Barrel length, cf vs cm/ss

dead meat

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Got to talking today about carbon fibre barrels at my favorite gun shop, now i'm wondering if there is any advantage or disadvantage on the length of CF wrapped barrels vs CM/SS. Guys are using long barrels to get maximum velocity but shorter barrels are stiffer are just 2 points to consider, so would say a 6.5CM-- CF vs SS see an advantage with a different barrel length. Maybe not an issue, just the musings of a guy with a barrel that he wants to replace and a lot of options.
 
Some of the carbon barrels are showing a whip action when fired so ya might want to be careful of what you buy and what caliber.
 
I came across a Hardy 20" 6.5 1/8 barrel blank with 24mm muzzle diameter. This barrel weighed 1.2kg. We had it fitted to a rem action and chambered 6.5CM. Fitted into an ultra light E-Tac4 carbon stock and ended up just under 6.7lbs without scope. I only fired 40 rounds so far and still testing. Sako TRG factory ammo 136gr is running at a bit over 2700fps but seems hot.

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edi
 
I haven't played with short 6.5CM barrels, but there is a noticeable speed gain with going with a 24" or a 26" barrel. The sweet spot, I have found is the 2800 ft/s mark for the 140 class bullets and 2950 for the 130 class bullets, which I think you would struggle to get out of a 20" barrel. Depends on your game though and what you're trying to accomplish. If you're strictly aiming for utmost accuracy at 300 yards, then why not do a straight taper SS barrel? For me, I need recoil control under improvised and unstable positions, so a heavy gun and a lot of speed help.
 
Got to talking today about carbon fibre barrels at my favorite gun shop, now i'm wondering if there is any advantage or disadvantage on the length of CF wrapped barrels vs CM/SS. Guys are using long barrels to get maximum velocity but shorter barrels are stiffer are just 2 points to consider, so would say a 6.5CM-- CF vs SS see an advantage with a different barrel length. Maybe not an issue, just the musings of a guy with a barrel that he wants to replace and a lot of options.

All barrels behave in similar ways wrt to length... longer, typically offers more velocity.... longer, can be harder to tune.... longer is harder to maneuver in the field.

You choose CF wrapped because you want to save weight and still have barrel stability for multiple shots. That's it

The same profile in steel is 1/3 heavier vs CF wrapped.

If I can help with any barrel, let me know...

Jerry
 
My question is what do you plan to use this light target rifle for?

If you want to build a high end hunting rifle sure, what you describe might be nice.

But target rifles need weight for stability... static inertia, things like that... So light carbon fiber wrapped barrel is the opposite of a solution.

Strictly speaking, fluted barrel could be used to provide you with a performance advantage on a target rifle.

This is the part where guys will jump in and say fluting doesn't help, but here's where they will be wrong to do so...

The fluted vs non fluted argument assumes the same barrel contour either with or without flutes... and in that case I would support the non fluted version..

But... What if you compare two barrels of equal weight? One fluted and one without.

Now the fluted barrel can be longer or fatter than it's non-fluted counterpart and in this case the fluted barrel will have a performance advantage in terms of speed if longer and accuracy if fatter.
 
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Thanks dead meat.


Sports gear made for competitions often ends up made in carbon, might take a while for some sports to catch up. I recon the carbon barrels once perfected will be the norm. Weight is very important in most sports, build light and add weight exactly where it benefits.

edi
 
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