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I prefer cut rifled tubes and Krieger and Rock creek have been very good for me. With Rock Creek being simply stellar in .30 cal, For button rifled tubes I have had great luck with Lilja and Schneider. I cant imagine deviating from the above mentioned when the cost difference is trivial. | |||
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Are you thinking of looking at the muzzle being centered, or as boss said, "while looking down the bore while spinning"? | |||
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Doug, Have you tried to drill a 28"-32" hole and it be straight? It don't happen. Some are straighter than others. They are turned between centers, but the bore wanders as it traverses the length. The bore both at the muzzle and breech are centered, but when you cut the barrel to length you may find that it ain't concentric at that point. I like straight bores, but have had crooked ones that shot very well. Butch | |||
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I have barrels by Pac-Nor and Douglas, but my one and only LW is my best barrel. | |||
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I'm talking about looking at it any way you want. My point is either it's straight and centered, or not. I thought that any quality barrel would be straight and centered or it wouldn't leave the shop. I'm not talking about A & B or Shaw and the likes barrels, but those considered the "good" makes. IMO, it's easy to double-talk about this. Again, it's either straight and centered or not - nothing in between, not close or almost, regardless of what way or angle you look at it or measure it. I see Butch talking about bores not being concentric, but I've never see that, but I've never looked closely either, because I always figured such a barrel wouldn't leave the shop, thus is a non-issue on a barrel costing over $500 for barrel and installation. KB ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ | |||
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I've looked down alot of tubes, visited numerous barrel makers ect. and I can tell you I've looked down what appeares to be a concentric barrel, turned it by hand and can see the shadow of a crook in it part way down the tube. I have one here by one of the big names thats as bad as it gets in that sense. | |||
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If that's the case, I'm shocked to find that I have been paying for these high $ barrel, and they may be straight or maybe not. It makes no sense to me that a barrel maker can state that the bores of his barrels are within ten-thousanths tolerance, for the length, such and such, blah - blah, and ship out a crooked barrel. That doesn't compute with me. If they have the tools to determine if the tolerances are maintained for the length of the bore, then surely they have the instruments to tell if a barrel is straight or bent. Which means that if they are shipping out bent barrels, then they are doing it on purpose, and not culling out the junk. If all this is so, then I want to know exactly how to make sure that if I'm forking out the cash, that I'm getting a straight barrel? KB ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ | |||
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First off I'll say I don't know jack about what is or isn't the best barrel. I prefer Shilen only because they are readily available. But would take a Krieger, Hart, Etc That said being a tool maker and having drilled some very deep gun driiled holes I will tell you fact on it is nearly impossible to drill a perfectly centered hole in a barrel blank 28" or 30" deep. The drill will wander a wee bit but it will wonder. Now all these barrel shops have tolerances on what they allow to leave the shop and what is scrap. So all barrels that are drilled will have a bore the is not centered over the entire length of the blank. How far it wanders is another question. I don't know but it's doesn't need to be much top be seen by the human eye. about .015" is all that is needed for just about all but the blind to see something off center. But it also depends on the wall thickness too. the farther away the hole is from a point of reference the harder it is to see any variance. www.KLStottlemyer.com Deport the Homeless and Give the Illegals citizenship. AT LEAST THE ILLEGALS WILL WORK | |||
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Wandering is one thing to me, and bent or crooked (outside or inside) is another. This is because slight wandering off center is presumably corrected by center turning to contour, if the bore is straight, but not necessarily perfectly parrallel to the outside. If the barrel is still crooked or not concentric (varying wall thickness along the circumfrence at any point along the length of the barrel) after center turning then that's the issue I'm talking about. KB ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ | |||
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ButchLambert [LW may make a 1 MOA hunting barrel]  The last 3 6.5.284 LW barrels all shoot five shot groups in the 2s & 3s at 100 yds. Also a 6mm br shoots five shot groups in the high 1s (.176) @ 100 yds.  Doug Humbarger NRA Life member Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club 72'73. Yankee Station Try to look unimportant. Your enemy might be low on ammo. | |||
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This is the gunsmithing forum. It seems to me that I could read some straight info here, especially about the subject of barrels. What I seem to be reading is not clear, yet. Some of you are saying that certain barrels are not concentric or straight. That's a big deal to me, if it's true. So, I want to know which barrel makers you have specific experience with who sent you a crooked barrel? I want to know how I can be assured that the barrel I'm buying has a straight bore? If that's not possible, then why? These are simple questions. I didn't initiate this crooked barrel conversation, but now that some of you who apparantly know something I don't have mentioned it, I want you to share your knowledge. I mean really, why would a gunsmith install a barrel, knowing it's crooked? I don't get it.
So, it's understood that the drill will wander off center. Question is - will it wander one way then another over the length of the bore, or is the bore generaly straight, although wandered a wee bit off center? Please clarify. KB ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ | |||
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Kabluewy, barrel straightness isn't so cut and dried. Barrel manufacturers don't guarantee straightness, they guarantee the the dimensions of the bore are uniform from one end to the other. It matters little to the bullet if the bore forms a complete loop between the throat and the crown as long as the bore dimensions remains uniform, and the exit is square and clean. Of course such a barrel would look silly but you get the drift. _______________________________________________________________________________ This is my rifle, there are many like it but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend, it is my life. | |||
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Doug Buddy. I haven't seen your name on the winners list. We've got some folks here that have not a clue about what they are talking about. A barrel can be within .0001 in end to end bore and groove size and the hole still be a helix. KB, the bore can go several directions and still measure within .0001 in bore and groove diameter. I give up!! Butch | |||
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OK, Westpac, in theory I get your drift. Maybe we're getting somewhere. So, Boss mention with pride how presumably a Hart barrel showed no run-out as he viewed it turning on the lathe. So, I presume that he meant that the bore was straight, throughout, not just at the breech and muzzel. I'm also presuming that the barrel was not an unturned blank, right off the boreing and rifling machine. So, that means I'm presuming that it was center turned. There are a lot of presumptions there, and I'm generous with the thought that clarity and choice of words are not a gunsmith's strong points. So, with all those presumptions, it seems to me that the barrel maker can tell for sure whether the barrel is straight and concentric before shipping. Am I on point so far? If not, please "straighten" me out. KB ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ | |||
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Depends on a few things but yes it can wander all over the place. I've had hole do a cork screw pattern on me ever so slight but still a cork screw. Here's the deal. And there are a few if's involved and keep in mind this is deep hole drilling in general not making barrel blanks. If the drill is correctly and properly sharpened. If the steel has a consistent hardness and grain structure. If the pressure on the cutting oil is maintained consistently. and if the chips are properly cleared from the hole then the drill should stay on track with in a few thousandths of an inch. and I mean less then .002" to .003" TIR If any of the if's change then the drill could build pressure on one side and start to move off center. That's my experience from about fifteen years ago drilling holes in mold cores How all that applies to barrel making is anybodies guess but deep hole drilling should be about the same given that it's the same materials. 4140, 420/416 SS, 8620 etc. www.KLStottlemyer.com Deport the Homeless and Give the Illegals citizenship. AT LEAST THE ILLEGALS WILL WORK | |||
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Butch, I don't mean to be rude, and don't give up, just get your chit straight.  It's not so much that I don't have a clue on what I'm talking about, but I somewhat foggy on what you are talking about. However, I do understand what you said above in the quote. Still, there's more to my questions. KB ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ | |||
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OK, what you say there makes sense to me, and answers part of my questions - probably as far as you can if you are not a gunsmith. Thanks for that clarity. Yet it seems to me that a barrel maker can tell if the bore cork-screws, and it also seems to me that no benchrest shooter would want to go into competition with such a barrel. I'm open to info and correction. KB ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ | |||
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Back in WWI, I think it was, Elmer Keith had a job checking and straighting gun barrels for the Army. I don't remember the type. He wrote of this in some detail. I sure others have too. A Google query returned about 224,000 results in 0.29 seconds. including the two below. Happy reading. http://castboolits.gunloads.co...ndex.php/t-9829.html mhb10-11-2006, 09:38 AM FWIW, barrels made in our shop are never straightened - the entire process is designed to produce a straight drilled and reamed blank - any which are NOT straight after reaming are never finished, or leave the shop. IF one had to straighten a barrel, the only correct time to do so is before it is rifled - any straightening done later is a makeshift. The problem with straightened barrels is that the induced stresses cause the barrel to 'walk' as it heats up from repeated firing, and, while this might not be a severe problem in a hunting rifle which is never fired more than, say, three shots in a fairly short time, it is not desireable in a barrel intended for high accuracy applications, where the requirement is to group a series of shots as closely together as possible. In this respect, the cut-rifling process offers advantages, because the barrel can be stress-relieved before any machining is done on the bar, and the blank turned to near-final outside dimensions before final reaming or rifling - typical bore TIR from end-to-end of a 30" blank so handled is less than .010", and subsequent external operations are done between centers on the bore itself: this makes for a straight, stress-free barrel, and avoids inducing further stress by turning a full-diameter blank after reaming and rifling (as must be done with buttoned barrels). While we have an overhead barrel straightening jack, it has never been used on one of our barrels - only on the occasional bent barrel (some fairly severe) brought in on customers' commercial or milsurp rifles. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/t...4/fir_m04_t06_04.htm best regards, dmw "The liberty enjoyed by the people of these states of worshiping Almighty God agreeably to their conscience, is not only among the choicest of their blessings, but also of their rights." ~George Washington - 1789 | |||
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I looked on several web pages of barrel makers - Shilen, Lilja, Kreiger, Hart, Douglas, Lother Walther, PacNor. The only one to mention barrel straightness is Douglas. All except LW mention tolerance of the bore and rifling specs, some gwad awful tight tolerances. So, I suppose I'm presuming too much to think just because they don't mention straightness doesn't mean their barrels and bores are straight, so not to worry. I'm gonna call my favorite barrel maker, and ask the question. I'm curious what he will say. He's always answered my questions in the past. KB ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ | |||
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The point is that very few barrels from any maker are perfectly straight. Within reason "pretty straight" shoot as well as "perfectly straight" Some barrel maker(Bill Houghbaugh?) said that barrel makers try to drill perfectly straight holes, but they almost never come out perfectly straight. Also, I believe it is accepted as fact that a nearly straight barrel that has not been straightened(basically externally bent so that the bore is straight) is much, much better than a barrel that is "perfectly" straight but has been straightened. Also, I believe all the top makers do not straighten their barrels. If the bore is deemed to be "not straight enough" during the manufacturing process it is scrapped. Please keep in mind I don't claim to be an expert. Jason "You're not hard-core, unless you live hard-core." _______________________ Hunting in Africa is an adventure. The number of variables involved preclude the possibility of a perfect hunt. Some problems will arise. How you decide to handle them will determine how much you enjoy your hunt. Just tell yourself, "it's all part of the adventure." Remember, if Robert Ruark had gotten upset every time problems with Harry Selby's flat bed truck delayed the safari, Horn of the Hunter would have read like an indictment of Selby. But Ruark rolled with the punches, poured some gin, and enjoyed the adventure. -Jason Brown | |||
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The bore will NEVER be perfectly straight, NEVER! As stated, there are tolerances for the amount of run-out & corkscrewing, but there will always be SOME crookedness however slight and undetectable by the eye. You can cut a turned barrel, any barrel from any manufacturer, into 1-inch-long segments and you'll find that in some the bore appears perfectly centered while in others it's definitely off. This all in the same barrel! The crookedness is there and it will always be there to some degree. We should accept it and go with the manufacturer whose products give the best performance. Brownell's sells a VCR tape with descriptions and instructions on making your own deep-hole drilling-&-rifling machine and making your own barrels. It's VERY interesting, not rocket science, and will give an insight into some of the problems. Regards, Joe __________________________ You can lead a human to logic but you can't make him think. NRA Life since 1976. God bless America! | |||
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Interesting thread. This discussion has been about accuracy in drilling a bore, but how does it compare to hammer-forging? Is it easier to turn and machine a perfectly straight mandrel? If a drilled blank is then forged over this mandrel, will it be straight as well? I presume it wouldn't matter if the drilled hole was a little off because the forging process would correct it. The resulting forging could then be stress-relieved and turned to final outside dimensions, thus resulting in (theoretically at least) a perfectly straight barrel and bore with no induced stresses. Or are there inherent issues with hammer-forging (ex. die alignment) that also cause straightness issues? | |||
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If the whole concept really bothers some of the posters as much as it seems to, I'd suggest they fall back on slings, sling shots, or arrows which don't have a bore so as to relieve their obvious angst.  I mean, really, this discussion could be interesting to those who drill barrels but to the rest of us, barrels are commonly available, which, when properly installed in a good action, etc will shoot under a 1/2 MOA in a hunter and much less in a bench gun. So why worry about minutiae when you can't do anything about it? I think I'm going to start selling my panty unwadding machine. Should be a hot item for gunsmiths to use on their customers.  xxxxxxxxxx When considering US based operations of guides/outfitters, check and see if they are NRA members. If not, why support someone who doesn't support us? Consider spending your money elsewhere. NEVER, EVER book a hunt with BLAIR WORLDWIDE HUNTING or JEFF BLAIR. I have come to understand that in hunting, the goal is not the goal but the process. | |||
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Very good point about the subject in general however when in competition you want to remove any and all variables possible. I have watched my Smith chamber too many barrels to count including most of mine and the question always comes down to “do you think that it is good enough” after the tube is indicated in? Being that I am not in the BR HOF, set world records, etc I have to rely on the final recommendation of my Smith who is and has. In all candor there are a lot of Smiths out there that use a process to indicate in a barrel that does not result in getting the most accuracy possible out of the barrel. Additionally, there are a virtual plethora of other factors that bear on the ultimate accuracy (not to mention shooter skills) that will or could negate much of what has been cussed and discussed above. For me specifically, when I sit down at the concrete bench or am lining up on an animal there is nothing in my mind except the condition as it should be. Distractions at this point are detrimental to the final objective of putting the bullet exactly where it needs to go. Yes, some of this is mental however; my quest no matter what type of firearm is being built or what it is being built for it must be the best it can be which includes materials, processes, equipment, and the all important subjective judgments of the Smith that go into the building of said firearm. Fortunately for me those are the folks that build my rifles. Sometimes knowledge in a subject that drives ones passion will develop ones expectations to require perfection.  | |||
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Thanks JBrown, JD, JCS, Westpac, Butch, D Humb, Fury and Boss, and a nice and informative PM, for the excellent info. Gato, save your panties and unwinding machine for your customers, since that is its best use. I thought about it overnight, and along with the feedback, I now have a good understanding of it. You have busted some myths for me. Thanks again. KB ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ | |||
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.....and I'm sure you are so much better for it. xxxxxxxxxx When considering US based operations of guides/outfitters, check and see if they are NRA members. If not, why support someone who doesn't support us? Consider spending your money elsewhere. NEVER, EVER book a hunt with BLAIR WORLDWIDE HUNTING or JEFF BLAIR. I have come to understand that in hunting, the goal is not the goal but the process. | |||
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More likely, my gunsmith of choice is better off for it, because I won't be pestering him about it now. Of course you didn't and don't have to worry about that. Maybe you can share with your fellow gunsmiths how you are blessed with customers who just bring you stuff, and don't ask questions or have preconcieved ideas or myths in their heads. Do you have a gold and jewel throne in your shop? Or is it a pink painted toilet on a pedestal (drop tube) that gets you all that respect, and unquestioning trust? KB ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ | |||
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When I stared this thread I had no idea how many opinions and how much informative technical data that would be shared. I appreciate all the feedback, and it went over and above anything I expected. Thank you all for the input..... I mentioned up front I had used Shilen, PacNor and Douglas in the past with good results, just wanted to try something different. The LW barrel would have probably served me well, but I just chose to go a different direction. I had not used a cut rifled barrel on any project, and the name Krieger kept popping up on the forum and seems to be highly thought of. I made a phone call and they had two in stock, one SS and one CM. The CM is on it's way and should make into a light-weigth little classic sporter. Thank you all again for the input, I got quite an education. Regards, Ed | |||
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I've heard rumor that the LW barrels sold in the US market are basically seconds that don't make it through inspection across the pond. Don't know if this is more than just a rumor. Looking through many barrels with a bore scope has shown me the US sold LW barrels to be quite smooth. This just means they are lapped. Doesn't mean they are uniform inside "around the clock" LW offers a mid priced deep chambered barrel, making installing one less work and less $. I've installed one and it shot well enough to please the client. I've cut a few stainless LW barrels successfully and lived to tell about it. Normally, I don't wish to bet my reputation on some one else's chambering abilities. If I was building a rifle with accuracy being the most important part, I'd buy what the winners are currently shooting. If the acceptable accuracy hovered around an inch then the field is wide open. | |||
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I've only got one LW barrel. It's on a custom .223, AR-15. Haven't tried to tweek it for accuracy and only have a 1-4x Leupold on it, but if I do my part it will average one moa. The barrel seems smooth, doesn't foul bad and cleans up easily. I'm happy with it. velocity is like a new car, always losing value. BC is like diamonds, holding value forever. | |||
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Deephole drilling with a gundrill, is almost the only way to drill a decent liniar straight hole. If sharpened decently, it delivers holes with less than 0.002" bend pr 40" of length. Because of the special design of the gundrill, it doesn't have any tendency to make crooked holes. If the machine isn't perfectly aligned, or the startbushing is to loos, it can produce a liniar straight hole, that comes out of center, but still liniar straight. One old and low-tech way to inspect for straihtness, is to insert a bushing into the one end of the bore, the bushing shall have a centered hole with a dia of apx 1/3 of the bore diameter. Then you put a sharp light shining tru the bushing, while you look from the other end. If the bore is straight, the images you see, is a perfectly symetric picture of numerous rings of light and shadows. Our test shows, that the symetry is totally destroyed, if you bend the blank more than 0.002" This test is done after drilling and reaming, and before rifeling. After this test, the blank is turned to final contour on centers, before rifeling and systematical lapping. All naturally in stressrelieved material, then you are almost certain to make a rifeling that is concentric to the outer contour, with a constant mesurements tru the bore.(most preferably with a slight taper towards the muzzle) By lapping systematically in a lapping mashine, with a long(8-12" long individually cast Tin lap (Sn))always automatically applying lappingcompound from the chamberend you should get a near to perfect rifeling. The long Tin lap, would start to lap at all high points, and gradually increase diameter, untill the intire surface is tutched by compound, leaving you with a rifeling automatically controled for diametervariations on both lands and groowes, and also on the sides of the rifeling ensuring a constante twist truout the entire bore. | |||
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well said and makes sense. Howard Moses Lake, Washington USA hwhomes@outlook.com | |||
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I'm with Butch on this one LW suck. The only one I have is on a 7mm Rem, and I haven't been able to get a load to shoot. You name it I've tried it. It just plane don't shoot. Krieger's are the only barrels for me. All my other rifles are built with them and they can all shoot the pecker off a fly at 100yds. Fuck em. There are two types of people in the world: those that get things done and those who make excuses. There are no others. | |||
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What, don't they guarantee their barrels? _______________________________________________________________________________ This is my rifle, there are many like it but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend, it is my life. | |||
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1...that's a statistically valid sample size to be sure.  Aut vincere aut mori | |||
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I've built about 20 rifles with Krieger barrels and have had two that don't shoot well. The first of these was rebarreled with another Krieger and now it shoots lights-out. The second rifle, I'm still messing with but it doesn't look hopeful. I have two Smith barrels and they both shoot great. I have two Lilja barrels and they both shoot great. I have one LW barrel and haven't fired a shot through it yet. What I'm trying to say is that there are so many variables and very few of us (me included) have enough barrels from individual makers to draw more than anecdotal conclusions. Serious benchrest shooters who can spin many different barrels on the otherwise same platform are in a much better position to make informed judgements about what works and what doesn't. One other important comment, remember that second Krieger barreled rifle I complained about in my first paragraph? In the last two years I've made 8-10 one shot kills on various big game animals with that rifle - including a couple of pronghorns at 200+ yards and a blackbuck antelope at 350 yards. What frustrates us at the bench often doesn't mean much under hunting conditions. ______________________________ "Truth is the daughter of time." Francis Bacon | |||
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I have three rifleswith LW barrels (9,3x62,30-06 and 300 WM) and one rifle with a Shilen in 270 Win. The LW's shoot good enough for hunting, maybe if I continue trying new loads I can improve that, but I bought them for hunt so it's ok with me. But the Shilen barrel (270 win) is just fantastic !! At least for me... Here are 4 shots inside my wedding ring at 100 yards(two Hornady Custom 140 gr, one Winchester Silver Point in 130 gr and one Remington CL in 150 gr)  I don't have nothing wrong to say about LW barrels but given the oportunity, I will ALWAYS choose a Shilen in the future.. L | |||
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The real problem with barrel makers in my opinion is what type of customer service they have. If you buy enough product from any manufacturer, no matter what that product is, you will eventually find a bad one. What the manufacturer does at that point is what is most important to me. I've used douglas, shillen, and pac-nor quite a bit. I once had a problem with a pac-nor and sent it back to be evaluated. They took a look at it, and made a replacement without question or cost to me. Same problem with a shilen barrel. Sent it back and they hemmed and hawed then sent me a replacement they had in stock. I specifically asked them to double check the tolerences because i had a customer waiting and couldn't afford the time for more mistakes. They said "sure" we can do that. Then proceded to send me a barrel with the same problem as the first. Are there shilen barrels that shoot great? Absolutely, i've shot them. Will i recomend them to my customers ever again? NO! Curtis | |||
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My Rebel .50 BMG has a 36" LW barrel, 1 5/8" dia. and it shoots very well. Also cleans pretty easily too, so it must be fairly smooth, I don't have a borescope or such to see inside well but copper is removed pretty easily with the proper solvents. As well as the rifle shoots, I wouldn't hesitate to replace with the same barrel if it ever comes to it during my ownership. | |||
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I am not a machinist or an engineer. In fact I am a trained Sociologist! Now....in today's age of high precision micro robotics etc where I can buy a computing processor / the size of a cigarette packet that has the same capabilities of a good lap top of 2 years ago for less than US$100, why can't we get barrels with absolutely straight bores? Why can't we use some other reliable technology to make straight holes? Ok, I understand that hammer forging makes straight barrels but it also produces a lot of stress on the steel. Buy why can't they make a small straight hole with lazer or some other technology & then follow this straight hole with a normal method?   "When the wind stops....start rowing. When the wind starts, get the sail up quick." | |||
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