Have 16" mid-length barrels from both BCM and Noveske. The conundrum is what to do with them. I’m familiar with all the caveats accompanying stainless as a barrel material such as losing strength at lower temperatures than CVM, and becoming catastrophically brittle in the cold. However, BCM uses 410, one of the tougher stainless grades, and Noveske has long been touted as the ultimate “hard use” company.
Is there a consensus on the Noveske or Bravo Co. stainless barrels when it comes to something fairly rigorous like a weekend-long carbine course? Also, just how cold is too cold for stainless?
These barrels could be just the ticket for a couple of defensive/ three gun carbines I’d like to build. Are they suitable for this, or should they be relegated to a more accuracy-oriented setup? Thanks.
Either one will take whatever you can throw at it. I would have no worries about using them for the tasks you listed.
I have a BCM middie with many many rounds through it and no issues. A close friend has a Noveske with 10,000+ through it and it will still bench shoot sub MOA at 100 yards.
Have no fear with either in the cold, unless you are shooting high volume in sub zero weather.
I’ve no direct experience with the BCM, but I do know this: the reason we usually associate stainless barrels with applications other than “hard use” is because typical stainless tubes have traditionally lacked the hardness – and therefore, the durability – to stand up to their carbon steel counterparts.
In reality, it is worth observing that stainless has come a long way, and while we’ve discussed this before, Noveske’s SS barrels are actually harder than MILSPEC machinegun barrel steels. To the best of my knowledge, John hasn’t disclosed the specific type of steel he uses, but he has gone on record as stating that it measures 32 on the Rockwell C scale – and that lays a lot of the traditional durability arguments to rest.
As steels and barrelsmithing technologies have improved, the question with stainless has become more one of cost (as it equates to quality) than capability. For this reason, I would expect either of those mentioned to hold up quite well, and have chosen a Noveske 10.5" Stainless for my own SBR project.