On Sunday, April 8, 2001 at 12:23:45 AM UTC-4, Mark Barber wrote:
Could somebody please explain the differences between 4130 & 4140 steel and
does 4140 have a common name
Thanks
Mark Barber

$130 thru 4150 are all Chrome Moly allows tat are used in rifle barrels. The military uses 4150 only in their barrels because the temperature and wear resistance is superior. So why don't we all use 4150? Well we don't usually need the same things as the military. As casual shooters/sportsmen, we usually want accuracy. 41130 is much easier to make a accurate barrels with but it also gives you the shortest barrel life. 4150 being difficult to turn out a super accurate barrel (don't read this as impossible) gives us the decent in between of 4140. It gives reasonable barrel life for most shooters and is easy enough to machine that barrels of good to excellent accuracy can be made. I have chambered in all three and find 4150 to be much more likely to grab the reamer and 4130 and 4140 seems to be about the same to me but I cant deliver the same type of measuring the industry can. I do know that 4130 in a rifle barrel can be a disappointment since if you get a ZERO group barrel, by the time you have found the best load and played with it , its time for a new barrel.
All the other info above addresses the technical features very nicely, I just thought I would address the benefits to all the features that were so wonderfully addressed.