max barrel temp.

[glbpmc]

Anyone measure barrel temp? Is there a set heat range to stay under in order to keep fouling low?

 

[Nomad47]

I have temperature strips (bought at McMaster-Carr) on all my barrels. I try not to shoot when the barrel gets to 122 degrees but sometimes......

 

[Erik Cortina]

I have temperature strips (bought at McMaster-Carr) on all my barrels. I try not to shoot when the barrel gets to 122 degrees but sometimes......

I shoot most of my F-Class matches in Houston, TX. In the summer, the barrel temperature gets up to 122° F BEFORE we start shooting!

It depends what kind of shooting you do, Nomad47 uses his guns for hunting mostly, so barrel heat is not as big as an issue as it is for us in F-Class where we shoot 25 +- rounds in less than 10 minutes most of the time.

If you can keep it cool, it is absolutely the best way to go, but like Nomad47 said, "sometimes" keeping it cool is hard to do under some circumstances.

As far as an actual number, I don't know. My diesel truck runs about 200°F every day, so I would think that is a safe number to use, but I really don't know.

 

[rvn1968]

I don't see any barrel-makers jumping in.Understandable. There couldn't be set standards,some rail guns have 1-1/2" straight and some hunters have pencils that would overheat in 10 shots. Use some of the Templ- strips and see when your group goes to he**.

 

[CatShooter]

I don't see any barrel-makers jumping in.Understandable. There couldn't be set standards,some rail guns have 1-1/2" straight and some hunters have pencils that would overheat in 10 shots. Use some of the Templ- strips and see when your group goes to he**.

Why do you use so many blank lines in your post??

Remember that the temperature on the surface of the barrel, has absolutely NOTHING to do with the temperature in the bore.

 

[rvn1968]

Hey Cat,I do not know where those blank lines came from. Your second point is debatable. Tom

 

[CatShooter]

Hey Cat,I do not know where those blank lines came from.

From leaning on the enter key - go in and edit and take them out. That post eats up four screens.

Your second point is debatable. Tom

Really?? You fire a shot that is in the 2,000° to 2,800° range in temperature range - and heat is transferred to the bore walls in 0.002 of a second - the outside of the barrel will still be room temperature.

Fire 20 rounds, and the center of the barrel gets very HOT, the outside of the barrel gets warm.

I fail to see what is debatable in that.

 

[rvn1968]

I have melted barrels on M2's (50cal) and m60s (7.62). The 60 could not have been cooled any better,they were hanging out the door of helicopters at the time. After some number of rounds that interior heat convects its heat outwards.It is the same way your electric stove heats up. Tom over and out

 

[CatShooter]

I have melted barrels on M2's (50cal) and m60s (7.62). The 60 could not have been cooled any better,they were hanging out the door of helicopters at the time. After some number of rounds that interior heat convects its heat outwards.It is the same way your electric stove heats up. Tom over and out

Not quite the same...

 

[KevinThomas]

glbpmc,

Not sure where the question about fouling comes in here, but it's not a big deal. In Infantry Trophy (Rattle Battle) matches, we routinely fire 30-40 rounds in 50 seconds, and repeat this several times during the course of the match. These strings are normally separated by only a few minutes as we move to the next line, and the barrels get way too hot to touch during these matches. These are Match grade Service Rifles (using high-end stainless steel Match barrels), generally the same ones we use for our NMC matches, and are usually capable of 1/2 MOA or better.

Doesn't hurt them a bit, or at least, no more than shooting the same number of rounds at a much slower pace would. I've shot out several barrels in over the course rifles that I'd never used in Rattle Battle matches, and they don't last any longer, or quit shooting any sooner, than the ones I do use for these matches do. I've also never seen a bit of difference in the fouling between those used for this match, as opposed to those used for straight NMC matches. Don't sweat it.

 

[LHSmith]

However, the thermal conductivity of steels is rather poor as compared to copper and some other metals, which means there is a measurable thermal gradient from the I.D to the O.D.- i.e. temperature will lag over time. For comparison:Coppers thermal conductivity is ~10x greater than that of carbon or stainless steel, where as wood, a very poor conductor of heat energy, transfers heat at a rate of 1/300th that of steels.