Switch barrel

[reubenski]

When done correctly it might be slightly more convenient than a shouldered barrel but probably not by much. The only thing I need to change the barrel is a small wrench with a Borka 90in-lb torque limiter, I don't need to brace it between my legs and wrench on flats machined on the end of the barrel so it is someone more convenient in that regard.

The one benefit I really like it for is savage prefit barrels and shouldered carbon fiber barrels as I can change them without removing them from the stock.

Don't those torque screw threads on the Barloc stretch? Didn't Ted address that in his debut video explaining that they're easy to source and replace?

What happens if you forget your 90in/lb torque limiter and just tighten that screw by feel?

 

[reubenski]

Pre fits can be very precise, very close, barely exceptable or rejectable. They can take on many forms and be great or just plain bad. Switch barreled rifles can be very good if the person knows how to properly set each barrel up correctly. if it is something like a savage with a barrel nut there are more chances of getting it right.

I still believe that the most consistent head spacing is performed by a competent gun smith. I have re head spaced many pre chambered barrels using many different process depending on the action and barrel set up to bring the head space to very exacting dimensions for best overall performance of primer strikes, case fit and life,
and best accuracy and have always seen improvements if everything is done right.

Close is not in my vocabulary so I am not willing to use pre chambered barrels for anything, I prefer to chamber even the AR style rifles to get the best fit and function.

Just Me

J E CUSTOM

Let's not forget that gunsmith threaded to fit and factory rifles have been just as flawed and prone to poor execution. They are after all also made by the same group of people.

I'm also surprised to hear the opinion that traditional barrel nut setups offer more chances to get it right. Unlike a shouldered barrel they require a user to headspace the barrel. Logically it could be successfully argued that they offer more chances to get it wrong.

 

[reubenski]

I don't have answers for an exact amount, just that excessive headspace causes brass to stretch and can lead to case head separations. @J E Custom


My point was not that prefits have improper headspace nor that prefits are inherently bad. Simply that the action world is being flooded with actions that are "perfect" according to them, and in reality the custom shooting world does not have the preliminary testing timeline and amounts to actually compile the data without things like this happening, where shooters become data testers, and a bunch of them don't know if they actually have headspace issues, or oversized chambers etc. Tooling is wearing on the action side and the aftermarket parts side at all times, and as much as we want them to be sometimes they aren't legos.

My point in asking is that all that's going to happen is your brass will stretch on the first firing. Most virgin new brass and factory brass is well under headspace and stretches on its first firing. If you as a user don't measure your once fired brass headspace and set your die accordingly I don't think that's your barrels fault or a factor of an action that's advertised to be 2.1234 and is actually 2.1235. The saami headspace number in someways is an arbitrary number. Really you just need to headspace your brass according to your chamber. This idea that headspace is super dangerous redline bc of potential case head separations gets overblown and tossed around a lot. Just don't bump your shoulders back 8 thou every reloading.

 

[25WSM]

Those are the reasons I said it's better to have a gunsmith chamber a regular shouldered barrel and just change them out easily. I've built these for over 30 years for customers with no problems. Anyone who has had a new barrel put on can just screw their old barrel back on as long as the receiver was not changed or the recoil lug. I don't know any Smith that put barrels back on as tight as a factory ones so they are easy to remove with simple tools. There are lots of smiths and shops that put out prefits for savage and Remage that are very well done. Both are good but I like how simple it is to just unscrew one barrel and screw the other on. No nut. No headspace gauges. Doesn't get any easier.
Shep