Is a proof research barrel worth it?

[Mark37082]

I know it's a little late, but hopefully this helps other folks.

I have three proof carbon bbls. A 16.5" 6.5 Creedmoor bolt gun, a 16.5" AR in 5.56 wyld, and a 22" 300 win mag.

All will shoot 1/2 MOA or better (I have dropped in some groups around 1/4") 5-shot groups with the right ammo and me doing my part and they will do it on day one if you know what your are doing with your loading practices, but I can only get the AR to do it if I load beyond magazine length which isn't practical. At mag length with Lapua brass and basically no prep, the AR shoots around .8". If I work on it, I could probably get that down more but it's an AR so I haven't put the time in.

I don't shoot enough to worry that much about the barrel life. Maybe put 300-500 rounds through each and I haven't seen any degradation and some of my stuff is pretty hot. If anything, my group sizes have gotten smaller the more I shoot because I'm getting better.

A huge pro for me is that a steel barrel will get so hot it will boil water/burn you. The carbon barrel never seems to get so hot you can't touch it and I shoot suppressed. You may not want to grab it and hold on though. I don't know if it's dissipating heat faster or just insulating and holding the heat on, but either way it doesn't seem to impact accuracy.

I also like that I don't have to worry about pitting and I love the carbon look.

The only issue I have is that on the 300 wim mag, my groups will drop about 1/4 inch from string to strong as the bbl warms up. Eventually they will be about an inch or more low. Still tight groups, just with a lower POI. It's pretty predictable and comes back to zero each time. I asked someone at proof about that and they said that's normal for magnum rifles with a can on the end pushing that much heat. I don't know if that's 100% true or not but I'm ok with it because this isn't a match rifle. On hunting you aren't likely to put 15 rounds down range in less than 30 minutes. Just for reference, I'm pushing 75gn h1000 with a 230gn berger around 2750fps. I used to shoot hotter but there wasn't much benefit so I backed it off. Pretty spent after 10-15 rounds of that anyway...

The 6.5 doesn't have any POI shift even after 50 hot, suppressed rounds rounds in about 90 minutes. Likely because of the shorter bbl and smaller cartridge.

So, if you can afford them they do pretty well for the right applications. I probably wouldn't do another AR in a proof bbl just because you could probably get similar results with a much less expensive thin steel bbl, but on a longer range bolt gun, it's a solid choice especially in the mid-range cartridges like 6.5 CM.

I forgot about this thread. Welcome to the forum. There are many good barrel options out there. I was a bit concerned with the Proof on my build, but it ended up just fine. They are definitely one of the more attractive CF barrels IMO.

 

[Buckskinner]

Just put together an Impact NBK and Proof Carbon in 6.5 PRC on a used Manners EH1 that I bought here. This target is first 5 bullets out of the gun at 100yds. Top right was bore sighted shot and the other 4 was after adjustment. New Lapua brass with 153 ATIPS over 54 gr H1000 set at mag length.

I'm beyond impressed and looking forward to stretching this sucker out!

 

[bwinn]

Ok, longer answer...







Are Proof carbon barrels good quality? Yes, most of the time.







Are they lighter comparabl barrels? No, they are the heaviest carbon barrel on the market I'm pretty sure.







Are they cheaper then comparable barrels? No, they are 30-50% more than other carbon barrels.







Are they worth the extra cost? Imo, no. Especially when you can get other carbon barrels that are just as good AND lighter for LESS money.







So why are Proof's so expensive? The name. Just like buying a CAT, an extra cost for the name.







I think before Proof bought out ABS that Mike was making top notch fully custom barrels, now they are a production barrel with the same price. Just in my opinion.





What other brands of carbon fiber barrels would you recommend? Which ones do you think represent the best value?

 

[338 dude]

Ok, longer answer...

Are Proof carbon barrels good quality? Yes, most of the time.

Are they lighter comparabl barrels? No, they are the heaviest carbon barrel on the market I'm pretty sure.

Are they cheaper then comparable barrels? No, they are 30-50% more than other carbon barrels.

Are they worth the extra cost? Imo, no. Especially when you can get other carbon barrels that are just as good AND lighter for LESS money.

So why are Proof's so expensive? The name. Just like buying a CAT, an extra cost for the name.

I think before Proof bought out ABS that Mike was making top notch fully custom barrels, now they are a production barrel with the same price. Just in my opinion.

Proof is not the heaviest carbon barrel, I've run three proofs on one of my rifles. Now I went to a Bartlein carbon, and it is heavier.

 

[Buckskinner]

Interesting first post is a repost from 2017.

Think of what has changed in the industry over the last 6-7 years. For that matter everywhere....