![]() ![]() Specifically, the direction of the fibers affects factors like heat dissipation. Nielson says that the direction that the fibers are laid can play a role in the barrel’s performance, too. The steel barrels are then reduced down to make room for the carbon material to be applied. At Christensen Arms, steel barrel blanks are drilled, reamed, and button rifled as with the production of a normal steel barrel. Christensen offers premium bolt-action hunting and long-range rifles with the company’s own CF wrapped barrels. “Essentially, you’re going to get the accuracy and repeatability you would from a bull barrel but the weight of a light sporter barrel,” says Kort Nielson of Christensen Arms. The greatest single benefit they offer to shooters is simple: weight reduction. Carbon fiber is much lighter than steel but stronger and has a higher tensile strength, which is one reason it is so popular in the aerospace and automotive industry.įor starters, we must be clear that CF barrels should appropriately be called carbon-fiber-wrapped barrels since they utilize steel inserts. That, as you might imagine, is not a simple or inexpensive process, but the resulting carbon fibers are exceptionally versatile. Oxidation surface treatments help harden and roughen the surface and the fibers are then coated (a process known as sizing) and the coated fibers are ready to be applied. The material is then stabilized at high heat and then undergoes a carbonizing process where it is heated to more than 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit while the final non-carbon elements escape in the form of gasses. ![]() Production of this material begins with a precursor, usually polyacrylonitrile, that is heated to very high temperatures in the absence of oxygen.ĭoing so expels non-carbon materials from the product and what remains are extremely strong carbon chains that form the basis of carbon fiber. But what exactly is carbon fiber and why is it better than the steel barrels we’ve used on match and military rifles for years?Ĭarbon fibers have been in use since the 1960s in the aerospace and military market, but only recently has the material been used extensively in more affordable consumer products like car parts and sporting equipment. It seemed that every rifle manufacturer was in a race to add new carbon fiber models to their existing lineups, and that’s because a growing number of shooters are seeking carbon barrels for their guns. Someone else may come along who actually knows more about the machining, stessing, and stress-relieving of the different materials when the bore and rifling are done, as well as other machining properties of the different materials.The annual SHOT Show in Las Vegas is one of the hottest places to catch up on the latest firearm trends, and the big news in 2020 was carbon fiber barrels. I don't make barrels, but this is how it was explained to me, so, take it for what it is worth. Machine guns have carbon steel barrels because of the high volume that they are subjected to, and they do not require the same level of precision, that a match barrel does. But I'm told that it is easer to get a more uniform bore and rifling in stainless steel barrels, and that that is the reason for using them on match rifles. Match shooters may run 10,000 rounds and change a barrel when they see groups start to open up a bit and no longer shrink after doing some some good copper removal treatment to the bore. ![]() Stainless steel can be a bit softer than high carbon steel barrels, and the bore may wear a bit faster in a high volume fired firearm. As others have said, it is not really a problem if care is taken to dry a barrel and oil it when cleaning it and storing it. The iron in a non-stailess steel barrel may be more prone to rust quickly. The carbon steel barrels have more carbon, and lack the nickel that is in stainless steel barrels, or at least the percentage. ![]()
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