Barrel Heating?

lowndsie · Post by **lowndsie** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 7:25 am

If a barrel is free floated, will the accuracy still vary depending on how hot the barrel is....

I've seen people at the range trying to shoot groups only when they feel the barrel is at normal tempreture, even though their barels were floated?? I can recal some of my best even groups where actually fired in pretty quick succession so Im just wondering if there's any merit to letting the barrel cool...

shane · Post by **shane** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 7:50 am

It is best to have a cooler barrel. Even when floated it will generaly shoot better when cool.

Running a barrel hot will also reduce barrel life, but when we are talking hot its to the point where the barrel is very warm to touch.
cheers,
Shane

Kenny · Post by **Kenny** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 4:53 pm

Lowndsie,

I was just wondering if the people you saw shooting groups were actually 'warming' their barrells or just fouling a clean barrell before the scoring group ?

By firing your group shots quickly you have probably had the better results by beating the wind condition before it changed your point of impact.

Definately go with a cooler barrell, if you keep belting shots through a 'hot' barrell you will burn it out in no time flat.

BTW I have seen a few experimental rigs with a water jacket around them to 'warm' the barrell, according to one owner this dissipates the heat and keeps the barrell at more of a constant temperature, as they fire 10 shot groups I guess the barrell temp spread between shot 1 and shot 10 is huge.

Cheers
KY

lowndsie · Post by **lowndsie** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 5:54 pm

By firing your group shots quickly you have probably had the better results by beating the wind condition before it changed your point of impact.

Good thinking!!!! could well explain it. Next time i see it happening i'll be sure to ask what the method is all about..

flyer · Post by **flyer** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 6:42 pm

I'll give an extreme example.

I found, just this last weekend at the range with my sporter .22lr (floated barrel) that my first 3 groups were great.

But the combined heat generated from firing and the direct sun noticably heated up the barrel and the groups progressively spread. And its far from summer conditions.

This is far off what heat can be generated from a thin barrelled centrefire, where you can see a huge change after the first group.

Flyer

Kenny · Post by **Kenny** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 10:10 am

Flyer,

Hmmmmm.......I think rimfires are 'just like that'
You are at the mercy of wind conditions and a bullet pre manufactured to pretty much just go bang. Though there are some very good ones out there.

Where you shooting over flags

I wouldn't have thought that a piddly .22rf would cause so much heat, and I have never experienced this. I stand to be corrected though..

Cheers
KY

flyer · Post by **flyer** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 7:02 pm

Kenny,

You might be right about 22lrs, but this was a genuine experience. The only variable that I could deduce that may have caused it was the temp of the barrel of the Brno. Wind was not a worry that day.

Flyer.

Kenny · Post by **Kenny** » Fri Aug 04, 2006 10:53 am

Flyer,

I have no doubt of your experience with the brno, as I said 'I stand to be corrected'

KY

AusVarmint

Barrel Heating?

Barrel Heating?