Hi, wanted to know if having a chrome-lined barrel will significantly affect groups past 600 yards. I see all the benefits of chrome-lining your barrel and wanted to know if the accuracy detriment is indeed worth going the stainless route.
Why would an AR10 be any different from an A15 styled weapon with chrome lined barrel?
Define your 600 yard precision standard.
An NRA/military 10 and X-ring are a whole lot more difficult to hit than a V or 5-ring or anywhere on a complete GI E-type silhouette.
Shoulder-to-shoulder I’ve never been to a match where a guy shooting a GI barrel beats a guy with a stainless National Match tube.
This is a 16-inch carbine with a chrome-lined blaster barrel. You can easily shoot it to 500-600 yards:
This one’s for precision, same distances and will go to 1,000 yards at 6,500 feet MSL in the Rockies:
They’re both still just carbines – YOU have to point them.
Chrome lining generally extends the life of barrel, but mostly adds corrosion protection. I would take either stainless or nitrided barrel over chrome any day of the week.
Due to the increased weight and cumbersome nature of the AR-10, I wouldn’t use it for the types of rapid close-quarter engagement drills I would with a 5.56 gun. It would be a dedicated long range utility rifle, set up with a bipod and magnified optic. I was planning on a 16" barrel for portability reasons. I’m guessing the stainless barrel would be preferred.
For my LMT MWS I have the 16" CL barrel and 18" stainless. Both are sub-MOA. The 18" is a little more accurate at 100 yards. Difference in length is negligible in terms of transport.
I’m doing two uppers. Just finished an 18" stainless for accuracy at distance, and I’m going to do a 16" cl for 100yds or less. My local range is 100yd and I don’t want to burn out a good barrel shooting clays at 30 or 40 yds, plus friends wanting to shoot it. There is a range a little ways from me I’m going to start using that goes to 800yds.
A modern made cl barrel should do much better than just 100yds… scope it, feed it decent ammo and you might be surprised.