Chrome-lined or non chrome-lined AK barrel?

[ZX-10R]

The answer is up to you and your cleaning habits. I have both and it has not mattered in all honesty to ME.

[Richard Erichsen]

I have a Serbian (Yugo) variant - Zatava PAP... non chrome lined and all I've ever ran through it is Yugo surplus (lots of it). No corrosion, pitting, rust, etc...

Initially I was concerned and cleaned right away... then I started realizing it's internet paranoia and have waited up to a week (typically following weekend from when I shoot)... never an issue.

Maybe its just this rifle? But it's gtg with no chrome lining and plenty of Yugo ammo.

LBDamned,

Ditto with my first M70 build. Unless you live in Mississippi or a similarly humid environment, I don't think you'll see the fabled "left it overnight without cleaning and it was rusted shut by morning" scenario. For most of California, and the Southwest in general, it's a desert averaging 10% humidity. Without moisture those salt deposits won't do much of anything.

For all the worry about corrosive ammo and the insistence on chrome, there are at least a hundred builders and shooters letting fly with Yugo surplus in their unlined barrelled weapons and suffering no calamity as a result.

On the plus side the more paranoid types might leave more of the shrinking stockpiles of Yugo M67 for those that have found its not the problem Internet lore has made it into. For anyone really worried about it, the exposed steel bits could be Isonite/Melonite QPQ treated, or where applicable, repaired or replaced.

R

[LBDamned]

The "lack of chromium" theory has been debunked. The Yugoslavians/Serbs certainly chromed things they felt needed chroming. For example, while the barrel bores and chambers weren't chromed, if you look at the gas pistons, they are chromed. If you look really carefully at the original chrome plate, you'll see most of these gas pistons have deep pitting, chips and signs of hard use. It's not that they didn't have chrome, or didn't know how, but given what many of the rifles went through that we have any useable parts in the aftermath would seem to suggest there is a whole lot of smoke and mirrors in the claims that only a chrome lined chamber and bore will do.

R

^^^ well stated.

[LBDamned]

LBDamned,

Ditto with my first M70 build. Unless you live in Mississippi or a similarly humid environment, I don't think you'll see the fabled "left it overnight without cleaning and it was rusted shut by morning" scenario. For most of California, and the Southwest in general, it's a desert averaging 10% humidity. Without moisture those salt deposits won't do much of anything.

For all the worry about corrosive ammo and the insistence on chrome, there are at least a hundred builders and shooters letting fly with Yugo surplus in their unlined barrelled weapons and suffering no calamity as a result.

On the plus side the more paranoid types might leave more of the shrinking stockpiles of Yugo M67 for those that have found its not the problem Internet lore has made it into. For anyone really worried about it, the exposed steel bits could be Isonite/Melonite QPQ treated, or where applicable, repaired or replaced.

R

While I agree that the internet lore leaves more Yugo for those in the know - I also must question the issue of location... I live about 5 miles from Pacific Ocean and while not the level of humidity as some Gulf Coast brethren, its not exactly desert dry either (but you are right, its not extremely humid).

Excessive humidity is potentially problematic regardless of chrome lining.

[Richard Erichsen]

Keep in mind that chrome-lined barrels last longer than non-lined ones, and that changing the barrel on AKs (at least stamped receiver models) is not a simple matter. The barrel is the one part of the AK that should not be skimped upon.

With the right tools (a barrel press and a trunnion support block, some pennies or soft zinc slugs) a barrel comes out and a new one goes into the trunnion in 15 minutes or less. Headspacing can take a bit longer, Roccobro can usually do it in 30-45 minutes.

I don't consider an unlined barrel to be nearly the deficiency it has been made out to be. A barrel that lasts 6,000-7,000 rounds while providing consistent accuracy in the 3-4MOA range at 100 meters (many modern barrels do better than this), degrading slowly to 8MOA by 12,000-14,000 rounds has fired a pile of ammunition that would fill a very tall pallet and cost several thousand dollars. The cost of the barrel is a fraction of what commercial ammo would cost and as surplus ammo prices rise is still many times more ammo budget than barrel replacement cost. Most people don't shoot more than a few hundred to perhaps a couple thousand rounds out of a rifle in a year. At 500 rounds per year, assuming the barrel is otherwise well cared for, it will be 12 years before it may start showing signs of decreasing accuracy as the throat and muzzle erode further.

If these were fully automatic weapons and the user was going into a hot zone, I might feel differently, but neither are applicable to 99.9999% of the rifle owners out there.

R

[AR-15 Rep]

Lesson learned from Vietnam era... lack of cleaning, corrosive ammo, and humidity, made the military go to the chrome chamber and bore on the M-16. Barrel life was extended, however accuracy was reduced slightly. With the AK, I would go with chrome lined chamber and bore due to the corrosive ammo and steel cased rounds. Either would probably do fine with proper cleaning and lube. AK's were not meant to be the most accurate rifles, or long range so chrome lining may not hurt you there.

[The War Wagon]

Chrome, if for no OTHER reason, than the cruddy nature of Combloc ammo!

[Richard Erichsen]

It doesn't have to be either or: A plain barrel can be nitrocarburized with all the benefits of chrome without the downside and retain the intrinsic accuracy potential of a well made barrel.

R