Let's Talk Carbon Barrels... What are the REAL advantages and disadvantages?

[Rent Outdoor Gear]

Thanks, Darin. If you're ever in the Denver area cruise by the shop sometime.

Pardon me if Im away from the forum for a while. I'm at the hospital waiting for my wife to push this kid out.

I'll plan on it! Congratulations on the new addition to the family! You're in for an amazing ride!

Best wishes,

Coop

 

[cmeier117]

I am in now way an expert but I have shot a Christensen arms chambered in 300 RUM. I shot it a couple times and off a bench I was under a minute of angle. They are really nice guns. For me though I could never justify dropping the coin on one.

 

[HellsCanyon]

Thanks, Darin. If you're ever in the Denver area cruise by the shop sometime.

Pardon me if Im away from the forum for a while. I'm at the hospital waiting for my wife to push this kid out.

Congrats and good luck with your new addition to the family!

That was some great info and confirms a lot of what I've researched on carbon barrels. If you don't mind me asking, what are your barrels weighing in as a barrel blank?

Mike

 

[Albino Rhino]

Congrats and good luck with your new addition to the family!

That was some great info and confirms a lot of what I've researched on carbon barrels. If you don't mind me asking, what are your barrels weighing in as a barrel blank?

Mike

Thanks, guys. My wife, like the champ she is, pushed out a healthy baby girl on Tuesday evening. (future Rambler)

No problem, Mike. We're fans of Hells Canyon Armory up here at Kifaru Arms so I don't mind one bit. Our blanks start out in pretty much any contour and weight but by the time we are all done with a barrel we are at about 1#13 oz. on a 20.75" 308 barrel with a fairly beefy finished contour. The tricky part is contouring the steel portion of the barrel to match your pressure curve, thick in the boiler room, and thick walls thru 2" of bullet travel and 5" and so on. This also gives the rifle a very nice balanced feel. There's a few pictures up on our Facebook page of our barrels so you can see the contour. We don't do the typical beauty layer tubes because the 45 degree "cool carbon fiber" look is a waste of weight.

 

[HellsCanyon]

Thanks, guys. My wife, like the champ she is, pushed out a healthy baby girl on Tuesday evening. (future Rambler)

No problem, Mike. We're fans of Hells Canyon Armory up here at Kifaru Arms so I don't mind one bit. Our blanks start out in pretty much any contour and weight but by the time we are all done with a barrel we are at about 1#13 oz. on a 20.75" 308 barrel with a fairly beefy finished contour. The tricky part is contouring the steel portion of the barrel to match your pressure curve, thick in the boiler room, and thick walls thru 2" of bullet travel and 5" and so on. This also gives the rifle a very nice balanced feel. There's a few pictures up on our Facebook page of our barrels so you can see the contour. We don't do the typical beauty layer tubes because the 45 degree "cool carbon fiber" look is a waste of weight.

Congrats on the healthy kid! As a proud uncle of 5 I know how much of a relief it is to have mom and baby safe and sound!

You're absolutely right on watching that pressure curve. With that in mind we are running a bit heavier contour that I think we need too but I'm happy with the weight so far. We're right at 3 lbs for a 27" (will finish at 26") 30 cal barrel blank after wrapping. Ours indeed have a "cool" carbon look but they are setup a bit different than others... That is a sweet setup you got going there that's for sure! Hoping to have ours finished up in a few weeks then starts the fun part of burning powder and seeing how they are going to run!

Mike

 

[Albino Rhino]

Congrats on the healthy kid! As a proud uncle of 5 I know how much of a relief it is to have mom and baby safe and sound!

You're absolutely right on watching that pressure curve. With that in mind we are running a bit heavier contour that I think we need too but I'm happy with the weight so far. We're right at 3 lbs for a 27" (will finish at 26") 30 cal barrel blank after wrapping. Ours indeed have a "cool" carbon look but they are setup a bit different than others... That is a sweet setup you got going there that's for sure! Hoping to have ours finished up in a few weeks then starts the fun part of burning powder and seeing how they are going to run!

Mike

That's great Mike, I appreciate that. Sounds like you guys are doing some cool stuff over there. I'm excited to see it. If you guys ever need an FFL in the Denver area let us know if we can help you out. I'll PM you about some product we have in that you guys might be interested in.
Good talking with you.

 

[Whisky]

I will stick with steel, personal choice..........Interesting thread nonetheless. I enjoy reading about this stuff.

Sizing down a countour or two to achieve goal weight is not a big deal for me, though. Especially if you flute the SS.

I'm not opposed to carbon wrapped barrels. I'm no genius on this topic. But I know where my confidence lies.

Whisky