The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

We wouldn't advise most generally available tool steels for barrels, oomans, you might find them somewhat lacking in toughness. The mechanisms of barrel wear are quite different to other forms of wear that are normally encountered with steel: it's happening in the presence of high temperature supersonic gas flow carrying particulates in addition to the passage of the bulk solid (i.e. bullet) along the surface. It's appropriate to consider it a multi-physics problem, compounded by some interesting chemistry too when the shot has been fired and the combustion residues react with he atmosphere and begin to corrode the steel if the barrel remains uncleaned, or is incorrectly cleaned.

Thought I'd post an update on this. It took me a wee while due to having other stuff to do but I finally got the barrel blued and on the rifle. Old barrel came off without too much effort and the LW barrel went on and headspaced without any drama. Over the last few days I started the barrel break in and I have to say I am pleasantly surprised, I have been shooting from 50 out to 400 yards and it has turned out to be a very accurate rifle.

Cleaning wise I thought there may be a fair bit of copper fouling it being a new barrel, something I've experienced in the past, but there has been very little fouling and unlike Ovenpaa I have found it very easy to clean so far though I guess time will tell as more rounds go down it. Just need to get a stock for it now as I borrowed the stock from the other bargain Swede I found a year or so back, all in all very happy with this rifle.

Thank you for all your comments guys.