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silverbullet · February 2, 2013, 12:57 AM

Probably not the right thread but I have never had this conversation before although I think about it a lot. Being in the prototype design industry, I am fully aware of the lack of strength in stainless steel. There are many types and some better than others but as a comparison, if you were bolting steel beams together you would not use stainless. The grade 8 bolts normally used would be your choice. Guess what, if you were to use stainless steel you would be using about a grade 2 strength. Im sure none of the parts in the rifle in question were stainless but this is something we need to think about and take a look at. Im not sure about stress fracture characteristics of steel vs stainless but they must be quite different from each other based upon the classification of grade strengths of bolts. Now, even if we dont experience the catastrophic results mentioned above, what about accuracy. How can the stainless grooves hold up like steel. Answer is they cannot. So where are we headed with all this stainless hardware? I only have one firearm that is stainless, a Ruger .45 LC.
There was a time when some firearms made of alloys other than pure steel were lined with a steel insert inside the barrel. It is sure something to think about down the road folks.

February 2, 2013, 12:57 AM	#16
silverbullet Member Join Date: November 11, 2009 Location: In a swamp in Georgia Posts: 18	Malfunction Probably not the right thread but I have never had this conversation before although I think about it a lot. Being in the prototype design industry, I am fully aware of the lack of strength in stainless steel. There are many types and some better than others but as a comparison, if you were bolting steel beams together you would not use stainless. The grade 8 bolts normally used would be your choice. Guess what, if you were to use stainless steel you would be using about a grade 2 strength. Im sure none of the parts in the rifle in question were stainless but this is something we need to think about and take a look at. Im not sure about stress fracture characteristics of steel vs stainless but they must be quite different from each other based upon the classification of grade strengths of bolts. Now, even if we dont experience the catastrophic results mentioned above, what about accuracy. How can the stainless grooves hold up like steel. Answer is they cannot. So where are we headed with all this stainless hardware? I only have one firearm that is stainless, a Ruger .45 LC. There was a time when some firearms made of alloys other than pure steel were lined with a steel insert inside the barrel. It is sure something to think about down the road folks. __________________ "IF YOU CAN READ THIS YOU ARE IN RANGE"