It's also applied to the bore of the barrel, and that is believed to make cleaning easier and increase
accuracy life.
They promise to provide match-grade accuracy, extended barrel
accuracy life through rapid heat dissipation, excellent damping qualities and increased stability resulting in no bullet point of impact shifts during high-volume strings of fire and extreme durability.
The
accuracy life of a normal high power bore is less than a tenth that of the average rimfire bore.
Shockey claimed the roller slowed down the slide, reduced the twisting action of the gun during recoil, and prolonged the
accuracy life of the pistol.
XLC is Barnes' proprietary process similar to moly which claims to have the same benefits -- decreased friction (thus slower heat build-up) longer
accuracy life for a barrel and less frequent cleaning intervals.
That all translates into increased dimensional stability and longer
accuracy life. Aesthetically, though, that huge pipe-of-a-barrel makes the gun look like a little howitzer.
Because the 6.5 Creedmoor burns a smaller powder charge, match-level barrel
accuracy life will be longer than with the larger 6.5-284 Norma.
With cartridges that burn a teacup full of powder with each squeeze of the trigger (the .26 Nosier and 7mm Ultra Mag come to mind) in a light to medium-heavy barrel, three shots is usually plenty if maximum
accuracy life is important.
They reduce friction, increase barrel and
accuracy life, reduce fouling, and make a bore easier to clean when it does need it - which ain't often!
A bore guide is cheap insurance that a barrel's
accuracy life isn't cut short by rod abrasion in the throat area.
Basically what MD coating offers is a 3 percent or more increase in velocity because of less bore friction, greatly increased
accuracy life for barrels, more uniform velocities, an 8 to 10 percent gain in accuracy, and easier cleaning because fouling is greatly reduced.
While few hunting rifles are ever "shot out," the extended
accuracy life that stainless barrel offers is nonetheless powerful selling point.