Plasma nitriding... PVD coating... excuse me?

The "average" person may not be familiar with such terms, so here is an explanation of why these things make so much sense in weapon manufacturing.

PVD coatings are usually very thin, hard, and slippery. However, these positive properties only come into play if the underlying base material is sufficiently hard. Otherwise, the so-called "eggshell effect" occurs, in which the hard PVD coating flakes off under stress. In this case, the expensive coating provides no added value.

To circumvent this problem, HST are additionally plasma nitrided. This provides sufficient support for the base material and also significantly increases the longevity of the components.

Finally, the existing residual stresses in the nitrided surface layer have a positive effect on overall safety in highly stressed component areas.

Receiver in plasma-nitrided condition