stainless steel rifle care

[scoutman]

on friday i will be geting a new 22 rifle and it will be a marlin model 60 i am looking at the regular model 60 and the stainless version 60SB. now from what i have heard is that stainless guns ware faster than blued guns do. and that is some thing that i am conserned about cause i will be doin a lot of shooting i got the the Break Free oil for automatic and stainless guns so that might help keep it from waring out faster and another thing is that cleaning the entire bolt will prolong its life cuzz i have notice on my dads regular 60 that it is worn on the left side of the bolt ( the side you cant see when the gun is together) from grit and other stuff
i like the look of the stainless gun just wish that it was more durable or am i wrong
and is there any other info on taking care of stainless steel


and what does gall mean

and does the barrel ware faster

[Ron AKA]

The common stainless used to make guns is 416. It can be made very hard and strong -- up to 200,000 psi yield. This is more than you would typically get with a 4140 carbon steel alloy.

The issue is that it also has to be machineable, so nobody will heat treat it to that strength - carbon steel or stainless.

Potentially the barrel of the gun is subject to the most wear - it certainly is in overbore centerfire guns where barrel life may only be 1,000 rounds. Rimfires see much less stress, heat, and at least the .22 don't use jacketed bullets. I've seen estimates of barrel life (providing the owner does not ruin them cleaning) of up to 50,000 rounds. Action wear should be much less of an issue than the barrel if the gun is properly oiled. The nice part about stainless is that it does not rust or corrode. I personally don't like the look of stainless, but it does have advantages over the carbon steel materials.

See this discussion from a custom barrel maker for centerfire guns:

Lilja Precision Rifle Barrels - Articles: The Making of a Rifle Barrel

Ron

[HAWKEYE50]

I carried a 1911A1 inside my waistband for a whole summer, not a bit of rust. Maintenance break down and clean weekly. I've had 3 weapons in stainless and liked the ease of maintaining.