Re: Barrels - What do you use and why?
Let me try and answer some of the questions or points made.
My objective was to learn about barrels based on experience and not opinions. I chose a poll because it is easier to analyze data, not to create a popularity contest which is why multiple selections could be made for each topic. Norcal Phoenix understood my attempt which, was to learn from the members of this forum's extensive experience.
Some foolish assumption were made such as every custom barrel maker laps their barrels, or considering Ultra Bore a ceramic coating, which may have been mistakes on my part (but I agree Ultra Bore worked every time a customer has tried it.
From this post I have learned of some barrel makers that were not really familiar to me before. I also agree that the type of rifling should be a separate poll as noted by Frank, and other stress relieving methods should have been included. The crown is another very important characteristic, which I considered a given, maybe that is another poll in itself.
I (as are most of us I would assume) am always looking for barrels and in fact just bought another Krieger for the LR-308 on my shop bench right now. I have also had excellent results with Shilen, Lilja and Wilson button rifled barrels. Now I have even more options thanks to you.
Also left out were the OEMs, which I probably should not have. I have seen many factory DPMS, Remington, Sako, Howa and others (including an occasional Ruger) repeatedly produce excellent groups using the production barrels, many of which were hammer forged. Done properly with high quality tooling, hammer forging can produce a very precise component which is why the Germans use it extensively, but it appears best for pistol barrels which are shorter.
I also agree that the quality of barrels today is exceptional and the cartridge, sights and shooter have the primary influence on accuracy most of the time.
One thing I have learned over the years is that the barrel harmonics are key to consistent accuracy and many of characteristics I am learning about will affect the harmonics such as:
*the surface finish of the bore,
*Cf between the bullet used and the bore,
*consistency of rifling groove and land diameters,
*residual stress of the barrel,
*uniformity of the barrel wall thickness,
*chamber quality and design
**and, most important, the resulting pressure curve that a particular load has in the barrel it is used in.
That pressure curve is the hammer strike on the tuning fork that sets the resonance for the barrel on each shot, which each bullet must consistently exit on the same portion of the harmonic wave every time to be a precise shooter (tight groups.
The reason for this post and poll was to learn as much as possible about one of the key components in our favorite hobby. I truly appreciate the constructive feedback and knowledge you are sharing. If the group feels this poll is so incomplete it will be misleading, I will stop it and try to build a better one. Frank was very accurate in his comment, and I now realize there are many other key items that should be included.
If you find value in this effort let me know what else I am missing and I will reconstruct the poll or let it continue as is since the data is being added through each of your posts.
Thanks all
Vince
