Thanks for the data point Drew.

Here is an interesting series of articles about the history of alloy steels. It puts some names and faces to terms we've all run across reading about alloys and heat treating. Part one is easy to find on the net if you're interested.

https://nanopdf.com/download/metallurgy-lane-the-history-of-alloy-steels-part-ii_pdf

This era, the 1920's and 30's, marked the transition of steel making from an art to a science. My dad, who had a hand in making the stuff for Mr. Ford always said that before about 1930 steel was made pretty much by the seat of the pants.

Winchester would no more pay for steel that had properties not actually needed for the task at hand than would any other large profit making company, advertising claims notwithstanding.

There's something to be said for the idea that the change from 'nickel steel' to 'Winchester Proof Steel' was more of a cost saving measure than anything.

General Guy Drewry gained notoriety during WW2 for optimizing the steels used in war production minimizing waste of alloying metals.

My view is that Winchester Proof Steel is just a trademark and applied to whatever did the job the best for a particular application. 'Best' also figures in cost, and cost is not limited to just the price of the raw material. Tooling wear, ease of finishing, etc. figure in.

Is the steel used for a shotgun barrel also used for the barrel of a 300 Win Mag? They both get the trademark stamp.


BTW: The assay shows .09% Ni, which is pretty close to .1% (instead of <.01%) and not negligible. 4135 maybe, but with added Ni.

"The price of good shotgunnery is constant practice" - Fred Kimble