Hello Class,

So when it comes to choosing material for any part of a firearm somethings to keep in mind are the climate of which the shooter lives. As well as the type of firearm wanted and the task the firearm will be performing. When choosing a material some basic key points to go on are brittleness, ductility, comprehensive strength, malleability, mechanicability. A lot of these guide us as gunsmiths to build and shape firearms, especially when it comes to making a barrel for a client. Malleability is when a gunsmith is determining whether the material with deform under compressive forces, where as mechanicability is where we determine if the metal is going to with stand being cut and removed multiple times, this is to achieve the desired look and feel. When looking into brittleness this is the determination when using certain materials and whether they can withstand the stress of the manufacturing process, where as ductility is when a material is able to with stand the stress and distort using tensile stress to the point of plastic deformation. Comprehensive strength refers to the material being used and its viability when being crushed or compressed with out failure or being permanently being deformed. All of these to me are big things when discussing with a client and producing custom made pieces for them. Some of the materials that are available and the most common are, Stainless steel, Carbon hardened steel, lead, titanium, and brass. Evan though all these materials are used for different applications they are all used today.

Citations:

Sonoran Desert Institute, "Machining & Manufacturing Of Firearms", copyright 2021 / accessed 10 June 2025, Pages 21-35