Eight months ago I sold a older proof barrel blank to a member on here. This week he messaged me saying it was messed up. To my knowledge this barrel came directly from Proof with the tenon threaded this way. I’m looking for someone more knowledgeable to tell me if this blank is messed up.
-
Having trouble using the site?
Contact support
Help needed on Proof barrel
- Thread starter lr123
- Start date
Never saw a proof blank like that. Or any blank for that matter. I did however receive a Proof blank that had so much runout in it that it couldn’t be chambered. One call to Proof and I had a return label and a new replacement barrel on the way. I’d start by calling them
I have not seen one threaded like that, but the threaded portion and beyond it is cut off anyway, and the larger OD is what gets turned, threaded, crowned. Does not appear to be messed up, but i do not know why the small shank is threaded ? Possibly someone thought that was the portion to thread. There is a paperwork in the box saying to remove that tenon.
So, dude needs a new smith who can read??
prolly his buddy with a dremel and a 6 pack.
prolly his buddy with a dremel and a 6 pack.
I hope nobody says that about mine, as the whole thing is pretty skinny....
It's kind of weird and I've not seen a blank with any threads on it before but, it shouldn't be a problem. As others have said, you cut that whole tenon off and then thread what's left (Which is full diameter of whatever the barrel is at that point.)
BINGO!!! I'm so glad someone else said it first...
Basically, the guy he sold it to is a moron, or his gunsmith is...Or both. I don't know if I'd recommend buying a rifle built by that guy.
BINGO!!! I'm so glad someone else said it first...
Basically, the guy he sold it to is a moron, or his gunsmith is...Or both. I don't know if I'd recommend buying a rifle built by that guy.
Or maybe the gunsmith has never done a proof barrel before as 98% of barrels don't have a tenon like a proof and thought the tenon was the part needing threaded. ... either way he asked before screwing it up ? All good he can work on it now and will.be fine for him. Have the GS give proof a call and they can explain what's going on if he'd like. Just sayin. Carry on
This is the original photo I sent the guy that purchased the barrel. I know the skinny part should be cut off and from the picture I sent it looks to be roughly the .8” the Proof lists on the website. Unfortunately I never received that measurement from his gunsmith.
Well, I think we found the gunsmith...
I've built a lot of rifles, and I'm well aware no other barrels out there come with a tenon hanging off the end. But it still should be common sense, and the smith should call Proof instead of telling the customer it's "defective", and relaying the message to the seller, and then the seller posting about it on here.
Just my $0.02
I have no idea why the threads are there. This was a blank I purchased locally from an individual probably 6 years ago and never got around to building. An older thread on here from 2012 suggested that it could be for possibly holding the barrel in the wrapping machine. I’m only trying to stand behind something I sold someone as he has accused me of selling him a known bad blank as you can see below.
Older Proof barrels had a 1/2-28 threaded section like that, I got one in about 2014 that was identical. There is nothing wrong with the barrel. Somewhere along the way they changed to a 5/8” straight tennon left, I’d imagine the older threads were from the wrapping process. Cut that portion off and roll on as usual.
What he said. I have one in my hand that looks the same.
Yea. Nothing at all wrong with it. Chop it off,indicate it,and machine it.
Ok so I'm the guy that bought the barrel. For all of you guys saying " that skinny part should be cut off", that skinny part is meant to be threaded for a brake or any other muzzle device you might want to put on it. It is threaded for 1/2x28. THIS IS A .338 CALIBER BARREL. No gunsmith or barrel maker would ever put that small of a thread on a .338 caliber barrel. I have never even seen a muzzle device threaded for that. My gun smith has already contacted proof with the serial number on the barrel. Proof says they never put threads on blanks. NEVER. How can you say that this is a new blank? It is very obvious that someone messed up by threading 1/2x28 on the muzzle and wanted rid of the barrel because they knew they messed up.
My smith has already called Proof and asked about this. The said they never did or would do this.
No it is not, you must cut that off. The full diameter section that butts up to the carbon is what needs to be threaded.
I will call Proof myself this morning. But like I said, my smith has already called them and they told him they never would have done this to a .338 barrel.
The part you think is ‘messed up” needs to be cut off as its a byproduct of manufacturing. The fact that your gunsmith didn't say “well we’re cutting that off anyway” is troubling.
If this is how it should be then my bad. I have bought 4 other proof barrels and they never came threaded or with a .5 diameter muzzle. They were all significantly newer than this one. When I bought the barrel I had no idea how old it was. In the pictures he had on the page you couldn't tell it was threaded at the end. He has advertised it as a new blank. I should have called proof with the serial number to confirm how old it was, but I honestly never thought that it could be over 6 years old.
It doesn't matter how old it is or what that stub looks like. The "muzzle" isnt 0.5", the stub is. It literally gets chopped off. Companies change things over the years. There is nothing wrong and your Smith should have chopped thst off and threaded the actual muzzle and been done with it. There is nothing to prove or accuse or complain about. Just cut it off like you're supposed to.
Now im curious. The other proofs you purchased, did they have that spigot sticking out the front? Did your gunsmith thread that portion, or did he hack them off?
Find a new gunsmith. Send it to DST who chimed in on this thread. Your gunsmith doesn't know what he's doing and neither do you in this case. I am not trying to be mean, it just is what it is. I got a friend in the Butler area also, please let us know who the gunsmith is so I can let my buddy know to avoid him.
Last edited:
Ok, I get it. I'm apparently wrong on this. I'm sorry for putting putting the seller through this. I was only going off of what I was told by not only my gunsmith but Proof themselves. I'm going to get the name of the guy my gunsmith talked to at proof and try to get ahold of him and maybe someone that knows that they are talking about. Maybe he was a new guy at Proof and didn't know they used to do that.
That is all that's left of that larger shank portion.
Ok I just got off the phone with Proof research. He said they never threaded blanks. Period. They use the shank at the end of the barrel to hold the barrel from wrapping, but they don't use threads. He also told me that the small shank is meant to be cut off and to thread the larger part. So the barrel itself should be fine for making new threads. But he told me that someone had threaded the barrel after it left proof and obviously didn't know what they were doing. So for those that said "that's how they used to do it" no its not. I was told I was getting a new blank. I realize that the barrel should be fine and I'm going to roll with it but this is not what I thought I was buying.
My smith knew as soon as he saw it that it had been threaded by someone. I was wrong by saying that you are supposed to thread the shank at the end. But what the hell do I know. I just shoot these things. The fact is that this barrel has had machining done to it after it left proof. This is not a new blank and as far as I know right now its someone's mistake or reject.
Last edited:
Does the blank have a chamber cut into it? If not, it’s a new blank. Simple as that.
The part that needs to actually be threaded (the muzzle) hasn’t been threaded, the chamber hasn’t been cut, the tenon hasn’t been threaded. Someone cut threads in the stub that gets cut off. Big deal. I guess you could always sell it, and wait a year or longer for a new barrel from Proof.
I’ll give you 300 bucks for the barrel since you’re convinced it’s someone’s mistake or a reject barrel.
I’ll give you 300 bucks for the barrel since you’re convinced it’s someone’s mistake or a reject barrel.
Judging by the pictures posted, the barrel hasn't been chambered or fitted for an action - given that, it's still a new blank just as @Krob95 said.
You've had 2 gunsmiths (@Deep South Tactical and @DAVETOOLEY) tell you that what you have is normal.
You've had a site moderator (@padom) tell you what you have is normal.
All of this plus an overwhelming consensus that what you have is normal.
But, for the sake of the argument, what if someone did chuck it into a lathe and thread that short little portion you're concerned about - how does this objectively make the barrel a "mistake" or "reject"?
ETA: Sorry, 3 gunsmiths (sorry @LibertyArms)
Last edited:
Proof themselves told me this isn't normal. I have a ton of respect for the people that chimed in on this but I just feel like I got taken advantage of. I would not have bought the barrel if I knew someone had done work to it. Even if it was just threading the scrap end of the barrel. And I think a lot of people would feel the same way. How is that hard to understand? Lesson learned on trying to save a couple bucks on buying critical rifle components from a private party.
I am highly suspect of anyone working in CS to answer that question with an absolute "never", especially when there are at least two guys that remember Proof threading that tenon in the old days...
CS answers are typically a joke to anything not in the script. Its a pet peeve. Carry on.
CS answers are typically a joke to anything not in the script. Its a pet peeve. Carry on.
No. I highly doubt anyone would feel the same way given this particular situation. So yes, admittedly, your stance is hard for me to understand.
Proof themselves told you the above, but you're still doubling down on it like you received a defective product.
You still have a brand new barrel that has never been chambered. You are not being taken advantage of.
@Krob95 started the bidding at $300 - I'll offer you $350. I don't even care what caliber or twist the barrel is, I'll build something with it
.I’ll give you 200 now for the reject barrel since you’re whining about something trivial. Cry us a river, build a bridge, and get over it. Literally other people have had older proofs with the stupid thread on there. Dave Tooley, the man himself, has seen them like that. I wouldn’t discount a word he says.
Anywho, sell the barrel, or chamber it, Ben. But complaining about your brand new, never been fired, old stock barrel is comical at best.
Anywho, sell the barrel, or chamber it, Ben. But complaining about your brand new, never been fired, old stock barrel is comical at best.
I've seen a few of these back in 2013 range I believe. Need to pull up some old cell phone pics to see what I have.
I have two barrels from about 2013-2014 time frame and both came that way.
end of mystery
end of mystery
Well sorry for sounding like a baby. Thank you Dave for proving me wrong. We called Proof twice now. I personally talked to 2 different people. Both said they never did this.
Thank you. When I took my parts to my smith I was kind of crushed when he said someone had messed up the end of the barrel. I was thinking that the seller was just off loading damaged goods. I knew I wouldn't be able to order a new blank anytime soon. I had just got my action from defiance for the build and they were 2 months behind on orders. Its not like a ran to the internet to slam this guy for selling me a messed up barrel. We called proof to see what was up. They told me they never did this. Promised me. I even called back a second time and told them about what was going on on snipers hide. He guaranteed me that someone had threaded the end of the barrel and it wasn't them. He said he sees it all the time. People mess up the threading on the barrel and get rid of it. I asked him to send me an email stating that and he said that there's a special department that deals with snipershide posts and he would see what they said about the matter.
I suspect that the CS reps you spoke with were in junior high when this barrel was made in 2013-2014 time frame and they haven't a clue what was done then.
Best of luck and I'm glad you have a quality barrel to have spun for your gun....but I personally would still be leary of your gunsmith.
Last edited:
That is some funny shit right there.
Let me tell you how I helped out a Snipers Hide member here a few months back who also purchased a Proof barreled gun from a gunsmith in PA that was messed up. It was an 6.5cm AR Proof CF drop in. Gun wouldnt run out of the box, he checked headspace, bolt wouldnt headspace with a No-Go with 2 pieces of tape on the back... Bolt closed every time... This smith told him it was a Proof barrel and matching bolt prefit/bolt combo directly from Proof.
Call to Proof said no way we dont sell matching Proof barrels and bolts. I ended up getting an engineer over at Proof on the phone who said.....wow, that barrel is OLD... we havent sold barrels with matching bolts in a LONG time. We stopped doing that a long time ago...
So, long story short here, dont believe everything you are told. Have the people you talked to at Proof even been working there long enough to remember the older threaded nipple blanks? Probably not. Just my guess. You have Dave Tooley telling you he has 2 of them in his hands at his shop..... He told you that LONG ago in this thread.
The part I dont get is, why are we even talking about this when that nipple gets chopped off before anything..... Your smith should have chopped that nipple off and called you when your barrel was ready for pick up without ever starting any of this.
Similar threads
