Carbon barrels

[BCMAG2]

That much is true. It was indeed a beautiful barrel. If only it would shoot half as good as it looked.

 

[cjl2010]

That much is true. It was indeed a beautiful barrel. If only it would shoot half as good as it looked.

Did you send it back to the barrel maker for inspection? If you got a bad steel barrel, would you quit shooting altogether?

 

[BCMAG2]

I left that to my builder. Not sure what he did with it.

 

[Sending156s]

So I've read multiple threads on which carbon barrel to go with, but yet I'm still here asking the question in this time is there really anything these companies are doing better than the other? The ones I have it narrowed down to are carbon six,hells canyon armory mainly because they do a 7 twist or the Bart. Have a steel barrel from them and that's by far my best shooting rifle. The only carbon barrel I have is a proof in a factory savage 28 nosler it was hands down the dirtiest barrel I've ever been around during break in which still isn't complete. Any of your thoughts are welcome if I'm missing a company or any personal experiments you guys have done is welcome.

I'm shooting my 1st CF barrel. I went with Bartlein just because I've used them for all my customs and never had a bad one. I didn't believe they would put one out that would hurt thier rep. I've just got this one, under a 100 rounds. I'm happy, but that's not many shots to go by.

 

[Northkill]

Did you send it back to the barrel maker for inspection? If you got a bad steel barrel, would you quit shooting altogether?

Good question for BCMAG2. You gotta be more objective than that. If yours would have shot like the one in the following attachment, your song would be different. If you don't need the weight savings, then don't bother with carbon. If weight is a factor, then try it again, bud.

(Post #9)

Terminus 300 PRC and 6.5 PRC, Problem Solvers.

6.5 PRC and 300 PRC built on Terminus actions. 6.5 PRC built on the Terminus Apollo Lite, and the 300 PRC built on the Terminus Kratos. Both wearing Proof barrels and McMillan stocks.

www.longrangehunting.com

 

[cabelasken]

I replaced my perfectly good steel Bart 300 RUM with a top end, fat contoured carbon for a faster twist. Big mistake. Never could get it to shoot much better than 1.5" at 100 yds. Sent it back to my rifle builder after wasting 2 lbs of H1000 and a variety of bullets. He tried all kinds of loads and couldn't get anything to shoot either. Took that worthless carbon barrel off and now I'm still waiting for a steel replacement barrel to arrive. Not gonna name the brand but lets just say its about the most expensive one out there. So quality should not have been an issue. I am also unconvinced by the claims of superior heat dissipation. I suspect that people reach that conclusion because the exterior of the barrel stays cooler. But thats move likely due to the carbon acting as an insulator than a heat dissipator. Think oven mitts here. I am done with carbon for good.

You are absolutely right on your comment of heat dissipation. The thin metal barrel that sees 3000+ degrees is still smoking hot.

 

[Zorack]

After talking with Rich, i need to call bart and see what the lead time is for a 7 twist .284 barrel other wise ill just go 8 twist and be done. I plan on running the 154's i never did here back from hells canyon so we should be set. i will list my build specs below keeping in mind as most build some parts are subject to change.

tikka t3 mag bolt face action
mesa precision stock in glacier camo
26 in bart carbon barrel 1-8/1-7 twist chambered in 7 mega.
bottom metal is looking like factory with hells canyon armory mags maybe.
bushnell lrhs 2, 4.5-18x44 with the g2 reticle
factory trigger tuned to 1.75lbs
terminator t3 muzzle break.
kampfeld will be doing the smith work for me.

Lead time is probably 10 to 12 months from bartlien.

 

[Northkill]

Lead time is probably 10 to 12 months from bartlien.

Hmmm, I just ordered a .277 in 7.75tw in the 400 MOD and was told a lot less than that. Might depend what you're getting. Or maybe how you ask.

 

[Plowboy85]

Duplicate

 

[Plowboy85]

Hmmm, I just ordered a .277 in 7.75tw in the 400 MOD and was told a lot less than that. Might depend what you're getting. Or maybe how you ask.

Last one I ordered a few months back was 6-7.

 

[Northkill]

Last one I ordered a few months back was 6-7.

Sounds more like it.

 

[Australia]

Gamesniper thanks for your very informative post
We have tried four different Carbon barreled rifles all in 308win and no matter what we did with loads or shooters we couldn't get them to shoot so got our money back so we figured that they only send their rubbish down under to get rid of it
We don't mind the weight as we have gotten use to it and we walk about 20klm in search of collection of ferells usually in terrain that a chopper cant spot them
Carbon barrels to us is like having you stock touching your barrel and the shots are erratic

 

[aschler]

Generally your thinking is fine. In this case I was not referring to the lands and grooves.
By wearing out I mean - every time a piece of steel is flexed it loses repeatability and strength properties due to stress over time. The thinner the steel, the more it is prone to lose stiffness and signature through barrel whip. Carbon has significantly higher tolerance to this over time, so much so that it is not perceptible to anyone other than measuring machines. Also, carbon is a natural vibration dampener and as such, can help cut down on felt recoil and follow through vibration during the shot. Lastly, due to its stiffness over time, the point at which the bullet leaves the barrel during the whip signature will stay more constant and repeatable than steel

Have you ever seen a barrel wear out from flexing before the rifling? Properly designed steel parts usually have life cycles of over 10^8 load cycles.

 

[Gamesniper19]

Have you ever seen a barrel wear out from flexing before the rifling? Properly designed steel parts usually have life cycles of over 10^8 load cycles.

In high end custom guns, it is rare but in factory hunting rifles it actually happens quite a bit.
The definition we used in the data of wear out means that before the chamber, lands and grooves are worn past the point of having to rechamber or replace the barrel, the barrel loses accuracy. It happens with #2 and #3 barrels mostly but can happen in other contours and rifles due to steel used or build quality. The harmonics change to the point where the signature changes (the point at which the bullet leaves the barrel within the whip) where with the same exact load may shoot a sub moa group one day and a +2 moa group the next.

True, it is something most shooters won't see in a hunting rifle, sometimes PRS style shooters see it. So from a practical hunting and a weekend shooter standpoint who will never put 1500 rounds through a rifle, it may not be as relevant but from a materials, technology and capability standpoint, ill take carbon over steel anytime.