Carbon Fiber barrel question?

Spcamno

Spcamno

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Tried searching the forum and the latest post on carbon fiber barrel was in 2015 and didn't give much info so here I am to ask again:

Is carbon fiber barrel a gimmick or functional as weight reduction and what is your perspective from gunsmith point of view?

Looking to build a light weight rifle can't decide on barrel but would love to have a carbon fiber one if the benefit can offset the cost.

Thank you for any input.
 
Extremely expensive...
If I was building a lightweight for my self I would still do it the old fashioned way with a very light contoured barrel about 20 inches... no magnums for me. A 243 or 7mm 08. If building a magnum a slightly heavier 24 inch barrel. The carbon wrapped barrels have a larger profile with the intent of making a light barrel stiffer for better accuracy. You are limited to what you can do with a carbon wrapped barrel so order what you want rather than buying one and then wanting it shorter, lighter, etc ...
 
I’ve owned a few, they are light and you can shoot faster strings at the bench.
Tough as nails too.
Only reason I like them is you can shoot a few five round groups without waiting an hr for them to cool down.

They look cool as well… lol
 
Years ago I had a customer with one in a .300 magnum, I don't recall what scope he choose but it was very very heavy. The rings and bases were quality but not up to the task of keeping the scope from slipping, a very lightweight rifle in a magnum chambering plus a very heavy scope. He shopped online and only wanted me to mount/boresight, after numerous ring and base combos he listened and I got him taken care of.

The rifles are great, but as the construction moves farther from "normal" then care must be taken to keep all components balanced with each other.
 
From my limited experience doing load development on 2 Proofs and 1 Wilson, I have not found that CFW is an advantage.
I don’t feel like they have any kind of accuracy over a pencil barrier of a similar weight. They are also significantly more expensive than a decent pencil profile barrel.
 
I just built a 280ai with an ibi carbon barrel. Accuracy has been fine at around .75" with loads that it likes. It's nice to be able to shoot a few strings without waiting to cool it down. I have no regrets going carbon. Could have been lighter had I went skinny steel. Cost was around $1300 where a steel barrel would have been under $1000
 
As the CarbonSix dealer, I will answer based on my experience and feedback from customers. The following may or may not apply to any other brand.

Weight of a CF wrapped barrel will be around 1/3 lighter for the same SS sporter contour. As a ball park, a #3 contour CF wrapped barrel will weight around the same as a #2 SS contour. This difference grows rapidly when you go to heavier contours.

Weight for weight, a CF barrel will be more thermally stable vs a SS thin contour barrel. As much as they are popular in building a light hunting rifle, this thermal stability really isn't as big a deal as most hunters try not to do mag dumps on game. However, they seem to have a solid cold bore shot... maybe that can be an improvement in the winter vs a steel barrel???? For something like NRL hunter, a CF wrapped barrel can be very positive.

In my testing, I put the 20th 6.5 Creedmoor rd on target at 800'ish yds. Shooting pace was 15 secs or so. Temps was early summer so warm.

Cool faster... this really is dependent on the epoxies used. The C6 barrels I have shot cooled much faster to the touch vs a SS barrel of similar contour.

Weight vs accuracy.. C6 uses a relatively thin steel inner but has the process to still leave a straight shooting barrel.. at a light weight. Some other brands will err on the side of a heavier steel inner to ensure the barrel will shoot but that will end up with a heavier barrel in the same contour. One of the few CF manfs offering an accuracy guarantee.

Wrt to install, you have to decide at purchase the final specs you want on the rifle. A gunsmith will have no issue machining and installing BUT cannot easily change contours and lengths. Also, expect that the contour will vary more vs a steel barrel due to how the CF is wrapped and formed.... this is not the type of barrel to try for that ciggie paper clearance barrel channel.

Costs... about double the other SS options I can offer.

Options... one of the largest selections of contours, finished lengths and prefit options. When compared to peer suppliers, C6 continues to be one of the best priced.

Lead Times... getting better but tend to be longer to get.

If you have any other questions, please pm or email.

Jerry
 
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I have been using a Hardy carbon barrel on a 6.5CM since a few years and since this year a Proof light Sendero carbon on my 300wm. They are both shooting incredibly well out to 1200m. One point that many forget is that carbon has very good dampening properties. I think for the given weight of the rifle the two I have shoot very smooth, just feels slightly different to conventional barrelled rifles. Planning our third carbon barrelled rifle.
edi
 
I found it easier to get the gun to balance where I want without having to add a lot of weight in the stock/chassis. I went with carbon to keep the weight down without using a pencil barrel steel version. They’re more money but I’ll definitely buy another. Mine is extremely accurate but it’s in 6BR so it should be. Mine is a Hardy with Impact 737r in a McMillan U1. It checked all the boxes I wanted. Insite Arms did the build and I’m very pleased with everything. Good luck
 
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I bought a Savage Ultralite in 300 WSM at a fair price and put it in a XRS chassis. Very precise at the range, solid platform, but weight is very reasonable. Quite happy with the setup. Never shot fast enough to notice accuracy loss even though barrel got quite warm. Did I need a CF barrel? Probably not, but it looks quite cool!
 
Thanks for all the replies.

I aware there is always a trade off with different choices. It is a tough decision to make.

I like the look and weight of carbon fiber and as Jertt mention heat dissipation appears better but since this will be a hunting rifle I doubt I will get it too hot.

My main goal is weight saving.

Will do more research and any welcome for any other input.
 
If you want it light go stainless and spend the money you saved on the lightest stock .
I have built a number of rifles with all brands of carbon barrels .I personally have 3 with carbon barrels .They look cool for sure kind of like chrome rims on a truck but they really don’t make a difference that I have seen.Stainless is by far the lighter of the two .I have had two 6.5 creedmoors I built.One with a #2 contour and one with proof both 24 “ they both shot identical could not tell the difference even with 5 rapid shots .The stainless was the better balanced of the two and lightest.I like the carbon as as I use my rifle like a walking stick so the heavier barrel contours and the carbon fibre is easier on my arthritic hands .What does that tell you !
 
I went with a factory carbon Fiber barreled rifle to limit my initial loss if I didn’t like it (was a Christensen Ridgeline. …Great rifle, but she gone.)Then build what you want after short experience as it doesn’t take long to buy/try/flip a factory rifle at the right price, or buy used and flip it for the same price if it’s fair.

Howa has carbon Fiber stock ultralights that are tough to beat for what you describe, in a .308 or a 6.5CM. (I have a 6.5 Grendel that I think is pretty groovy considering it’s outdoing my .308 across the board) .

If you’re stuck on a custom without the background experience with them, I’d personally listen to Dennis..he’s built for me in the past , and has produced more half minute light profile rifles than one would care to remember.
 
I was on the same debate when I built my mountain rifle. Having used both steel and carbon, im happy I went with steel (#1 benchmark). Carbons do look cool, but I couldn’t find any other positive about them personally.
 
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