Barrels

[fluesheet]

Hello THR members! I’m a moderately experienced rifle shooter / handloader that is just returning to an active pursuit of this branch of shooting after some time off. My, how things have changed - .17’s and .20’s everywhere!

The reason for the post: I was shopping for rifles this weekend and got my first hands-on look at the CZ 527. One of the selling points the salesman discussed was the hammer forged barrel – he said many domestic manufacturers are now using extruded barrels and accuracy is suffering.

I assume that in either case, the bores still have to be bored and rifled – so my questions are:
- Are forged barrels better?
- If so, *why*?
- Is it relevant for lower powered cartridges (.22 Hornet, .221 Fireball class) as long as the bore is drilled straight?

Thanks!

 

[Art Eatman]

Salesmen make money by selling. This one's pitch is good for sitting around the campstove and mumbling one way or the other, but it's pretty much mental masturbation.

The machine tooling in today's world is such that you have to work to find a bad rifle, not to find an accurate rifle.

CZ, Savage, Sako, Remchester, etc., etc., pick one that suits, shoot and have fun.

Art

 

[jacobhh]

Yep, sales babble.
That's probably the last accuracy variable I'd consider,
right after stock color.

 

[fineredmist]

The only reason all rifles don't have hammer forged barrels is the fact that many makers cannot afford the price of the machinery (in excess of 1 million per machine) to make the barrels. H F barrels are more consistent and can be produced quicker than any other method of manufacture.

 

[rangerruck]

I also have a lot of faith, that a lot of bbl makers can easily make a bbl that is either moa or close to it. That being said, I am a huge cz fan, because I know how good they are, I have 4 of them. I also have 2 of the 527's , one in 223 and one in 762.39, the latter is not supposed to be accurate, but in the cz, it is. A good Hammer forged bbl, does seem to be a bit more accurate than most, even Ruger 10.22's , which are not known for accuracy, on their target models, use hammer forged bbls.

 

[Walkalong]

manufacturers are now using extruded barrels

Never heard of that.

 

[skinewmexico]

First I've ever of a hammer forged barrel being a good thing. Well, they're a great thing for what they were invented for, which was a cheap, fast way to manufacture machine gun barrels to burn out and replace on a regular basis. I don't think the million dollar price tag is keeping most of the manufacturers from buying one, that isn't that much to a major company. There's a reason you never see a custom or competition barrel that is hammer forged. Well, one that wins, anyway.

 

[atblis]

Depends

The thing about hammer forging is that the companies that started out doing it (and are known for it), make very good barrels. Steyr comes to mind. I think this fact has more to do with hammer forged barrels being well thought of rather than something inherent to the process.

Ruger's been making some now, so that could very well change in the future.

It is correct that if you plan on cranking out a ton of barrels, hammer forging is the way to go. The machinery is expensive.

I have not heard of anybody using the term extruding for barrel manufacturing, but I would wager that if there is such a process, it is basically hammer forging.

One interesting note about hammer forging is that you can make some very interesting rifling profiles. Additionally, the process does make barrels that tend to last longer.

 

[USSR]

One of the selling points the salesman discussed was the hammer forged barrel – he said many domestic manufacturers are now using extruded barrels and accuracy is suffering.

NEVER, I repeat NEVER, believe a word of what a salesman tells you. Simply Google "rifle barrel making", and in 5 minutes, you will know more than the salesman. Extruded barrels, sheesh!

Don

 

[fluesheet]

Well, my intention wasn't to damn the poor guy with the label of (shudder) salesman, but apparently I did just that. He was in fact a gentleman with decades of field experience with varmint rifles and some opinions about what and what did not work. Unfortunately, the question of hammer forging didn't occur to me until I got home.

I'd not heard of barrels being made via extrusions, and after doing the due diligence that USSR suggested, it does sound most like hammer forging as atblis mentioned. I'll have to circle back to the store to clarify that point.

This new board member thanks all for the feedback.

Back to the search for a .221!

 

[skinewmexico]

Buy a Stevens for $250, and stick a Shilen barrel on it in your garage. Or wait for the new Model 25.

 

[Walkalong]

First I've ever of a hammer forged barrel being a good thing.

Don't tell all the super accurate Sako's with hammer forged barrels.

 

[atblis]

However

I would bet that the person was referring to what bench rest shooters think about hammer forged barrel. In the world of bench rest, I don't think hammer forged barrels are well thought of. Something about the process leaving residual stresses and such... can't quite remember where I read that. This very well could be , but I don't necessarily buy it as a lot of people's opinions seem to be based more on superstition/tradition than reality.

In the context of varmint hunting, hammer forged barrels are just fine. A Sako or CZ or Steyr would serve you quite well.