When I wrote "hummer" I meant a barrel that would "shoot through conditions". THere is no such thing as that sort of "hummer". Sorry, but they laws of physics and thermodymnamics apply all barrels and bullets, regardless of the expereience of the trigger puller. Not sure what you are referring to when you speak of two hummers. I am very glad that you had two shooters and there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that you can shoot groups far better than me. There is also no doubt that the physical laws of th eunivers apply equally to all of us DATP's (dumb ass trigger pullers).

Didn't Ruger originally make their target rifle with what they called "buttress" rifling, which sounds like the 5R concept? If so, are they still made that way. You sure don't hear much about that any more, but I seem to remember quite a bit of talk about it when the rifles first came out.

Albert Canuck,

I have swaped e-mails with Mike Rock of Rock Creek Barrels and I am looking foward to speaking with him in detail about his barrels. I have ALOT of questions for him!

Anyone know what steel Mike uses for his 5R barrels??

I suppose what I am most interested in regarding 5R barrels is two-fold...first, how accurate are these barrels in general and secondly, how well do they perform with hunting bullets such as.... Nosler Part, Barnes X/TSX, Swift A Frame, Northfork and so on. My guess is that accuracy wise they will run with the best of them and performance with hunting bullets will be superb.


A few of the other issues I would also like to hear about are....

1.) barrel longevity - I have heard cut rifle barrels tend to have an edge here and would like to know if 5R also falls into the catagory of maintaining a high level of accuracy over many thousands of rounds?

2.) ease of cleaning - often stated and seems likely taking into consideration the design...?

3.) velocity - is there actually an across the board increase in velocity as I have heard?

4.) load specific - basically, will this sort of cut rifle barrel shoot a variety of different bullets/loads well using a variety of components? This is often claimed as one of the strengths of a cut rifle barrel and is very important to me as I will be using the barrels for hunting rifles and will certainly be using a cross section of bullet types & weights.

Negatives...? Anyone know of any drawbacks associsted with a 5R barrel from Rock Creek, Obermeyer or Border? Sounds like a few folks have mentioned shorter than normal barrel life...but, maybe not with regards to these three???


Matt in Virginia,

Flat out amazed...well that sounds promissing! Can you give me the specifics? What has impressed you most? I am looking to put a .416 Rigby together in the next couple years and I am begining the process of collecting the pieces parts.... action, walnut blank, barrel, scopes, mounts and the like. Has Mike Rock given you any feedback regarding barrels he's built for customers who have used them for hunting rifles? Your .375 H&H sounds like my kind of project!

Best Regards,
Dave