cryo-treatment for barrels
- Thread starter treeman
- Start date
Had two barrels done - factory Ruger heavy .308 and Win. .375 H&H stainless. Both definitely were a bit more accurate and easier to clean. I think the process works best with hammer forged factory barrels that are not stress relieved at any stage of their manufacture. On custom barrels that use the best steel and are stress relieved I don't think it is worth it. Look on the Lilja web site as they offer it as an optional service, they may state their opinion of it.
All that said, I have a 1956 Win. rimfire bbl. I am thinking about having done. 300Below, Decatur, IL (www.300below.com) is having a special right now - one barreled action for $80 and a second for half price.
All that said, I have a 1956 Win. rimfire bbl. I am thinking about having done. 300Below, Decatur, IL (www.300below.com) is having a special right now - one barreled action for $80 and a second for half price.
Trees -
Howdy !
Be very carefull WHEN/AT WHAT POINT you decide to cryo.
I tried my first cryo job, after calling the cryo provider.....
they told me I would be fine doin' my Hart .224" ca l24" SS
1-14 varmint barrel, after it already had fired 2,300 rnds through it.
As it turns out, metal chunked out of the leade area, much akin dried mud cracking out of the bottom of a dried puddle.
Big mistake, as barrel life was thusly shortened in the over-all
IF I were to cryo ( again ), I'd only have it done to a failry new barrel; if it were not performing to expectations.
Regards,
357Mag
Howdy !
Be very carefull WHEN/AT WHAT POINT you decide to cryo.
I tried my first cryo job, after calling the cryo provider.....
they told me I would be fine doin' my Hart .224" ca l24" SS
1-14 varmint barrel, after it already had fired 2,300 rnds through it.
As it turns out, metal chunked out of the leade area, much akin dried mud cracking out of the bottom of a dried puddle.
Big mistake, as barrel life was thusly shortened in the over-all
IF I were to cryo ( again ), I'd only have it done to a failry new barrel; if it were not performing to expectations.
Regards,
357Mag
Krieger bbls does cryo treating in-house to stress relieve their blanks.
Years ago, PS ran several articles that showed the accuracy improvement on some bbls that didn't group well to begin with.
The treatment also improved the machinabiltiy of the steel. Better grain structure also was said to increase the life of cutting tools and such.
Bob
Years ago, PS ran several articles that showed the accuracy improvement on some bbls that didn't group well to begin with.
The treatment also improved the machinabiltiy of the steel. Better grain structure also was said to increase the life of cutting tools and such.
Bob
Was under the impression that cyro treatment left the steel (skin) too hard to chamber or thread. Is this not so?
Jim
Jim
Robert,
300 Below allows customers to send barreled actions (stripped) because folks were objecting to having the have their barrels removed by a gunsmith. Most of us heavily involved in the shooting sports can do that chore ourselves but they are trying to cater to all the shooters out there.
When I had my barrels done they were barrels only. May I assume there is a problem with cryo treating an action? Does it ruin the temper?
Mike
300 Below allows customers to send barreled actions (stripped) because folks were objecting to having the have their barrels removed by a gunsmith. Most of us heavily involved in the shooting sports can do that chore ourselves but they are trying to cater to all the shooters out there.
When I had my barrels done they were barrels only. May I assume there is a problem with cryo treating an action? Does it ruin the temper?
Mike
It doesn't hurt the action a bit. I have had a grand total of ONE barrel and one action done. It was a Hart barrel that wouldn't shoot for beans. I had it processed locally and they did a lot of them. After that waste of money, I sent the rifle back to Greg Tannel who then put a Krieger on it and it shot much, much better. I had about 60 rounds through the Hart when I decided it wasn't going to shoot. He couldn't get it to shoot either. Cryo was his suggestion as a hail mary before rebarreling but it didn't help. Might help on others though.
watercam said:
Watercam,
If made on compleyely finished barrels, why bother about improved machineability?.
On the question about receivers, it really depeds on what is the basic alloy and to what treatments the receiver was submitted originally.. Not knowing this does not allow to be affirmative in answering.
R.G.C
This subject has been brought up several times on this site, and other's also. When Kevin Thomas was with Sierra, he did an extensive article in "Precision Shooting" involving controlled testing of cryo treated vs. non treated barrels. The article appears in the Sept. 1998 issue, titled " Meanwhile, 17224 rounds later..." It got my attention since I just had a Hart 22-250 barrel cryo treated, so I made it a point to keep a copy of the article. I won't comment on my results, I'll let the PS article, and the exhaustive work Kevin put into it speak for itself. 
jonbearman
I live in new york state,how unfortunate !
My brother does cryo runs at our shop and have cryoed most of what I own.Now for the story.I put together a AR-15 with an armalite take off barrel.It would shoot ok at 100 as long as the target was as big as a moose.It shot around 4-5 inches.I was dissapointed.I called 300 below in florida and they wanted 125.00 to do it.In the mean time my brother bought a cryo chamber to do car engine parts.So I asked him to run mine and he did it for a test.I did the whole upper.I put it back on and out to the range I went.It now will shoot match loads with the 53 grain hornady and surplus h335 in the .2's to 3's all day long.That was almost 10 years ago and it is still going strong after shooting a couple thousand rounds.The barrel was close to new when I got it and I did break it in despite I think break in is a bunch of hogwash.Anyways chromemoly barrels respond better to the process.I have cryoed a couple stainless barrels that did improve on accuracy.Getting back to the fella who had his barrel fall apart like mud,it probably had nothing to do with the cryo process. I dont buy it unless a metalurgist can back that claim up.
butchlambert
Site $$ Sponsor
Most CRYO places do not have the proper equipment to get the temperature low enough and to hold it long enough to do a decent job. I believe if you call Kreiger they will tell you CRYO will increase their tooling life. They use the furnace for stress relief.
I just received 2 barrels that I sent to Controlled Thermal Processing in Illinois. One is a Rock Creek 30BR barrel with about 100-200 rounds on it. It is as close to a hummer as I have had. The other is a Bartlein 6mmx14 blank that I chambered in 6ppc. Both are now going to Joel Kendrick for Melonite QPQ treatment.
I love the Melonite as I have seen a great increase in barrel life. It will be a while, but I will keep you informed.
Butch
I need to mention that in the olden days CRYO made no difference in the way my barrels shot. They just machined better.
I just received 2 barrels that I sent to Controlled Thermal Processing in Illinois. One is a Rock Creek 30BR barrel with about 100-200 rounds on it. It is as close to a hummer as I have had. The other is a Bartlein 6mmx14 blank that I chambered in 6ppc. Both are now going to Joel Kendrick for Melonite QPQ treatment.
I love the Melonite as I have seen a great increase in barrel life. It will be a while, but I will keep you informed.
Butch
I need to mention that in the olden days CRYO made no difference in the way my barrels shot. They just machined better.
butchlambert
Site $$ Sponsor
Nate,
I didn't know that you were the forum moderator. I guess that I need to PM you before I respond to another post?
Butch
I didn't know that you were the forum moderator. I guess that I need to PM you before I respond to another post?
Butch
I also did not realize we needed "pre-approval" when opening a thread or posting a response. The same remark could also apply to an original poster, and responders regarding moly coated bullets, bullet seating depth's, crimping, cut versus button rifled barrels, etc. etc. since these subjects have also been raised numerous times over the years. Guess they should all be off-limits. ???
I did PM anybody beforehand so read fast as it might go away.........
My Kierger came Cryo'd and I think it shoots great, CM .224, 1-7" @ 28" and my next new barrel will be also.
My Kierger came Cryo'd and I think it shoots great, CM .224, 1-7" @ 28" and my next new barrel will be also.
About 5 years ago a friend brought me a rugar 77 in 30-06 it was a hunting rifle and it shot 5 shot groups into about 4.5 inches. He wanted me to try to figure out what was wrong with it. I checked the bedding it was Ok and shot some groups myself. I found it to be walking shots up and to the right with the first 2 shots in about 1 inch and the next about 1 inch higher and to the right ...shot 4 about 1 inch higher and so on.
I didn't have any experiance with cryro treating but had read about it. He sent it in to 300 below and had it treated.
When he got it back it would consistantly shoot 5 shot groups into a nice round group 1.25" at 100 yards. I believe this barrel had lots of stress and the cryro treating took some of that stress out. It definately worked in this extreame case.
I didn't have any experiance with cryro treating but had read about it. He sent it in to 300 below and had it treated.
When he got it back it would consistantly shoot 5 shot groups into a nice round group 1.25" at 100 yards. I believe this barrel had lots of stress and the cryro treating took some of that stress out. It definately worked in this extreame case.
Similar threads
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.