Crowns

[StevenCO]

Whatever happened to the 11 degree target crown?
I see it said that a squared off barrel and kissing the crown is enough, whereas 10 yrs ago, the 11 degree crown was a gift from the Heavens.

 

[wnroscoe]

Steve,

I think crowns are mostly eye candy once you get past its main purpose. I like the 11 degree but, find my self using a recessed crown more and more. I like a recessed crown that’s .090" deep with a 45 degree pull back and a 30 degree chamfer for field/hunting rifles. Similar to the USMC crown.

 

[rbertalotto]

Any crown that isn't 90 degrees to the bore can be easily misaligned during set up. With the bore running perpendicular in the lathe, a simple 90 degree cut is just about fool proof. This is why most smiths are going this route. There is no value on accuracy by going with 11 degrees.

 

[StevenCO]

I have been cutting the crown at 11 degrees and recessing it, but not quite .090" I guess I was taught to ensure that the end of the barrel was trued to the bore before starting anyway. Then place that end in the steady rest. I have to use the steady rest regardless since my old lathe has a pretty small spindle bore. It does require take more time in cleaning up and polishing the end of the barrel that was trued to the bore.