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Post by GLSHOOTER on Jul 20, 2012 12:05:02 GMT -8
For me, the reason for doing the melonite treatment was to try and increase the accurate lifespan of the barrel (reduce throat erosion) - so I'd say wear characteristics. The matte black does look great though too. At some point I'm going have to borrow a chronograph to try and get some numbers just to have some data to share/compare... I talked with a fellow today at practice. I asked how long his last 223 ran accurately out to 600 yards in matches and he told me he got 8,000 out of it. No treatment just good old SS. Another fellow at a match two weeks ago quoted 1650 and 2550 IIRC on his 243 barrels before they gave way. They had been melonite. The process is interesting but if I continue to rotate guns in matches I shot I'll probably never wear one out. Greg
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jmpntx
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Post by jmpntx on Jul 20, 2012 13:40:04 GMT -8
Good to know. Will I realistically wear one of these barrels out...probably never. Might it improve wear, especially if run hard? Probably somewhat. I just think it's a neat process and like building 'em.
Cheers!
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Post by GLSHOOTER on Jul 20, 2012 14:48:53 GMT -8
Good to know. Will I realistically wear one of these barrels out...probably never. Might it improve wear, especially if run hard? Probably somewhat. I just think it's a neat process and like building 'em. Cheers! I think you are very confused. I would NEVER build anything just because it is neat...........cute maybe but NEVER neat!! Greg
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jmpntx
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Post by jmpntx on Aug 14, 2012 5:46:46 GMT -8
LOL. I've been accused of worse...
Finally got out to the range to get some data on my setup - 18" BHW, standard profile, rifle-length gas.
Running 55gr Federal Lake City XM193 (the new square crimp stuff) with the chrono set up about 10' from the bench:
10-shot string (fps): 3341, 3312, 3282, 3284, 3302, 3301, 3317, 3294, 3309, 3303 Average: 3305 fps Std Dev: 17
Federal Specifications: 3165 +/- 40 FPS (78 feet from muzzle) using a 5.56 test barrel, 20" long
Those are approximate of what a 20" barrel should do with XM193. Maybe some of the marketing claims are true about increased velocity from polygonal rifled barrels and or reduced friction from melonite. I convinced a friend to buy the same BHW barrel so hopefully we'll have a non-melonited barrel for some comparison testing.
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Post by GLSHOOTER on Aug 14, 2012 15:48:56 GMT -8
Looks like it is going to be good. Did you get some groups out of this? Do you clean the melonite barrels much prior to shooting? I've been reading up on it quite a bit and some of the guys at the F-Class match shooters have had it done.
I have learned that the people doing the process can either make or break the barrel down the road. I know that guys are getting around 8,000 out of the 223's and some 6BRX about half that with the regular barrels so that is not bad. The 243 guy that shoots with his family had one go IIRC 2600 and another go 1600 with the treatment. Not a fair comparison a as the 243 is a terrible barrel burner and the other two are far from that.
Looking forward to the side by side testing on the processed vs the naked barrels.
Keep us in the loop.
Greg
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jmpntx
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Post by jmpntx on Aug 15, 2012 10:25:47 GMT -8
Groups were about 0.95 MOA @ 100yds measured using OnTarget software. Not bad for mil ammo. That group was shot at a quick pace with about 20 rds.
I plan on working up some 77gr SMK handloads (waiting for materials to arrive) and I have some Prvi 75gr Match to test as well. That should improve the groups quite a bit.
The barrel required quite a bit of cleaning after getting it back after treatment. You wind up with a lot of brown sludge left in the bore. Scrub and then scrub and patch again.
I'll keep everyone informed...
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Post by m4weave on Dec 31, 2012 9:27:31 GMT -8
For me, the reason for doing the melonite treatment was to try and increase the accurate lifespan of the barrel (reduce throat erosion) - so I'd say wear characteristics. The matte black does look great though too. At some point I'm going have to borrow a chronograph to try and get some numbers just to have some data to share/compare... Quite interested in hearing any update you might have. Caliber, how many rounds down the tube and chrono results would be great. I hope they are working well for you. -Mike
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2012 10:17:25 GMT -8
For me, the reason for doing the melonite treatment was to try and increase the accurate lifespan of the barrel (reduce throat erosion) - so I'd say wear characteristics. The matte black does look great though too. At some point I'm going have to borrow a chronograph to try and get some numbers just to have some data to share/compare... Quite interested in hearing any update you might have. Caliber, how many rounds down the tube and chrono results would be great. I hope they are working well for you. -Mike There are better places to spend your money. IMHO When the benchrest boys start using barrels that have been coated I would look into doing one. Barrels get shot out, that is a fact of life and we can't change that. Some barrels shoot well for many 1000's of rounds. Others may only last for a few thousand with good accuracy. Remember barrels are no different than any other component. They are disposable. Shoot it, take care of it and enjoy it. When it stops shooting, replace it. If you figure a barrel lasts 5000 rounds the barrel is the cheapest component to replace. You will have spent way more on bullets, brass, primers and powder.
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jmpntx
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Post by jmpntx on Feb 8, 2013 17:24:43 GMT -8
Finally made it to the range with my buddy and his 18" BHW (untreated). He also brought his 24" Rock River, bull barrel.
It was a cooler day today than my first test. About 75 dgrees with a light breeze.
We made it through a couple of quick 5-round groups before the battery died on the chrony (wouldn't you know it). Here's the info I did get today:
Ammo - LC M193 55gr Chrono at 10' (est.)
18" Melonite BHW 3,257 3,227 3,215 3,227 3,275
avg 3,240 std dev 24.9
24" Rock River 3,275 3,262 3,268 3,259 3,277 avg 3,268 std dev 7.9
18" non-melonite BHW 1-shot - 3138 fps.
A data point of one is hardly useful, but it does show the melonite barrel running about 100 fps faster and close to the velocity of the 24" barrel!
I'll try to get out again and duplicate his test...with a fresh battery.
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Post by GLSHOOTER on Feb 8, 2013 18:30:06 GMT -8
Very interesting. One thing we do know is that a BHW poly barrel will almost always run faster than a similar length standard rifle tube. We also know that one test subject, while informative, cannot be used to make an across the board judgment. The single shot was within 130 FPS of a 6" longer tube. If that holds true the trend will be very interesting.
A velocity gain would be stupendous as long as the accuracy doesn't suffer. I wonder how that Fed. LC stuff you shot above would do as it was faster than all three out of an 18" barrel.
Greg
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jmpntx
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Post by jmpntx on Feb 10, 2013 18:10:28 GMT -8
I was averaging just under 1 MOA average-to-center using that ammo, as measured using OnTarget software and a 10-rd group.
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