Barrel Nut Disadvantages?

[scope eye]

To add to that on a barrel nut setup the nut takes the beating, you put the barrel in a vise and loosen or tighten the barrel nut as needed easy as pie.
On a Remington there is no way to lossen the barrel from they action, "there is no way to grab it" so what ends up happening is you loosen they action from the barrel and those factory barrels are on there believe me. So you end up putting a lot of leverage, torque, force, on the action in a way it was never made for, an action is not that stong when you twist it sideways and they start to distort I have seen some that the rings wound not realign with the mounts after removing a stubborn barrel. Hey just some observation I have made over the years.

Dean

 

[carlsbad]

We are talking Remington here, and the quality in the latter years had only gotten worse.
Proper Headspace is 4thou no way you are going to get that every time, and that is for factory barrels.
Then take aftermarket "prefit" to what action, and not to forget that every gunsmith has there own take on how things should be done. That is why I had to have over a dozen recoil lugs of different thickness to match the right Headspace.
Dean

Dean,
You're making comments about off the shelf remingtons, and some of your comments I would disagree with. But anyway, we are talking about a remington that has had an aftermarket barrel installed. I won the California State F Class Palma Championship last march with a remington that I had tuned up. I guarantee you that =/-.004" headspace would not have worked for me. --Jerry

 

[Tokay444]

We are talking Remington here...
Dean

Are we though?

 

[scope eye]

Are we though?

No not quite I also forgot to mention the 700 I sent back to Remington due to it was firing as soon as I closed the bolt or would go off all of a sudden by itself without even touching the trigger. Anyways I sent it back to them during that recall campain and have never seen or heard from the rifle again, they lost it but would not admit it and never compensated me nothing. I would have had to sue them and it would have cost me more than the rifle itself.
OK NOW I AM DONE

Dean

 

[Tokay444]

No not quite I also forgot to mention the 700 I sent back to Remington due to it was firing as soon as I closed the bolt or would go off all of a sudden by itself without even touching the trigger. Anyways I sent it back to them during that recall campain and have never seen or heard from the rifle again, they lost it but would not admit it and never compensated me nothing. I would have had to sue them and it would have cost me more than the rifle itself.
OK NOW I AM DONE

Dean

Yeah, but what does any of that have to do with nutted vs shouldered barrels exactly?

 

[scope eye]

Im probably gonna start laying a bead of 8018 around my barrel connections just to make sure they stay put....

You know you may be on to something I was thinking about that last night, if you weld the nut to the barrel in effect it becomes a shoulder. So if you install the barrel and mark it or tack it in your case, then run a bead around the nut and barrel voila instant shoulder. Now wether or not you run the bead with the barrel still on they action is at your discresion, then you would end up with a shouldered barrel with a place to grab on to and be able to take it off and reinstall it anytime.
I think I just might try this on someone else rifle that I am working on.
Then there is also JB Weld that counts as welding Right?
Gotta go got work to do.

Dean

 

[okie]

You know you may be on to something I was thinking about that last night, if you weld the nut to the barrel in effect it becomes a shoulder. So if you install the barrel and mark it or tack it in your case, then run a bead around the nut and barrel voila instant shoulder. Now wether or not you run the bead with the barrel still on they action is at your discresion, then you would end up with a shouldered barrel with a place to grab on to and be able to take it off and reinstall it anytime.
I think I just might try this on someone else rifle that I am working on.
Then there is also JB Weld that counts as welding Right?
Gotta go got work to do.

Dean

yep--lol

 

[boltfluter]

It wasn’t when swapping barrels, it was when a seemingly insignificant, but sharp side load was applied, like being whacked off the side of a barricade.

Tokay,
Thanks for clarifying this for all of us. I guess I didn't know the whole picture.


Paul

 

[Bogusname]

With a "shouldered barrel", you just put a smith back in the mix and no more DIY.
And the shouldered barrel has to be exact. I'll keep the nut Thank You.

Barrels with nuts are brought by a stork. I saw one flying by yesterday.

 

[jds holler]

Personally I love the nut/barrel thing, but let's cut to the chase.-- Are there any winning competitors who are using the nut system and winning?? jd

 

[mikecr]

Personally I love the nut/barrel thing, but let's cut to the chase.-- Are there any winning competitors who are using the nut system and winning?? jd

What matters how well it works. Whether it is a better barrel connection.

 

[rickt300]

I have both shouldered barrels and"nutted" barrels. I also have a lathe, a mill and the ability to easily measure inside of .0002. I like shouldered barrels better. No nut to fool with. That said no I can see no difference in accuracy between them. I can see how a shouldered barrel would be the more rugged setup and easier on action threads.

 

[SKWERLZ]

There’s an argument to be made with barrel nut barrels possibly showing pressure signs on brass earlier with a magnum or lapua boltface cartridges

I’ve had good results with a few short magnums and barrel nut setups but would be hesitant with a RUM case or bigger.

 

[scope eye]

Here we Go It's a REMAGE which I will mention any chance I get because it makes the purest cringe.LOL specs 34" 11.75 twist shoots 160gr TTSXs 4200 fps and 180TTSXs 4000 fps the barrel says 10 twist but it is almost a 12go

 

[urbanrifleman]

I have one customer that switched from his glue in Pandas to my nut barrel because my Wilson nut barrel was outshooting his premium shouldered barreled Pandas. He is a very high level 600 yard benchrest shooter.

I know for a fact that shouldered barrels are not an improvement over a nut barrel. Except for the looks, if one prefers the shoulder. That bullet doesn't know any different.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

If you smack your barrel against something like a barricade or anything solid and it doesnt change poi then itll be ok. Its an easy test to do. All we ever preach around here is test it for yourself, so go do it and be honest with yourself.

 

[mikecr]

I know for a fact that shouldered barrels are not an improvement over a nut barrel.

This can actually be proven. Just research the differences between stud and bolt mechanical connections.
Then consider what the racing industry chooses.

 

[INTJ]

This can actually be proven. Just research the differences between stud and bolt mechanical connections.
Then consider what the racing industry chooses.

The nut used on a stud for an engine head only has to provide clamping force. Alignment of the head to the block is provided by pins and/or the studs themselves.

On a barrel, the method of attachment must provide clamping, alignment, and must hold the barrel horizontally. A barrel nut doesn't do that as well as a shouldered barrel.

Sure, some random guy my bring one to an LRBR match and do okay. But the vast majority of competitors use a shouldered barrel. Not because of how it looks or how much it costs. Serious competitors will spend whatever it takes and prioritize performance over looks.

They use a shouldered barrel because that is the best way to make a BR accurate rifle.

Now I won't say a barrel nut rifle will never shoot as well as a shouldered rifle. It's like baby bunny rabbits. When the chances of a baby bunny violently killing someone is very rare, it's never zero.......

 

[jelenko]

The nut used on a stud for an engine head only has to provide clamping force. Alignment of the head to the block is provided by pins and/or the studs themselves.

On a barrel, the method of attachment must provide clamping, alignment, and must hold the barrel horizontally. A barrel nut doesn't do that as well as a shouldered barrel.

Sure, some random guy my bring one to an LRBR match and do okay. But the vast majority of competitors use a shouldered barrel. Not because of how it looks or how much it costs. Serious competitors will spend whatever it takes and prioritize performance over looks.

They use a shouldered barrel because that is the best way to make a BR accurate rifle.

Now I won't say a barrel nut rifle will never shoot as well as a shouldered rifle. It's like baby bunny rabbits. When the chances of a baby bunny violently killing someone is very rare, it's never zero.......

At the same time, nutted barrels are fine if all you need is 1/2 MOA, yes?

 

[INTJ]

At the same time, nutted barrels are fine if all you need is 1/2 MOA, yes?

Absolutely. Maybe even tighter than that. I started this thread a couple of years ago just to see what the general thinking was. The first dozen replies seems to contain some good thoughts on this.

I am thinking about this conceptually, in terms of what works best, not what just works okay. There are lots of things that work okay for most stuff but aren't the absolute best way.