use on 416 SS centerfire barrels, while I don't know for a fact that it was the same (alloy and hardess), given how hard it is for barrelmakers to get a good lot of steel, who thinks they would spec a different product for an even smaller portion of their product line...

 

[Rocketvapor]

Not 'High End' but 416 SS .22LR
http://www.gmriflebarrel.com/901949-28-22lr-10-22-ss-bull-bbl/

 

[Hellbender]

I read all this stuff that people would never touch their rim fire bbl with a brass brush, etc, etc. and I thought maybe I was missing something or maybe their brass brushes were a lot harder than mine.

I agree, it may never NEED a brass brush, but I don't think the worry is justified.

I've had some very accurate rim fires with over 20k rounds down range and never cleaned anything but the chamber (with a brass brush and bore swab).

I've had others that needed scrubbing, with a brass brush, every few hundred rounds to keep their edge.

 

[RAVAGE88]

As a matter of comparison, Savage barrels and a good bit of their action components are made from 12L14 (very cheap and contains lead). Higher end manufacturers use 4140, 4150 and 416SS for barrel and action material. When it comes to using/not using metallic brushes, the concern isn't what the brush does to the bore, but more the crown (rimfire and centerfire alike).

There's also been discussion/threads promoting CLR (of the Home Depot variety) as a good cleaning agent, but I've found it to be a terrible solution for barrel cleaning. It's hard to see exactly what happens inside the barrel, so I tested the solution on various steels, including the more expensive and robust tool steels. Every material was etched (eroded) with what would be considered normal exposure (as if cleaning a barrel bore).

MB

 

[ZG47A]

There's also been discussion/threads promoting CLR (of the Home Depot variety) as a good cleaning agent, but I've found it to be a terrible solution for barrel cleaning. It's hard to see exactly what happens inside the barrel, so I tested the solution on various steels, including the more expensive and robust tool steels. Every material was etched (eroded) with what would be considered normal exposure (as if cleaning a barrel bore).

MB

RAVAGE88
I am not surprised by your findings. Thank you for your research and report. Empirical data always beats conjecture.