Have you shot this barrel yet?
Things are looking up!
Before firing, a quick look down the bore with a Teslong borescope revealed some flash around the gas port. I am glad i found that. A scrubbing with a bronze brush dislodged it.
I started out with barrel break in here on my property. Basically firing it into a burn pile, then cleaning it down to bare metal. I was pleasantly surprised the barrel did not hold copper after 6 cleaning cycles.
At this point, cleaning the barrel is a breeze.
I had very good luck with Nosler 165gr BTips over R15. Velocity peaks around 2450fps which is a bit lackluster. I am worried about the bullet not expanding. Maybe it would?
I switched to Hornady #3031's (150gr FB SP)
With this bullet using Lancer mags, i can get within .010 off the lands loading to 2.825
I have done limited testing thus far. Unsuppressed the rifle is gassed perfect. This intermediate gas length is a good idea for this barrel length/cartridge.
I may go with the Bootleg 308 Carrier for suppressed. Though it is not too bad with the can.
I Pulled everything apart after the 1st couple sessions, and put shims on the barrel extension, and did the barrel in the freezer, heat the upper trick for a nice thermal fit. I noticed an immediate reduction in the low fliers. Seems this method is only reasonable for poor fit combos. In this case, it is the receiver thats the problem. Not the barrel extension diameter.
At this point I am in the process of fine tuning a load of H4895. There is a nice window i am playing with between 2600fps and 2650pfs.
Also i am working with IMR 4064. I did a ladder test with excellent results with that powder. Case fill is much better, It will be hard to beat the accuracy of H4895 though!!!!
So far this thing shoots as good, or better than the two previous high dollar custom barrels.
I really like the 16 inch lightweight profile also. The rifle is not that heavy!
My other is a custom 20 inch Bull.....
