Pro's & Con's of a carbon fiber barrel

[gun'sRgood]

When the show long distance shooters, their guns are almost exclusively steel. For hunting and a few AR platforms, Carbon Fiber is fairly common. I get the weight issues for the hunters and for guys who train with AR's. I took this question to every booth at the NRA show that sold barrels. No solid answers. Some of the AR guys didn't know that a carbon fiber barrel would melt on FA. Happy to hear your $0.02.

 

[Nature Boy]

I have 2 rifles with Proof Carbon barrels, one on a custom hunting rig and the other an AR

Theoretically you’re getting the profile and stiffness target barrel without the weight.

In practice I don’t think it’s a 1 for 1. They aren’t as stable over the course of sustained strings of fire as my stainless heavy profile barrels.

They’re also expensive.

 

[gotboostvr]

They also aren't as light as a typical pencil or featherweight barrel.

They're a decent compromise between a bull barrel and a pencil barrel though, if money isn't an option.

 

[Varminterror]

Pros:
1) Awesome aesthetic
2) Increased stiffness compared to the base weight - a barrel about as heavy as a magnum sporter which has the contour of a Rem Sendero and retains the stiffness of a Light Palma

Cons:
1) High Expense, 50-100% increase
2) They still have very small thermal mass, so they heat up pretty quickly, and the marketing isn't true - they take longer to cool down inside than steel


Great for hunting, not good for serious competition, not good for machine guns. But remaining a badass option, nonetheless.

I have on order a Bartlein Carbon Wrapped ModBB barrel in 6.5 PRC for my NRL Hunter rifle - hopefully pick up ~500 extra rounds of barrel life for the couple hundred extra dollars it cost to get the material upgrade.

 

[Jim Watson]

Why will the carbon wrapped barrel have longer service life, considering your Con no 2?

 

[N555]

Carbon fiber barrels are weird, seems like you get a lot of fliers that you just wouldn't get with solid steel barrels.

 

[gotboostvr]

Why will the carbon wrapped barrel have longer service life, considering your Con no 2?

That particular one is using a higher grade of specialty steel than is typically used.

That same steel can be used for conventional non-carbon fiber wrapped barrels.

 

[Varminterror]

Why will the carbon wrapped barrel have longer service life, considering your Con no 2?

The carbon fiber wrap doesn’t make it last longer, it makes it lighter - but stiffer than a smaller contour steel barrel of the same weight, which is pertinent for the sport (max rifle weight is rather low, but the demand for precision and forward balance is critical). The ModBB steel makes it last longer. Combining two of their upgrade options for their independent advantages.

 

[gun'sRgood]

I have 2 rifles with Proof Carbon barrels, one on a custom hunting rig and the other an AR

Theoretically you’re getting the profile and stiffness target barrel without the weight.

In practice I don’t think it’s a 1 for 1. They aren’t as stable over the course of sustained strings of fire as my stainless heavy profile barrels.

They’re also expensive.

Yeah, makes sense. Thx

 

[gun'sRgood]

Pros:
1) Awesome aesthetic
2) Increased stiffness compared to the base weight - a barrel about as heavy as a magnum sporter which has the contour of a Rem Sendero and retains the stiffness of a Light Palma

Cons:
1) High Expense, 50-100% increase
2) They still have very small thermal mass, so they heat up pretty quickly, and the marketing isn't true - they take longer to cool down inside than steel


Great for hunting, not good for serious competition, not good for machine guns. But remaining a badass option, nonetheless.

I have on order a Bartlein Carbon Wrapped ModBB barrel in 6.5 PRC for my NRL Hunter rifle - hopefully pick up ~500 extra rounds of barrel life for the couple hundred extra dollars it cost to get the material upgrade.

As usual, totally awesome! Thx.

 

[gun'sRgood]

Carbon fiber barrels are weird, seems like you get a lot of fliers that you just wouldn't get with solid steel barrels.

Ideas why? Or that's what makes them weird?

 

[gun'sRgood]

The carbon fiber wrap doesn’t make it last longer, it makes it lighter - but stiffer than a smaller contour steel barrel of the same weight, which is pertinent for the sport (max rifle weight is rather low, but the demand for precision and forward balance is critical). The ModBB steel makes it last longer. Combining two of their upgrade options for their independent advantages.

Forward balance? Please expound. Thx.

 

[Varminterror]

Forward balance? Please expound. Thx.

I can stick a heavy brake on the end (MIGHT be able to get my suppressor on there if I can get my stock light enough) of a relatively light carbon fiber barrel, which retains a lot of stiffness for its weight, without adding the weight of a steel barrel - or rather, I can shed a lot of weight without shedding as much stiffness as going to a smaller profile steel barrel. For positional shooting common to precision rifle competition, and the obstacles we sometimes shoot from in NRL Hunter competition, a rifle needs to balance somewhere around 4-5" forward of the front action screw. But that's pretty hard to achieve with the lightweight rifles used in NRL hunter matches, so I need a stiff enough barrel to let me hang a heavy muzzle device like a cantilevered counterweight out there at the end of the barrel to slow the muzzle rise in recoil - but WITHOUT adding the extreme weight I add in my PRS rifles which don't have maximum weight limits.

 

[Nature Boy]

Carbon fiber barrels are weird, seems like you get a lot of fliers that you just wouldn't get with solid steel barrels.

I haven’t observed this. Have you, or are you just repeating something you read on the internet?

 

[LoonWulf]

I haven’t observed this. Have you, or are you just repeating something you read on the internet?

My buddies Christensen 300wm will string shots after it heats up. Neither of mine behaved "oddly" at all, tho the heavier all steel barrels ARE easier to shoot.

I wanna mess with that .300, i think its an assembly issue opposed to a barrel issue tho.

 

[Nature Boy]

Pros:
1) Awesome aesthetic

They do look cool….

 

[gun'sRgood]

I can stick a heavy brake on the end (MIGHT be able to get my suppressor on there if I can get my stock light enough) of a relatively light carbon fiber barrel, which retains a lot of stiffness for its weight, without adding the weight of a steel barrel - or rather, I can shed a lot of weight without shedding as much stiffness as going to a smaller profile steel barrel. For positional shooting common to precision rifle competition, and the obstacles we sometimes shoot from in NRL Hunter competition, a rifle needs to balance somewhere around 4-5" forward of the front action screw. But that's pretty hard to achieve with the lightweight rifles used in NRL hunter matches, so I need a stiff enough barrel to let me hang a heavy muzzle device like a cantilevered counterweight out there at the end of the barrel to slow the muzzle rise in recoil - but WITHOUT adding the extreme weight I add in my PRS rifles which don't have maximum weight limits.

Thanks! Thanks very much. Ya learn something every day.