Anyone Know Anything?
- Thread starter Frankr
- Start date
I believe they were not a barrel manufacturer, but offered an accurizing service for barrels ....cryo?
They used to advertise in Precision Shooting Magazine circa 1997. Based in Houston, Texas. They offered awards via prize money to gunsmiths and shooters who ,while using their barrels, broke agg records in either NBRSA, IBS, or USRA registered competition. They seemed to have disappeared from sight shortly thereafter.....and I doubt if it was due to paying out huge sums of prize money.
They used to advertise in Precision Shooting Magazine circa 1997. Based in Houston, Texas. They offered awards via prize money to gunsmiths and shooters who ,while using their barrels, broke agg records in either NBRSA, IBS, or USRA registered competition. They seemed to have disappeared from sight shortly thereafter.....and I doubt if it was due to paying out huge sums of prize money.
I googled "Blackstar"....they apparently polished the bore electro-chemically and also offered cryo. They apparently morphed into "Accu-max" a company that takes (took) Lothar- Walther" bbl's and applied the "Blackstar" process to them. The latest website has many notables in the shooting community offering favorable endorsements to this process.....but the endorsements date back to 1998. I do not know what happened to them and their wonderfully endorsed product........perhaps it relates to the revelation that one can have too smooth a bore.
I included one of these in a blind test I did on cryo treated barrels some years back. The article, Meanwhile, 17,224 rounds later ran in Precision SHOOTING magazine. Couldn't tell you the issue, and don't know if I still have a copy. At any rate, at that time, BlackStar was using K&P barrels, out of Raton, NM. They did some sort of micropolishing process, and claimed (BlackStar, not K&P) vastly improved accuracy, and incredible longevity from barrels so treated. I'd used a couple of Ken's (K&P Rifled Barrels) barrels in my own guns and was familiar with them. Good stuff, single point cut rifled, good quality barrels. Despite the hype, the barrel quit shooting at right around the same round count as the other three barrels in the test (which was actually about the cryo issue) and displayed similar accuracy throughout its life. The test was very thouroughly documented, under lab conditions and with control standards used to establish accuracy in each barrel at intervals of 1,000 rounds each. The barrels were used in daily QC testing until they could no longer maintain an accuracy standard that allowed them to be used for such testing.
I don't know anything about the "new" incarnation if they've reappeared, but the original advertising hype was exactly that; advertising hype.
I don't know anything about the "new" incarnation if they've reappeared, but the original advertising hype was exactly that; advertising hype.
kevin: You may not know if you have a copy of that great article, but I certainly do. The magazine is long gone, but your article remains in my files. One of the most exhaustive (don't know how you had the patience) articles I've ever read, a real treasure to keep. The date of that magazine & article is Sept. 1998. 
Upgrades & Donations
This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.