Gunsmithing Question/concerns regarding threading a TC Pro Hunter barrel for suppressor use

[Jay Ell Gee]

Hey everyone. Last year, I walked out of a Cabela's with a gently used Thompson Center Encore receiver with both a 25-06 and 22-250 barrel for under $600. I intended on getting the 25-06 barrel threaded for a Dead Air brake to use with my Sandman S. I really like the little single shots for suppressor use, just due to the shorter OAL due to the lack of an action.

I recently called a gunsmith about getting the barrel threaded, only to be told that due to the heat treating/composition of the barrel, they tend to shoot poorly after threading and adding weight (suppressor). Concerns were also stated about the back pressure of the 25-06 + can causing a failure in the receiver lockup upon firing?

This is only the opinion of a single smith, but he has years of experience and I do not want to take the advice lightly, as my knowledge with this receiver as a whole is pretty slim. I'm just having a hard time following the logic.

Has anyone here ever experienced any of these issues? If this indeed a valid issue, I will likely just part with the rifle and move to another platform.

Thanks in advance.

Edit: Plenty of good answers here in this thread. Thanks to everyone who has contributed. Hopefully the collective wisdom here will help someone else in the future.

 

[Mordamer]

I doubt both claims by the gunsmith.

The first claim about them shooting poorly after muzzle threading and suppressor install could feasibly be true. I would bet money it would shoot just fine after threading though and you'll only find out by doing it. I would do it if it were mine. You could always lop off the threads and re-crown in a worst case scenario.

The second claim about the suppressor back pressure causing the action problems is nonsense. The peak pressure upon firing happens when the bullet is just entering the rifling. Suppressors do not increase peak pressure. This is a myth I have heard several times before. Suppressors do increase the length of time their is pressure in the barrel above ambient, but this will not cause an action to experience increased loading.

I'm going to make a guess that the gunsmith has difficulty threading this type of firearm because it won't fit through the spindle of his lathe with the receiver attachment on the barrel and he is making excuses to get you on down the road.

 

[Jay Ell Gee]

I doubt both claims by the gunsmith.

The first claim about them shooting poorly after muzzle threading and suppressor install could feasibly be true. I would bet money it would shoot just fine after threading though and you'll only find out by doing it. I would do it if it were mine. You could always lop off the threads and re-crown in a worst case scenario.

The second claim about the suppressor back pressure causing the action problems is nonsense. The peak pressure upon firing happens when the bullet is just entering the rifling. Suppressors do not increase peak pressure. This is a myth I have heard several times before. Suppressors do increase the length of time their is pressure in the barrel above ambient, but this will not cause an action to experience increased loading.

I'm going to make a guess that the gunsmith has difficulty threading this type of firearm because it won't fit through the spindle of his lathe with the receiver attachment on the barrel and he is making excuses to get you on down the road.

Thanks for the insight. I didn't really understand the back pressure comment myself. I understand how it builds extra back pressure in gas operated semi-automatics, but I could not wrap my head around how a single shot breechloader would see any more pressure...

I will likely just try another smith. After selling the other barrel, I have about $400 into this rifle setup as a whole. Now that I have the can, I can't see a reason not to try.

 

[Flightmurse]

I had a pro hunter with a .308 win Bergara barrel on it and I shot the heck out of it suppressed with a rugged razor. I have since gotten rid of it and changed to a cva scout v2 takedown in .300 blackout, which is a similar action design and I’ve never had a problem. 25-06 is an awesome round, should make a fun host.

 

[Jay Ell Gee]

I had a pro hunter with a .308 win Bergara barrel on it and I shot the heck out of it suppressed with a rugged razor. I have since gotten rid of it and changed to a cva scout v2 takedown in .300 blackout, which is a similar action design and I’ve never had a problem. 25-06 is an awesome round, should make a fun host.

Thanks for taking the time to share your experience. I actually bought my wife the same CVA, but the compact stock variant, and she killed her first deer with it last year. Great little rifle, and laughably accurate. Looks like I need to get this thing threaded.

 

[Easy_E]

Threaded this TC 223 barrel for a customer a couple years ago been smoking chucks ever since . The barrel steel is strange hard to get a nice thread on seems to tear not cut .

 

[Jay Ell Gee]

Threaded this TC 223 barrel for a customer a couple years ago been smoking chucks ever since . The barrel steel is strange hard to get a nice thread on seems to tear not cut .

Thanks for the input. The smith mentioned the barrel material itself being a bit wonky to work with. He mentioned talking with S&W about it and it seemed to come down to the way they treat their barrel steel... but that level of discussion is beyond me.

 

[LRI]

Hey everyone. Last year, I walked out of a Cabela's with a gently used Thompson Center Encore receiver with both a 25-06 and 22-250 barrel for under $600. I intended on getting the 25-06 barrel threaded for a Dead Air brake to use with my Sandman S. I really like the little single shots for suppressor use, just due to the shorter OAL due to the lack of an action.

I recently called a gunsmith about getting the barrel threaded, only to be told that due to the heat treating/composition of the barrel, they tend to shoot poorly after threading and adding weight (suppressor). Concerns were also stated about the back pressure of the 25-06 + can causing a failure in the receiver lockup upon firing?

This is only the opinion of a single smith, but he has years of experience and I do not want to take the advice lightly, as my knowledge with this receiver as a whole is pretty slim. I'm just having a hard time following the logic.

Has anyone here ever experienced any of these issues? If this indeed a valid issue, I will likely just part with the rifle and move to another platform.

Thanks in advance.

I call B.S.

I've threaded a mess of these things in my 5 axis without a single complaint. T/C steel isn't any more or less magical than any other barrel material.

As for "backpressure". That term doesn't apply to a break action single shot. It's not till you poke a hole in the barrel and run a gas tube to a bolt carrier that backpressure becomes a thing and all it does is make the bolt carrier group slam backwards a "smidge" harder than when the can is removed.

The primary reason smiths avoid these things is because the lump of shit welded to the breach makes em a bear to thread. A lot of spindle bores are too small and/or the spindle tube is too long to adequately/conveniently support the ass end when turning.

Its precisely for these two reasons, I avoided them until last year when we made work holding for the 5 axis machine. Now, it's a snap.

Happy to help.

C.

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[Average guy]

^^^ Send your barrel to Chad at LRI. Fast turnaround and it’s done right.

 

[Yondering]

I doubt both claims by the gunsmith.

The first claim about them shooting poorly after muzzle threading and suppressor install could feasibly be true. I would bet money it would shoot just fine after threading though and you'll only find out by doing it. I would do it if it were mine. You could always lop off the threads and re-crown in a worst case scenario.

The second claim about the suppressor back pressure causing the action problems is nonsense. The peak pressure upon firing happens when the bullet is just entering the rifling. Suppressors do not increase peak pressure. This is a myth I have heard several times before. Suppressors do increase the length of time their is pressure in the barrel above ambient, but this will not cause an action to experience increased loading.

I'm going to make a guess that the gunsmith has difficulty threading this type of firearm because it won't fit through the spindle of his lathe with the receiver attachment on the barrel and he is making excuses to get you on down the road.

Yep. I'd bet the first claim is a result of how that particular smith threads these barrels. It's certainly possible to thread a barrel and do a bad job so it shoots poorly.

As to the steel composition, some steel definitely cuts better than others and leaves a smoother finish, especially at home gunsmith lathe speeds, but that doesn't mean it can't be threaded nicely and done right.

A different smith is in order.

 

[Average guy]

I believe Chad has a video on the hide or Facebook threading Thompson barrels in his 5 axis machine. Thread milling the external threads is cool solution.

 

[Yondering]

I believe Chad has a video on the hide or Facebook threading Thompson barrels in his 5 axis machine. Thread milling the external threads is cool solution.

Thread milling is awesome and definitely a cool way to go when someone like that has the equipment. It can also solve a lot of concerns about material that doesn't machine as nicely.

 

[sirhrmechanic]

I threaded a TC barrel about a mo th ago. Cut beautifully. I have machines several over the years. I do tend to turn in centers as I have found the older barrels (never done an Encore) can be surprisingly off-center on the outer profile.

Send to LRI above and it will come back perfect.

Sirhr

 

[LRI]

 

[Jay Ell Gee]

Thanks everyone for the input. This is exactly what I needed. I will definitely be getting it threaded.

 

[Easy_E]

Do you cut the crown in the same jig ? Crazy how many different machining processes you can do on that one machine.

 

[Average guy]

That’s the video I was thinking of. Thanks for sharing Chad.

 

[xtacleone]

I think this is essentially a reflection of this smiths ability or confidence in being able to execute the job. Its better that he cautions against it (whether his reason is sincere or to save face), rather than ruining your barrel because he does not have the skill to do the job, but I would search for a gun smith that specializes in barrel fabrication and give them a ring to be sure.

 

[Jay Ell Gee]

I think this is essentially a reflection of this smiths ability or confidence in being able to execute the job. Its better that he cautions against it (whether his reason is sincere or to save face), rather than ruining your barrel because he does not have the skill to do the job, but I would search for a gun smith that specializes in barrel fabrication and give them a ring to be sure.

I definitely agree with that. I would never be upset with someone for being honest and turning it down. I'm just glad that we have places like this to share experiences and information when needed.

 

[LRI]

Do you cut the crown in the same jig ? Crazy how many different machining processes you can do on that one machine.

Yes. Single pointing is kind of out. I've had a set of piloted crowning tools in a box for a quarter-century that we dug out for this job. They actually do a pretty nice job in an ER32 collet setup.