Proof competition prefit barrels

[762 ULTRAMAGA]

What's the concensus on Proof SS competition contour prefits?
The price is good I'm just curious how guys are liking them, and do they last as long as say Benchmark or Bartlein?

 

[spife7980]

I’ve only had the one 6creed but it was shooting well when I pulled it at ~2k rounds.
If it’s a good price I’d say it’s a good buy.

 

[Kadams1563]

They shoot well for me.

Have a 6GT Perot and a .223AI. Both are sub half MOA pretty frequently.

 

[Infidel4life11]

Haven’t shot it yet but I’ll hopefully get to the range this month. It’s heavy AF

 

[EXSOCAL]

All the Proof SS barrels I've used are hammers. They make a great barrel now days. Out of the 200+ barrels I chambered last year, I didn't have a single bad Proof barrel. I did get a bad barrels from a couple of the other major barrel makers - chunks of rifling sheared off after a handful of rounds, inconsistencies in rifling, some nasty tooling marks, etc. This number was very, very small though. All the barrels from the alpha manufacturers are really solid now.

As far as how long they last compared to other manufacturers, there is no difference. That is all dependent on the cartridge and firing schedule.

 

[762 ULTRAMAGA]

All the Proof SS barrels I've used are hammers. They make a great barrel now days. Out of the 200+ barrels I chambered last year, I didn't have a single bad Proof barrel. I did get a bad barrels from a couple of the other major barrel makers - chunks of rifling sheared off after a handful of rounds, inconsistencies in rifling, some nasty tooling marks, etc. This number was very, very small though. All the barrels from the alpha manufacturers are really solid now.

As far as how long they last compared to other manufacturers, there is no difference. That is all dependent on the cartridge and firing schedule.

Good to hear
I've had people claim that some manufacturers use softer steel than others and thus barrel life is shorter, proof has been mentioned as using softer steel.

 

[Herb Stoner]

I’ve had great experiences with Proof pre-fit. Currently have one on my 6.5 that hammers. I’ve not noticed barrel life being any shorter than normal. I’m sure I’ll buy more at some point.

Front Range Precision sells them and is on this board. Good dude - look him up if you decide to go with a Proof.

 

[1911Shootist]

The 4 I’ve had have been great.

 

[kjeff91]

I really wanted a Proof prefit in 6GT for my Solus but they're OOS everywhere I could find. I ended up with Criterion but would still love to try Proof next time.

 

[powdahound76]

I’ve had great experiences with Proof pre-fit. Currently have one on my 6.5 that hammers. I’ve not noticed barrel life being any shorter than normal. I’m sure I’ll buy more at some point.

Front Range Precision sells them and is on this board. Good dude - look him up if you decide to go with a Proof.

I have had great luck with them as well and will echo using Owen from Front Range Precision as a great source.

Top notch service always.


Mile High Shooting as well. Owners and employees are top notch!

 

[Secant]

I've just had one Proof SS competition prefit. Shot fine. It was in 6CM, and I pulled it at 1,500 rounds. I bet it would have lasted a bit longer, but it was a good time of year.

If you look around, you can find deals on benchmarks & bartleins. TS Customs just had a 24% off sale on all M24 contour prefit barrels a week ago. I grabbed a Snowy Mountain Rifle Bartlein prefit for just under $400 a couple weeks ago.

 

[Lightning8]

Great results with two Proof prefits - 6 Dasher, 26 inch, Competition Contour, Impact. Pulled first at 2400 rounds but no issues, second in service now.

 

[TheNarrator]

The proof comps are great in my opinion. No issues from 4 different barrels.

 

[climbing1]

Anyone tried their SS prefit on the CdG? I had a cert and ordered one, but kind of second guessing– wondering if I should have just ordered the blank and had it spun up.

Seems like it's mostly positive experiences here, but I saw one guy post in a different thread that 2/3 of his prefits wouldn't shoot.

 

[TheJeanyus]

I have a Proof comp prefit 6 GT on an Origin action. I’ve only tried hand loads with Berger 109s (3/4 MOA or a little under) and factory loaded Hornady 109s (1 MOA or a little over) and while I’m not totally happy with the way it’s shot so far I haven’t given up on it and intend to try a couple more bullets.

I also have a Proof carbon prefit 6.5 Creed on a Tikka that shoots 1/2 - 3/4 MOA consistently with 140 ELDMs and 143 ELDXs, and for a hunting rifle I’m pretty happy with it.

 

[TahoeDust]

Picked up a used 26" 6.5cm SS Comp prefit for my Origin action last week. It is my first Proof barrel. Shot it Sunday for the first time. Tried 4 different factory ammos. They all shot under .75 MOA. Best 5rd group was with 140gr ELDM .351 MOA. I was very impressed.

 

[climbing1]

I have a Proof comp prefit 6 GT on an Origin action. I’ve only tried hand loads with Berger 109s (3/4 MOA or a little under) and factory loaded Hornady 109s (1 MOA or a little over) and while I’m not totally happy with the way it’s shot so far I haven’t given up on it and intend to try a couple more bullets.

I also have a Proof carbon prefit 6.5 Creed on a Tikka that shoots 1/2 - 3/4 MOA consistently with 140 ELDMs and 143 ELDXs, and for a hunting rifle I’m pretty happy with it.

Cool. I'm running 105's/N150. Also a 6GT. If it won't ag around .5 or better I wouldn't be happy with it. If these prefits will shoot, I'm excited as it will save some bucks.

 

[CK1.0]

I’ve had 4 Proof prefits for my Origin (2 in 6CM and 2 in 6GT) and have a fresh one on the shelf (and another one on backorder). They’ve all been hammers and have lasted as long or longer than anything else out there IME. I averaged .3” groups with all of them until they started getting cooked and were reaching the end.

Both 6CM barrels were pulled at ~2000rds, but after deep cleanings, went back on as practice barrels for a while and still shot 1/2” groups until ~3000rds when I retired them for good, pretty damn impressive. Pulled my first 6GT at ~2500rds and it was still shooting 1/2” or under, the one I’m still running has ~2000rds on it and is still hammering (I plan to pull it at 2500rds again).

The Proofs were a hell of a deal IME at the ~$500 a pop they were for the last 3-4 years… but as they get more expensive (more like ~$600-650 these days) they maybe aren’t quite as good of a deal, but they’re still quite a bit better than the ~$900 most places are charging for quality customs now.

For guys who shoot a lot, 3 barrels for the price of 2 still ain’t bad.

 

[climbing1]

I’ve had 4 Proof prefits for my Origin (2 in 6CM and 2 in 6GT) and have a fresh one on the shelf (and another one on backorder). They’ve all been hammers and have lasted as long or longer than anything else out there IME.

Both 6CM barrels were pulled at ~2000rds, but after deep cleanings, went back on as practice barrels for a while and still shot 1/2” groups until ~3000rds when I retired them for good, pretty damn impressive. Pulled my first 6GT at ~2500rds and it was still shooting 1/2” or under, the one I’m still running has ~2000rds on it and is still hammering (I plan to pull it at 2500rds again).

The Proofs were a hell of a deal IME at the ~$500 a pop they were for the last 3-4 years… but as they get more expensive (more like ~$600-650 these days) they maybe aren’t quite as good of a deal, but they’re still quite a bit better than the ~$900 most places are charging for quality customs now.

For guys who shoot a lot, 3 barrels for the price of 2 still ain’t bad.

What's up TN! I know you know what's up... Ok, that makes me feel better about it. Dude, 3k out of a 6CM is impressive.

The guy that claimed 2/3 didn't shoot for him is usually neg on most things around here, but still made me question.

Think I'll give it a go.

 

[CK1.0]

What's up TN! I know you know what's up... Ok, that makes me feel better about it. Dude, 3k out of a 6CM is impressive.

The guy that claimed 2/3 didn't shoot for him is usually neg on most things around here, but still made me question.

Think I'll give it a go.

I think most of us can bet on 1/2” or better out of just about any decent barrel as long as nothing is f’ed up with them and when using decent components. I’ve definitely encountered more f’ed up shooters than f’ed up barrels at my club anyways…

 

[ShootnFool8]

Got one in 300 NM and shoots great.

 

[762 ULTRAMAGA]

Good to hear some feedback
I'll add that I've owned one, a 6GT, and it died at 1000 rounds. I didn't want to lead with that but it's made me seriously hesitant to buy another.

I doubled up at a 1 day match with it to get my buddy some prs exposure, in all fairness that was a bad idea but probably shouldn't have smoked it..

 

[CK1.0]

Good to hear some feedback
I'll add that I've owned one, a 6GT, and it died at 1000 rounds. I didn't want to lead with that but it's made me seriously hesitant to buy another.

I doubled up at a 1 day match with it to get my buddy some prs exposure, in all fairness that was a bad idea but probably shouldn't have smoked it..

Not doubting it croaked on you at 1000rds after tag-teaming it with back to back with the ubiquitous 10rds in 90secs all day and such under match circumstances...

But... have you tried soaking it in penetrating oil for a couple of days, and then hitting it with some Iosso and a fresh bronze brush or two (ya know, doing pretty much everything guys say not to do and argue about when it comes to cleaning barrels lol)..? Maybe bring it back to life?

I say this because I've brought a couple of barrels back from the dead this way. They didn't have a lot of rounds on them but weren't cleaned properly, never really allowed to cool off, and were generally abused over their lives, and had built up a shitload of hard carbon. But once I went medieval on them and all the hard carbon was scraped out with some elbow grease, they both came back to life and shot good for another 1000rds. Might be worth a try if you get bored one day...

FWIW, the usual shit like Boretech Eliminator and such didn't do shit or help for shit with either one of those barrels, they'd both lost speed (over -100fps) and were throwing rounds and wouldn't group for shit, but after going medieval on them they came back to 1/2" or better with faster and stable MVs, and I've maybe formed a bubba-hypothesis that the barrel/steel was fine, arguably "protected" underneath all that hard-ass baked-on carbon lol.

 

[climbing1]

Not doubting it croaked on you at 1000rds after tag-teaming it with back to back with the ubiquitous 10rds in 90secs all day and such under match circumstances...

But... have you tried soaking it in penetrating oil for a couple of days, and then hitting it with some Iosso and a fresh bronze brush or two (ya know, doing pretty much everything guys say not to do and argue about when it comes to cleaning barrels lol)..? Maybe bring it back to life?

I say this because I've brought a couple of barrels back from the dead this way. They didn't have a lot of rounds on them but weren't cleaned properly, never really allowed to cool off, and were generally abused over their lives, and had built up a shitload of hard carbon. But once I went medieval on them and all the hard carbon was scraped out with some elbow grease, they both came back to life and shot good for another 1000rds. Might be worth a try if you get bored one day...

FWIW, the usual shit like Boretech Eliminator and such didn't do shit or help for shit with either one of those barrels, they'd both lost speed (over -100fps) and were throwing rounds and wouldn't group for shit, but after going medieval on them they came back to 1/2" or better with faster and stable MVs, and I've maybe formed a bubba-hypothesis that the barrel/steel was fine, arguably "protected" underneath all that hard-ass baked-on carbon lol.

Good to hear some feedback
I'll add that I've owned one, a 6GT, and it died at 1000 rounds. I didn't want to lead with that but it's made me seriously hesitant to buy another.

I doubled up at a 1 day match with it to get my buddy some prs exposure, in all fairness that was a bad idea but probably shouldn't have smoked it..

Man, that's a bummer. How often did you clean it? I've started to clean every 100 rounds. It's a PITA, but as CK1.0 pointed out, it's a lot of heat and fouling over a short amount of time. I also run it slower to buy more time.

Anyone tried FreeAll? I've been soaking a patch wrapped around a brush in the chamber overnight. Seems to help stay on top of that ring. I want to try CLR (not overnight) but kind of afraid of it, haha. It took me a while to figure it out because I'm impatient, but doing something overnight helped a lot, otherwise I'd have to nuke the barrel every time to get it clean and it took forever.

 

[Rob01]

Good to hear some feedback
I'll add that I've owned one, a 6GT, and it died at 1000 rounds. I didn't want to lead with that but it's made me seriously hesitant to buy another.

I doubled up at a 1 day match with it to get my buddy some prs exposure, in all fairness that was a bad idea but probably shouldn't have smoked it..

Something doesn’t sound right. That shouldn’t have hurt it any and 1000 is way too soon. We used to run that many rounds with 15-20 round stages and my .243 lasted double that. I’d give it a good cleaning as mentioned and see what happens.

 

[762 ULTRAMAGA]

Something doesn’t sound right. That shouldn’t have hurt it any and 1000 is way too soon. We used to run that many rounds with 15-20 round stages and my .243 lasted double that. I’d give it a good cleaning as mentioned and see what happens.

I spent a lot of time scrubbing it down with a bronze brush and even tried bore paste. I never went more than 100 ish rounds between cleaning, and used a bore scope to verify there wasn't any fouling.
It was fire cracked to hell though and I measured .060 bore erosion in 900 rounds!

Proof is giving me a discount on a new barrel which will be a 223 wylde

 

[Rob01]

Damn that’s crazy that that killed the barrel in such a short time.

 

[climbing1]

I spent a lot of time scrubbing it down with a bronze brush and even tried bore paste. I never went more than 100 ish rounds between cleaning, and used a bore scope to verify there wasn't any fouling.
It was fire cracked to hell though and I measured .060 bore erosion in 900 rounds!

Proof is giving me a discount on a new barrel which will be a 223 wylde

 

[inertia]

My proof prefit 6gt has .05 throat erosion at 2700 rounds. Still shoots tiny groups. Your pushing too fast or damaging it with your cleaning routine.