Carbon Fiber Barrel
Looking for something different I saw a Browning A-Bolt with a Carbon Fiber Barrel. What is the good and bad points to a barrel like that? Do they shoot better, lighter guns or just something to talk about? Troy
09 July 2003, 17:43
OldFartA carbon fiber barrel is lighter and stiffer than a steel barrel. They take a regular steel barrel and turn it down to almost nothing, and then add the carbon fibers from there.
I had a buddy that had two of them built. The first on was a good shooting barrel to start with, and it stayed that way. The second one he bought off the shelf, and had it carbon wrapped before he fired a shot out of it. It ended up shooting lousy. The lesson learned is that carbon wrapping won't do much to improve a lousy barrel. I personally wouldn't spend the money on one unless I was satisfied the barrel was a shooter in the first place.
My 2 cents.
There is one thing I can't get over on a good Carbon Fiber barrel.... the price. Christensen Arms, the definative fiber barrel experts, charge $900 to mount one of their barrels on your rifle OUCH!