Bartlien 400 Mod Barrel Material.

[jackieschmidt]

As many might remember, Bartlien sent me a 1-17 30 caliber blank a while back to test the accuracy potential of their 400 Mod Stainless Steel.

I chambered it up for my 30BR Score Rifle and it shot quite well. At that time I made a post on this Site.

But as most know, I don’t give final approvals on items such as this unless it proves its self in Competition.

I won the 100 yard leg of the NBRSA Texas State VFS Sunday with the barrel.

The barrel certainly performed up to my standards.

 

[nwmnbowhunter]

Awesome.

How many rounds down the barrel?

Keep us updated on it.

 

[LVLAaron]

I'm not one of the big guys... so I don't feel obligated to be impartial to all of the great brands we have access to. But I've been around and done enough to know one hand from the other.

Some observations....
* I think Bartlien makes the best barrel. I wish they'd all be 4r instead of 5r, but that's minor. They do seem to have better ballistics at long range vs a comparable 4 or 6 groove. I believe the ramped lands lend a less jagged bullet, which makes a difference at distance.
* Krieger and Brux are top notch. Personally, I use Krieger.
* Brux barrels cut really well. They have a nice sound and feel, and I've never had a problem with them.
* This is anecdotal, but I just set back a couple Brux barrels that were used hard, a lot of rounds. They were like cutting rocks - this was after I cut off the barrel up to the throat. I used a carbide reamer for these... If it was a steel reamer I'm sure it would have needed a sharpening
* I used a guys reamer that had cut a couple 400 Mod barrels. The reamer cutting edge felt fuzzy, and the chambers weren't pretty. But they shot well (able to clean an F class match)

The last one gives me some concern. The reamers I know I'm going to use a lot I'm going to order in Carbide.

To be fair.. does any of what I mentioned matter? I don't know. They're just observations.

 

[Kurz]

Thanks Jackie for your followup on your barrel potential.

I have been and will be a supporter of Bartlein Barrels to the tune of a couple of thousand barrels experience. They perform and are great people to work with. Frank is also one of the most knowledgeable and experienced barrel makers I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. He is a wealth of information.

But, in a work-a-day world, I use barrel makers like any other component, I select the maker and the barrel attributes based on the project's needs.

I had the great pleasure of building dozens of smokeless powder muzzle loaders using Brux barrels. Excellent results in both machining as well as accuracy on targets.

I use Kriegers for many straight 4,5,6 groove barrels, both hunting and for target shooters.

There are quite a number of other makers out there today but time limits my desire to buy and test those folks when I can buy the standards with assurance. ACE is one of these when I get around to it.

Always enjoy the very best!

 

[FrankG]

As many might remember, Bartlien sent me a 1-17 30 caliber blank a while back to test the accuracy potential of their 400 Mod Stainless Steel.

I chambered it up for my 30BR Score Rifle and it shot quite well. At that time I made a post on this Site.

But as most know, I don’t give final approvals on items such as this unless it proves its self in Competition.

I won the 100 yard leg of the NBRSA Texas State VFS Sunday with the barrel.

The barrel certainly performed up to my standards.

Congrats Jackie!

 

[swd]

I wonder as a 30BR if you could ever it out, LOL.
Congrats on some great shooting!

 

[wwbrown]

Thanks for folks sharing their experiences with the different steel that is the only way those who have not used barrels in the new material. Jackie was kind enough to share both experience as someone who has installed a Mod 400 barrel but also competed with one at a high level.

Thanks to all who replied with their experiences!

 

[Steve Donlon]

Has anyone used a Bartlein barrel made from 400 MOD steel and used RL or N500 series powders or any double base powder enough to see the results compared to 416 with longevity and carbon buildup? If the hype is true with a diet of just double base powders. 3000 rounds?

 

[ronemus]

I have a .223 spacegun barrel of 400modBB and I started with N-550 and RL-15.5, but velocity was down by 150 fps vs. previous barrels. Throat erosion was less than Krieger and Bartlien 416R barrels, but adding enough of either powder to make velocity resulted in compressed loads with high SD & ES. Fouling was no different than with 416R. I've since switched to H-4895 with good results, but I don't have enough rounds on it to have a firm handle on erosion. I shoot stiff loads, and had useful life of ~3k rounds with 416R; I'm hoping for better with 400modBB.