chrome lined rifle barrels

[Guesser]

I have a J.C. Higgins Model 51 30-06 that has a chrome lined barrel dated 4-56. I've used pistols with this chrome but never rifles. My question: Is it easier to develop a good cast load with or without chrome in a 22" barrel?
Or, will it have any effect at all?

[MtGun44]

Just curious. Why would JC Higgins spec a chrome lined bbl in '56?

Hmm - thinking a bit more, maybe to prevent corrosion from the milsurp
.30-06 corrosive ammo available in those days? Were commercial .30-06
loads still corrosive then?

No help from me. I've got a few milsurps with chromed bores (Jap99 for
example) but not yet done any cast in them.

Bill

[c3d4b2]

The practicality of the situation is there may be more variation in the group size, but you should still be able to determine the optimum load for the rifle with the same amount of effort.

[SierraWhiskeyMC]

As long as the bore is in good shape, it shouldn't make a difference.

Interesting rifle; apparently made by FN or Husqvarna, barrels by Hi-Standard.
http://www.chuckhawks.com/j_c_higgins_50.htm

There was undoubtedly quite a demand for corrosion-resistant barrels, as there was PLENTY of military surplus M2 ball ammo in those days. During WWII, there were 17 armories churning out an unbelieveable number of rounds a year; the surplus ammo was being distributed via the DCM (Department of Civilian Marksmanship) to rifle clubs that were holding CMP matches. We were still getting that WWII stuff up until the late 1960's.

There would've been a demand for a hunting rifle by those same shooters so that they could use some of that free ammo for hunting, and not have to worry about their barrels rusting from the corrosive priming.

[Guesser]

It is the FN action with the High Standard barrel. What I was wondering and obviously didn't ask is will the chrome finish tend to prevent lead accumulation in the bore. I assume its harder and smoother. By the way, the rifle shoots very well and I have a 20 year old unfired Mark X in 30-06 and did not want to use lead in it until the bore was polished. This J.C. Higgins is a recent acquisition at a fine, fine price to me.

[SierraWhiskeyMC]

It's certainly harder. As far as smoother - that would depend on a lot of things.

High Standard made great pistols for bullseye shooters (I have an old H-D Military), but I'm afraid I'm not familiar with their rifle offerings, with the exception that they did make a number of .50 caliber machine guns for the military long ago.

It would also depend on how well the barrel was treated since being made; how it was broken in, etc. I wouldn't really expect any better or worse than a steel barrel.

[StarMetal]

I shoot a chrome bore 7.7 Jap and Colt HBAR AR15 with cast and they shoot cast good. The plus side is the bores clean up very easy.
For your information all the Winchester 223 short mag rifles have chromed bores. Might have been truth years about that chrome bore barrels weren't as accurate as non-chromed ones, but technology is catching up on that fast.

Joe

[runfiverun]

j.c higgins made most of their bbls chromed, in 0-6 especially.
the ted williams line [ by jc higgins] was chrome lined also.
most of the chinese sks's have a chrome bbl as are most of the norinco guns. [9mm and 45 acp]
they shoot cast just fine also

[Char-Gar]

Chrome lined rifle barrels were fairly popular back in the 50s and early 60's. A number of factory rifles came that way. There was also folks who offered this service as an aftermarket item. IIRC there was an outfit called Marker Machine Co. that ran ads in the gun magazines.

About 1961 I cut and crowned a DCM Remington 4 groove 03A3 barrel in a lathe. As I finished the crown a little ring of chrome poped out. I know these barrels were not chrome plated, but I swear it was chrome. The bore was also very shiney and cleaned up slick as a whistle with very little work. I don't know where or how that barrel got chrome lined, but it did. Honest injun!

[softpoint]

Hard chrome is just that, EXTREMELY hard,Rockwell at about 72, I have a Bushmaster AR "Vmatch" that has a chrome bore. Even though there are no more corrosive primers around, some companies still do it for durability and rust prevention. Although there are some accurate rifles around with chrome bores, I wouldn't use a chromed barrel for an accuracy build.
I have a 1911 pistol that I had hard chromed , it looks good, (better than stainless) and you could toss it down the concrete street, and other than boogering up the sights, it wouldn't scratch it. It is said that a frame- slide that has been done with it will virtually never wear.:coffee: