Kreiger barrels - q about barrel life??

[Ogre6br]

Hi
You guys that are using Kreigers- what sort of barrel life are you getting from them??

I'm not talking 0.2 moa BR type accuracy but usable accuracy in a varmint gun.

There was a cooment down the rifle clubs today.
Kreigers great barrels, shoot like stink, but are a soft stainless for easy manufacturer- wear out to quick for the cost of getting them here in australia.

Putting the cost of getting one here in AU- what is you reaction to the first part of the statement??

I have ZERO experience with the brand at all and I'm just wondering if you guys agree or dis-agree with the statement aboutthem being soft and wearing out to quick.

Thanks for your imput.

Later
P

 

[Bobs243Ackley]

If you are talking about a cut rifled Krieger Barrel, or any other cut rifled barrel, the life of this type of barrel is generally greater due to the fact that a cut rifled barrel does not need to be made softer, or less hard, by annealing. The softer steel is required for the rifling button to do its job of rifling the barrel for a button rifled barrel. These softer steels are not needed for a cut rifled barrel because the cutter blade only takes off about .0001" of an inch for each pass of the cutting blade and does not induce any stress into the barrel blank. The harder steel will be tougher and last longer than the softer steel of a button rifled barrel.

Cordially,
Bob Blaine

 

[Ogre6br]

I'M NOT SAYING KREIGERS ARE BAD BARRELS- THEIR RECORD SPEAKS FOR ITSELF IN THE MANY COMP WINS AND HAPPY CUSTOMERS. I'm asking if you guys think they are a bit soft and wear out quicker than other barrels?
It's a cost V return/service life thing for me as quality barrels are rare'r than rocking horse s*it over this side of the pond.
Thanks

later
P

 

[dantec]

button rifling surfaces are harder, by metal compression of the metal skin same as burnishing ) than the outside of the barrel, even if I agree that possible to cut rifling hard metal, hard barrel, full hard steel ) is not good for accuracy because more hard is your steel more easy is vibration

barrel life is one factor, barrel accuracy is another

good shooting

DAN TEC

 

[M700]

My only Kriegers are in .308 Winchester. One is at nearly 5500 rounds now and just shot a 592-22x at a 600 yard prone match. I'd say barrel life was hanging in there pretty good.

Low X-count is likely my fault!

 

[DanCarey]

I've had a chance to own almost every major barrel manufacturers offerings. I have to say I believe Krieger has a slight edge in the round count area. I'm more interested in accuracy than round count. The most accurate barrels I've owned were Hart and Shilen. I have 1 fitted Krieger,LV), 1 Shilen,HV),1 Hart,1000yd), 1 Shilen,1000yd), on match rifles right now. In as much as I do my own work, if they don't shoot from day one they are history.

 

[M9Powell]

I'm pretty sure that Kreighers like most US stainless barrels are 416. Which is fairly soft & easily damaged by cleaning. I've heard Lothar Walther uses a much harder Krupp stainless that is a b!tch to machine but worth it. Its a lot harder to get custom features from Walther unless you want several barrels though, but if one of there std. profiles & calibers suit you they are very accurate & will probably outlast any 416 barrel

 

[Rust]

Well, the Lothar Walther is certainly tougher than 416R steel, I don't know about harder. At any rate, the LW-50 takes a higher RPM when chambering, somewhere between 200 and 250 RPM according to Lothar Walther. On the other hand I've also heard that the speed is also somewhat dependant on the reamer material, M2, M42, Carbide coated or whatever. I am also given to understand that the cutting fluid should have a fairly high sulfer content.

Some smiths do not particularily like to work with L-W barrels. Unfortunately the smith that did my last L-W barrel seems to have left the business, at the very least he's pulled up stakes. So now I'm looking for another smith to do a perfect barrel install. Let's just say it's a tall order because with the last barrel it's been the most accurate rifle I've ever owned.

 

[LeoAhearn]

Hey P -

If you have a question on steel hardness and what Krieger uses, my suggestion is you call them and have a chat. They are good folks and will walk you through what steel they use and why.

I too have shot button and hammer forged barrels in the past. Right now I have 4 Kriegers in service, one Obermeyer, and am about to put another Obermeyer in service. I will be buying no more button barrels, other than for lower cost applications like my NTIT rifle or by short course NM rifle in bolt-on applications. If I'm gonna pay a smith to work over an action and chamber and thread, it will be on a quality cut rifle blank, end of story.

 

[kaferhaus]

I have 6 Walther barrels. They will sell you the blanks direct and have a few pre-threaded models for Savages that they keep in stock.

I've owned barrels by about every barrel maker out there and the LW's are as good or better than any of them. The barrels are not hard to machine... IF you pay attention to the machining info they provide with every blank.

Copper fouling on these barrels is next to nonexistant and one of mine,a 6br) has over 3,000rds through it and is still shooting in the .2s.

Krieger's are good barrels, I've had 2. They last marginally longer than most 416 stainless button tubes. In my experience they're no more or less accurate than the Shilen, Hart etc.

LW doesn't "sponsor" anyone, they don't take out big ads and they don't provide "freebees" to gun writers. Thus many people have never heard of them.

The vast majority of their business is providing factory barrels to high end semi-custom builders. They also have a lower grade economy barrel that they sell to some of the "brands".

Woody Woodall is the GM at the Atlanta plant, very knowledgable and friendly gent.

If your smith is "scared" of working with 17H4 stainless then you need a new smith, not a different barrel.

 

[ArtinNC]

kaferhaus,
I agree with you if your smith does not like LW barrels or 17H4 steel get a new smith. I have only chambered 4 barrels and the last one was a LW barrel and had no problem with it, and it was a 1:8 twist 6mmBR 29" long. And I'm very happy with it. Art

 

[StephenPerry]

P
I don't consider any BR barrels soft. Depends on how your reamer cuts in how some determine soft. Here in the Land of the Free benchrest barrel companies sell in mass. All responsibilty for performance lies in the smith. Any benchrest barrel will be of varmint quality. I have 25+ barrels that will all shoot 2 aggs. Don't know of too many varmints smaller than a .25 inch unless you consider grasshoppers varmints. I have a 22 PPC Hart barrel with 15,000+ rounds that would smoke a grasshopper at 100 yds.
Cleaning method will determine barrel life in a Krieger. Too much done poorly will change your benchrest quality barrel into a varmint quality in 1000 rounds or less.
Stephen Perry

 

[sling_n_glove]

Worry about metal hardness all you feel like. My Krieger barrels give good life compared to what I hear from other shooters. My current .308 barrel, for instance, is at over 7000 rounds and still producing consistent Xs.

I can't imagine why you'd hear negative rumors about Krieger barrels, except that maybe not many people down unda' have been using them. They are highly regarded among some exceptional shooters here in Washington and around the U.S.

Why don't you just buy one and see for yourself? If you do enough shooting, the cost of one barrel isn't that significant.

 

[SF340Driver]

I've got a Kreiger on my father old Palma rifle with over 8K rnds thru it. We set it back just over a quarter of an inch at around 5000 rnds and rechambered. Is still shooting well.

BTW: There are many types of 416 stainless and they all have different properties including hardness and resistance to wear. Each barrelmaker orders their blanks per their own specs, so unless you run tests on Kreiger's 416 barrel steel your just guessing.

 

[tenring]

To Steve Perry -You said "Cleaning method will determine barrel life in a Krieger. Too much done poorly will change your benchrest quality barrel into a varmint quality in 1000 rounds or less."

Does this statement have particular reference to Krieger, or all barrels? I am an experienced competitive shooter, and believe I clean my Krieger and all other barrels correctly. But other readers may question specifics about improper cleaning. Please explain.

 

[Dubya]

Article,interview) with John Krieger in Sept. issue of PS.
Krieger uses 416R stainless, but on sporter barrels uses 410.
Kriegr also contours-cryo treats before he bores,from muzzle end).

Good shooting all.
Gary.