baldie

I'm not going to apologise for a rant, because i've seen so many barrels not shooting to their optimum, because of bad advise. I,m sick to the back teeth of hearing it in the shop, from people who have just spent 5k on a rifle, and are quite willing to ruin a barrel, on the advise of some idiot on the internet. I have shot probably into the 100's of barrels, in personally, and observed it countless times on customers rifles. I was at Diggle last week, shooting in a Sig cross. My two pals were there, one shooting in a new sassen, one shooting in a new Bartlien, both fitted by myself. Usual methods were employed, the use of a chrono, and also a large target with many dots. Its quite simple. You walk the gun onto zero cleaning as you go. When you get to shooting the 5 x 3 shot groups, cleaning in-between......watch what magically happens.....how much more evidence do you need ? Or does it have to be mathematically written down, by some professor in the back of beyond, who has never pulled a trigger? The sassen barrel broke in faster than the Bartlien did, it was plainly evident over the chrono, and on the targets. Both guns were shooting lovely by the end of the morning, and both guys were happy they had given the barrels the best start in life, and were basically using their old loads from the previous barrels i'd made them. Neither barrel held any copper at the end of the process, and the goops/velocities got magically tighter as the process finished......it must be witchcraft....... barrels that are not shot and cleaned in their first rounds can only fill the pores with copper. The pores cannot be levelled off by subsequent shots. these barrels end up being " i can't get the copper out" of this, or " i cant stop these carbon rings" etc etc. These are the barrels that take forever to settle down [if at all ] exhibit knife edge nodes etc. A properly run in barrel, will allow you to get to a good load faster, than one that isn't broken it. If you want to speed the process up, as a couple of forward thinkers have already said, the application of a bore polish, improved the process rapidly. I use Losso on all my new barrels first, it certainly helps. All proofed barrels come back in a mess with copper. Again FROM WEEKLY EXPERIENCE....The proof copper is the very devil to remove. Those two rounds literally plasmerise the bore. I usually aim to remove 90% of it.The last bit will never move, and the gun has to be fired again to warm it up, then it will shift. Different barrel brands behave differently at this point. Sassen blanks take 15 minutes to get clean, Bartliens take all afternoon. This is simply down to different lapping, both are absolutely fine once that initial copper has gone. A properly run in barrel, will not hold copper for a very long time, until its near the end of its life. Cold bore shots are more consistent, and the barrel will not require 20 rounds to return it to zero I've proved all the above by actually doing it, on a weekly basis. You can either take that as evidence, or not, I don't have a degree, etc etc. I'm simply a gunsmith with over 25 years experience.

I cannot believe grown men who will have owned all sorts of machinery, cannot grasp barrel break in. I also cannot understand anyone who will willingly spend X amount of pounds on a new gun, be it a factory rifle, or a full blown custom, and not be prepared to spend a morning, running it in properly. Dont listen to the idle sods who say its a waste of time, because they are talking out of their arse. I will not guarantee any barrels accuracy, i've fitted, unless the customer follows my break in regime, which is.. 5 x single rounds cleaning inbetween 5 x 3 rds, cleaning in-between. 2 x 5rds cleaning in-between. Factory rifles will need more break in than a custom blank. Barrels always speed up during the first 200 rounds. Surely people are not that dense, as to not recognise the increasing speed is because the barrel is running in ? Are people so thick ? I had a customer who put 200 rounds down an barrel, straight off, with poor results. It took me a day to get it cleaned properly, then it shot amazingly. Barrels coming back from proof are lathered in copper, and literally glow orange. It takes an afternoon to remove it, and Bartlien blanks are the worst. Subsequent shots show less copper, then less copper.........c'mon, even an idiot can see what is happening. Microscopic pores in the bore, is what you are smoothing out, by shoot/clean. Fill them with initial copper without removal, and you will never get the best from it. If the barrel has reamer marks bad enough across the lands, then the reamer needs replacing.

Bolt slop is totally irrelevant. Dont fall into the trap of thinking "it has to be BAT quality" coz thats been one of the biggest "emperors new clothes" in the gun world for years. Straight true lugs that bear properly are all that is required. I proved it years ago with 2 bolts of different tolerances in one action. It made no difference. I had my own made for years, and also did all the R and D , testing etc for several years on them, trust me, you are wasting your time commercially.

Guess we will find out. I'm currently on with building one on a Howa mini action.

😄 30-06 is 308 bolt face. 300 PRC is magnum. There is a fair bit of difference. The PRC falls very close to 300 norma magnum delivery.

My Pleasure Del, nice to see it out in the wild.

I've chassis in from MDT, AI, MPA, Oryx, etc Andy, pop in for a cuppa, you are welcome to handle them all. Might give you an idea or two.

A customer of mine, destroyed a brand new barrel, using S and B in creedmoor. The cases split at the web, and gas cut the chamber. I have the remainder of the ammo [ no, I did not sell that stuff to him ] and its going to the proof house.

Had a look at an Impact the other day....its a revamped surgeon. One of the guys involved worked on them both I believe. Its a very nice action. Just ordered some more Terminus actions, one of which is The Zeus, and that has the switch barrel capability.

a 1-7.5" is unlikely to stabilise either the A-tip, the 108, and certainly not the 110 sierra. All these are finicky bullets, and can be a right paint to tune. I would not fit anything slower than a 1-7" twist if a customer requested use of these bullets. It will still shoot lighter bullets, though to be honest, a 6.5 PRC will be so overbored, the twist rate is likely to be the least of your problems.

I have one in stock at the moment. Forget building your own, or getting bits in from Brownells. They will not export upper receivers anymore.

I popped it on my 6XC Lee, and put 5 rounds through it. Its a 6.5 cal mod. The gun is a heavy rifle and shoots like a rimfire with my own brake onboard. The moderator is not useable without hearing protection, and the brake is doing nothing. The gun recoiled an awful lot more than with my own brake. I have an insert for the mod, for my AI rifles, so will certainly give it a go on the calibre it was meant for, i've paid for it after all. After 5 rounds the heat haze from it rendered the gun unusable, so it definately needs a heat shield of some sort, and a quality one. I would guess it would have to be custom made, as the mods sections are short. Wished i'd waited for the PRS 3 as the 2 isn't big enough to suppress anything much more than .223. A beautifully made piece of kit though.

I bought one to try it out before selling to customers. I won't be....... It does neither, as I suspected.

Fill your profile in, as per the forum rules please.

I've machined up a couple of Barrels for an AXMC, and also one for my own gun, but we still await the brass. Its now in the UK, just need to pick it up. Then find time to actually go shooting.

Barrelled another one only yesterday. Its certainly gaining in popularity, and we now have the lap brass. As can been seen from the cartridge pics above, its got a better shoulder and greater capacity.

Having made into the hundreds of Creedmoor barrels for AI rifles, I can confirm that they work just fine with large or small primers. There have only ever been issues with 6.5 x 47 etc. All AI AX/AT rifles post, 2017 have the small diameter [1.6 mm ] firing pin anyway, so the primer choice is yours. The AXMC has the large pin as standard, but a small diameter conversion bolt is readily available. The primer size makes no difference to the creed's accuracy, just its speed. Choice of sako or AI ? I like them both personally, especially the M10. Have had to replace the TRG triggers 3 or 4 times though, they were a known fault, and expensive.

Thats correct. M27 x 2. The only barrel that's different is the AE.

Click on your own name, it should take you to your profile. There you can fill in, where you are from, which is the golden rule to be able to use the sales section. Its in the sales section rules, pinned at the top of the sales section.

Fill your profile in please.

Hmmn. Piqued my interest somewhat. having had a couple of donor actions based on the 300AAC and also the .17 fireball/.221 fireball, i can say, the actions are subtly different. Factory remmy's in these flavours, have their own magazine follower and mag box as a std gun, they also have a double scalloped feed ramp to function correctly. Shouldn't be a problem with a 223 mag , and built in .300AAC. I did notice on the video, that there was no mag usage footage though...... The .458 SOCOM ? Hmmn....would be a hell of an Urban fox hammer...... Under a grand ? Never.

If you've seen the trade price, please don't repeat the f**k up. Trade prices are confidential.

Each have their own features. I have both a 308 AW and a 338 AW, and both have the original skins [not the modern ones ] Despite having hands like shovels, i've never struggled with the thumbholes, but my little finger has very little to grip !. I also have an AX .308 and an AXMC, both of which have the modern skeleton type stock, and I love these too. The basic action is virtually the same [some of the old bolt shrouds were different ] but essentially the modern action has the quick change screw and that's about it. The triggers were the same, save for the trigger shoe on the newer guns, internals are the same. The old single port brake did have its own slip over mod , I have one. These were steel and very quiet indeed, as they are long, and full of baffles. Just subtle differences over time, but the old war horse is still in there. An Icon.

The said Mod and brake landed this morning, and five minutes later was disassembled. I cannot state this overly enough. Stand and look at the job, when you have it mounted how you want to remove it. As you can see, this mod is in my vice. Be VERY careful when doing this. I know my vice, I know its strength, and its used every day. The jaws are flat, smooth brass, and protected by paper slips for grip. The mod has been fixed in there, so the solid section at the back is within the vice jaws. Use just enough purchase to hold it without moving. I accept no responsibility for He-man, swinging on the handle, and crushing your mod. Use some common sense. The mod is pointing away from you. Imagine you were screwing a normal mod onto a r/h thread. You would be spinning it on, counter clockwise. With the spanner on the brake flats, it wants to be going counter clockwise too. You are moving the brake, not the mod. This is a left hand thread remember. This came off easily. Once off, I put the brake in a coffee jar full of carbon remover [boretec ] and stand it in the ultrasonic for 20 minutes. It won't hurt the brake finish. DONT do this with the mod. Never tried an AI mod, but i've seen ultrasonics remove anodising before. The mod. I plug the thread hole with a silicon bung, and half fill the back with carbon remover, and let it soak for an hour, agitating it now and again with a cotton bud. When you think its had long enough, tip it out and remove the bung. I then get in there with a small, blunt, and all edges smoothed, screwdriver, and gently scrape the softened carbon away from the bell shaped hole. You should have already removed the O ring. Make sure the groove is clean of carbon too. There is a flat area, where the thread starts. Make sure this is scraped clean. When all spotless, i put grease on my finger, and put a faint smear on the entire bell shaped hole. If its greased, the carbon wont stick to it hard, and will be much easier to clean next time. Grease the O ring groove, and replace, adding a further smear to the ring itself. Get the brake out of the gunk, and gently scrape all the soft carbon off, that's left. Pay particular attention to the undercut groove, behind the the thread, as it always builds up there. Also the small shoulder directly behind it. When clean, I always fill the thread undercut with grease, and also a smear on the brake body, which fits inside the O ring. Carbon builds up just in front of that. Its a simple job to grease the parts before use for the day, and saves a lot of grief. After shooting, dont let the mod go completely cold before removing it from the gun, it makes removal of an Aluminium mod, from a steel brake so much easier. These parts require routine maintenance, and should be part of your cleaning regime, after every time the gun has been used. The O rings last longer when treated thus, and cleaning is far easier, with the grease in the points mentioned. I usually put a smear on the brake thread, but to be honest, have never seen an AI brake, seize into the mod at this point. Regarding grease, I have used moly, and that's fine, and I now use the white stuff in a tube, off amazon. I think its called TWG25 or something. Anything is better than nothing, and as mentioned previously, there are some very specialist ones, that would be far better than what i've used. On the subject of soaking. Dont do it to the mod's internals. Its a sealed unit, and you wont get it out. Most certainly DO NOT USE DIESEL. Or any other petroleum distillate. Diesel ignites under pressure, and doesn't evaporate off, very well. Stick to bore solvents, and do your best to not let any get inside. A few drops wont hurt, but avoid if possible. If you want to clean the baffles, AI make a special brush for just that, or a large cal pistol brush, pushed through dry, will get the whiskers off the baffles. I see this issue regularly, and its simply a maintenance thing. The mod and brake is the thick end of £800, look after it chaps. Hope this helps.

Why not give the AI service centre a ring............. Before you do something as ridiculous as half the answers given here, and f**k up your mod. My number is 07889 388378.