Stepped Barrel Contour

[jackieschmidt]

A while back a shooter started a thread asking how steps In a barrel could affect harmonics.

I have a fairly old Krieger barrel in HV profile that was always a good shooter. So, I decided to set it back to 20 inches, turn it in steps, and install it on my LV Farley Drop Port 6PPC.

I used a positive rake tool with a very small nose radius, taking pretty small cuts. I just used a mist cooler to keep the temperature down. The barrel ran just as true when I finished as it did before I turned it.

Here it is. I will shoot it this weekend to see if it will still be a good shooter, or whether it will go into the material rack.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I think a good hinge in the middle and a tuner would be a good thing. Not sure how the taper rule applies to steps though. My luck it shoots all day but isnt legal!

 

[butchlambert]

I think a good hinge in the middle and a tuner would be a good thing. Not sure how the taper rule applies to steps though. My luck it shoots all day but isnt legal!

Isn't legal?

 

[BoydAllen]

Anything that fits inside max dimensions is legal.

 

[Flouncer]

What was the purpose of the old Military step barrels ? Mauser, Springfield etc. Why not a simpler taper ?

 

[jackieschmidt]

Hey, I just want to see if it still shoots.

The ID looks like a brand new blank after setting it back 1 1/2 inches.

 

[ebb]

Most of the time when I want to set one back the fire cracking goes about 7 or 8inches from the chamber towards the muzzle.

 

[butchlambert]

Most of the time when I want to set one back the fire cracking goes about 7 or 8inches from the chamber towards the muzzle.

You don't get in a hurry!

 

[S_Kyle]

What was the purpose of the old Military step barrels ? Mauser, Springfield etc. Why not a simpler taper ?

I believe it was to do with the bedding. With pressure points towards the front of the stock there was less POI shift with the stepped barrels vs a taper. When very hot the barrels would grow linearly and deflect less. I don’t think it worked but I believe that was the theory at the time.

 

[338 Mollett]

Interesting !

 

[ebb]

300Jarret, 300RUM the 6.5-284 you sent to Col Billy for me, I have not looked at with the hawkeye cause i am afraid to.

 

[bennett ford]

Creighton Audette was an early bench rest and high power shooter. He was a metallurgist by trade and strongly believed that stepped barrels were inherently more accurate then those with a taper. His theory was that the vibrations were more more consistent end to end .
Sometime during the eighties, several of us Texas high power shooters had some barrels (.30) made up by a barrel maker in Oklahoma. They all shot well but no better then the standard taper barrels that were more readily available. Neither did they "look right".