Barrel Diameter

[foxguy]

Just put together exactly what your asking about...

22" Mullerworks 1.25" Straight
2500x
BnA Comp 2 Stage
PWC Rotex stock bedded by Randy
NF 15-55 Competition

Randy made the barrel channel 1.35" to accommodate testing all different size barrels.

I also have a 1.00" Ace and a 0.900 Shilen Ratchet on the way as well. Plan to test all 3 and see what shoots best and how big of a difference between the 3 barrels. Plan to test with and without tuner on the shilen and Ace and no tuner on this MW 1.25.. we shall see how big of a difference, if any. Randy told me he has some clients that only shoot 1.1-1.2" straight barrels he does stocks for

padom,

Looking forward to seeing your testing results of testing the 3 barrels.

Great looking rifle you have there.

 

[dgeesaman]

I understand the majority of rimfire benchrest barrels are stainless steel. I recall reading that stainless steel and chrome moly barrels of the same dimensions are not equally stiff. Is there truth to that?

The difference between 4340 and 416 is negligible for density and modulus.

David

 

[Williwaw]

Why are the majority of match barrels made of stainless steel over chrome moly? I suspect machine-ability but that is supposition. Which would last longer? I know that won't be a relevant consideration for most but I shoot daily and that adds up quickly.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Why are the majority of match barrels made of stainless steel over chrome moly? I suspect machine-ability but that is supposition. Which would last longer? I know that won't be a relevant consideration for most but I shoot daily and that adds up quickly.

It's by far mostly about machineability and that it can be heat treated. Way bigger factors to bbl life than which material of those will last longest. Most claims are that cm lasts a little longer but even within say stainless, I've had bbls that lasted way longer than average and some that laid down a bit earlier than I'd hope and expect it to. Who knows why? I'm working on that with a new reamer. Gonna give it a go soon. Talking cf here. I think this little reamer change might help bbl life dramatically, or...maybe not. We'll see in time.

 

[Jonnyofalltrades]

It's by far mostly about machineability and that it can be heat treated.

Please tell me this is a typo.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Please tell me this is a typo.

It's not at all. I'm not sure what you would disagree with about that statement, frankly.
416 has a high Sulphur content for machinabilty and is one of few stainless alloys that can be heat treated.

 

[Jonnyofalltrades]

I'm sorry. I interpreted your statement to mean that you felt stainless had superior machineability and hardenability to carbon steel.
So you are referring to 416 vs, say, 300 series?

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

I'm sorry. I interpreted your statement to mean that you felt stainless had superior machineability and hardenability to carbon steel.

Generally no, but 416 is comparable if not better than many cm alloys. Your more common say 300 series ss don't machine great at all, especially when we're talking gun drilling and rifling a long skinny hole. Not saying there aren't other options but cost is also a factor. Since most smiths and a lot of machine shops can't do their own heat treating and stress relieving, the list of feasible options is pretty short.

 

[Jonnyofalltrades]

Generally no, but 416 is comparable if not better than many cm alloys.

I would have to see some references before I would take that statement at face value. Not saying that 416 isn't machineable, but it has some very stiff competition that doesn't have 12% chromium to deal with.
Yes, it's hardenable, but again, lots of stiff competition.

 

[PWNolan]

....and is one of few stainless alloys that can be heat treated.

Can you elaborate on this?

One of my other hobbies is pocket knives. There's all kinds of stainless steels that can be heat treated

 

[TRSR8]

Can you elaborate on this?

One of my other hobbies is pocket knives. There's all kinds of stainless steels that can be heat treated

Yep….. I have quite a few custom folders.440, 414, most of the 400 series that many makers use heat treat well.

 

[holstil]

Why are the majority of match barrels made of stainless steel over chrome moly? I suspect machine-ability but that is supposition. Which would last longer? I know that won't be a relevant consideration for most but I shoot daily and that adds up quickly.

When I first started getting into bench rest it seemed there were more cm than ss.
When I ordered my first barrel from Krieger, I was asked what steel I preferred. I asked which is better? They said doesn’t matter, so I said make ss so I’ll be able to grab it and not worry about rust as much. I wanna say it was a lil cheaper too.
I don’t see many cm barrels in competition now.

Press on, I do enjoy a good heat treat discussion.

 

[padom]

padom,

Looking forward to seeing your testing results of testing the 3 barrels.

Great looking rifle you have there.

1st time taking her out. Dealing with 10mph sustained wind with 15-20mph gusts. All shot @ 50yd 10 shot groups except the first group out of the rifle was 35rd lower left corner.

Shot everything left to right starting bottom row and working up.

I think this setup is going to be competitive. It was really liking some R50, Midas and CenterX lots..... every group is a different lot # tested, 10 shots each

@skeetlee lee Gardner knocked this barrel out of the park! Excellent work

https://imgur.com/2B9QhSt

https://imgur.com/c3or5CV

https://imgur.com/s360bE3

https://imgur.com/fsolsmk

https://imgur.com/0zYS3UG

 

[Cigarcop]

Looks like New Holland to me!

 

[Jefferson]

good components in the rifle and rest set up

lets see some grouos in the calm with wind flags and a uppy downy flag

I am building one similar this year BECAUSE not everyone competes or wants to compete or has acce to a match within a few hundred miles

Some of us want to build nice looking rifles and test those limits as opposed to slightly smaller groups with a pencil type limp barrel set up

and yes I have won plaques at USA nationals and so on for centerfire benchrest so I have some idea what works, doesn’t work and what can provide enjoyment on a regular basis

 

[searcher]

Hanging that much weight on an action induces a lot of stress to the tenon, transferred to the action. Going with those heavy barrels dictates a change on how much of the barrel itself is actually bedded to relieve much of that stress, most likely. Kind of like the old target scope blocks to support a long target scope. Just the weight of that scope being cantilevered caused accuracy issues from sagging under its own weight.

 

[Wellington]

It's by far mostly about machineability and that it can be heat treated. Way bigger factors to bbl life than which material of those will last longest. Most claims are that cm lasts a little longer but even within say stainless, I've had bbls that lasted way longer than average and some that laid down a bit earlier than I'd hope and expect it to. Who knows why? I'm working on that with a new reamer. Gonna give it a go soon. Talking cf here. I think this little reamer change might help bbl life dramatically, or...maybe not. We'll see in time.

Barrels are heat treated?

 

[USMCDOC]

Barrels are heat treated?

no silly..

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Barrels are heat treated?

Yes, and stress relieved. Most bbl makers spec a steel for bbl making around specific heat treatments from the steel provider but should have their own heat treat ovens in house for stress relief.
A snippet from Kriegers website.

THE STEEL​

There is nothing so important to the making of a good barrel as the steel that a barrel maker uses. Early on we realized we had to give the mill our own specifications for our steel, accept the higher cost, and then have each lot heat tested as it came in to assure compliance to our strict requirements.

We started by having exhaustive metallurgical tests run on samples of both good and bad steel to determine, on a molecular level, what made good barrel steel. Having determined this, we met with representatives of the steel mill, the metallurgist, and the heat treater to discuss the results of our findings and to implement the changes that we needed.

For over 30 years this process has never stopped, and Krieger Barrels continues to test and perfect the steel composition and heat treatment regime. We do not offer multiple grades of steel. All of our steel must meet the same standards. We do offer most of our barrels in a choice of either stainless steel or chrome moly. Our stainless and chrome moly barrels are both held to the same standards from initial steel mill quality to final inspection of dimensions and finish.

 

[pmpski_1]

We have a gentleman that shoots ARA Unlimited with us. He's using a DI Precision Vudoo 360 with a Krieger 1.25 straight cylinder barrel. Rifle shoots pretty good and he always finishes at the bottom of the pack. His scores usually run 1700 to 1900 per card.

You are getting a lot of good advice from the members above.

Do those scores have to do with the shooter or the equipment? I don't see how this is anything other than an anecdote.

I have some of those that go the other way with very good shooters running similar equipment (Vudoos and 1.25" barrels) that based on their groups during testing, could probably get very close to a 2500. With rear bags and bipods. One of them is planning to shoot an ARA Unlimited match just to see if he can get a 2500 with a bag and bipod. That doesn't prove anything other than someone somewhere is good enough with the equipment they have.