Nice! I dont plan on shooting the heavier pills.. 105-107's so I went with .130.. let us know how it shoots
Ace barrels vs the rest bartlein brux ect...
- Thread starter Schw15
- Start date
Nice! I dont plan on shooting the heavier pills.. 105-107's so I went with .130.. let us know how it shoots
Ace barrels have really impressed me. I'm not a guy who bore scopes them and runs tests like that but just from shooting them and cleaning top notch. One thing I've noticed after cleaning my barrels really good I don't loose any speed...... my other barrels once cleaned usually takes 5 shot's or so to level back out to the correct speeds
I posted
I posted them, something changed with IMGUR... Its only posting galleries now. Let me see what i can do
I posted them, something changed with IMGUR... Its only posting galleries now. Let me see what i can do
Well we finally got a brief break in the 100F+ heat this week so my son and I got the first ACE barrel out yesterday. Just wanted to put some rounds down it and get this new lapua brass fired.
I loaded up 50rd with new Lapua brass mandreled/chamfer/debur only. FGMM 205M primers, 80 SMK touch lands and 24.2gr Varget.
It was raining, windy and 70F but felt amazing after the temps we had here in the northeast the last week or so.
Zero at 100yd, shot a few groups then banged some steel and played with a few tuner settings. Found a nice setting at 20rds and then the next group was a nice little 5 shot knot.
Velocity was 2850 SD 4.5..
Ill load up the other 50 and get those shot next time out to bang some more steel at distance then get the 100pc processed and do some load development.
Very happy with this barrel so far, looks like its going to be a hammer.
The 0.100 chamber job Mike did is perfect. Puts the 80s right where I want them in the neck for max case capacity. Puts the boattail/bearing surface junction just slightly above the neck/shoulder junction.
28" ACE 1-8 0.219 HV
Manzella Precision
223 Rem Match 0.100fb
Zermatt TL3 single shot
Sidhe BR EVO
Revolution BR bedded stock
EC Tuner V2
Nightforce Competition 15-55
Nightforce rings
Seb Neo
I loaded up 50rd with new Lapua brass mandreled/chamfer/debur only. FGMM 205M primers, 80 SMK touch lands and 24.2gr Varget.
It was raining, windy and 70F but felt amazing after the temps we had here in the northeast the last week or so.
Zero at 100yd, shot a few groups then banged some steel and played with a few tuner settings. Found a nice setting at 20rds and then the next group was a nice little 5 shot knot.
Velocity was 2850 SD 4.5..
Ill load up the other 50 and get those shot next time out to bang some more steel at distance then get the 100pc processed and do some load development.
Very happy with this barrel so far, looks like its going to be a hammer.
The 0.100 chamber job Mike did is perfect. Puts the 80s right where I want them in the neck for max case capacity. Puts the boattail/bearing surface junction just slightly above the neck/shoulder junction.
28" ACE 1-8 0.219 HV
Manzella Precision
223 Rem Match 0.100fb
Zermatt TL3 single shot
Sidhe BR EVO
Revolution BR bedded stock
EC Tuner V2
Nightforce Competition 15-55
Nightforce rings
Seb Neo
24.0gr even is my go to load for 26" barrels. Straight hammers. I bumped it up to 24.2 just for fire these 100pc of brass because this is a 28" barrel.
Ill do a actual load workup after I have these 100pc of brass once fired and we will see what this barrel prefers.
Manzella Precision cut me a 22" ace 7.75tw 6.5mm lt palma in 65saum, 0.200fb for my bat vesper hunting setup. This is 3 different charges of N565 with a 156 berger jumping 32k at 400y. Yes they're 3 shot groups, as I'm just testing for accuracy, there is a 70fps spread between them, and about 1" of vertical. Middle group is 58.8gr going 2885avg, es of 7fps. All 3 groups at or under 1/4 moa. Obviously I'll load up several at 58.8gr and test them for a larger sample size. Rifle with bipod, supressor and scope is just under 11#.
Now just waiting for the 22in 8.5tw 7saum barrel to get back from him!
Now just waiting for the 22in 8.5tw 7saum barrel to get back from him!
Last edited:
Did Mike order the barrels with 7.75 twist or did you? What kind of lead time are the one off twists from ACE?
Mike orders my barrels from ace, he has a backlog of barrels on order all the time. I think it was 6-8 weeks to get them. I run 7.5tw on my 65cm match barrels, but the short mags get the extra mv and have found the 7.75tw to be great in 65 prc and Saum. These are all 6 groove barrels.
Loaded up the final 50pc of virgin lapua with 24.4gr H4895 under a berger 80 vld touching the lands.
It was 90F and 90% humidity with a storm rolling in. Barrel was scrubbed clean from the first 50rd down it 2 days ago. Shot 10rd then chrono the next 40rd 2943 SD 9
I now have all 100pc of once fired sized and in the tumbler.
Now time to do some load development and see how this barrel shoots!
Stay tuned....
It was 90F and 90% humidity with a storm rolling in. Barrel was scrubbed clean from the first 50rd down it 2 days ago. Shot 10rd then chrono the next 40rd 2943 SD 9
I now have all 100pc of once fired sized and in the tumbler.
Now time to do some load development and see how this barrel shoots!
Stay tuned....
I have a Manzella chambered 223 Wylde ACE tube, 0.219 bore, 7.5 twist. 24.0 grains H4895 under 77 tmk and 75 ELDm was actually a bit hot and loosened up primer pockets a bit on virgin lapua brass!
Shoots good though and i'm just loading 23.0 xbr under 75 ELDs now.
I know the freebore dia is real close to bore diameter on some of the wylde reamers and chambers can come out looking lousy in the throat area - this one looked flawless.
Mine has .100 freebore... zero pressure signs, nice tight pockets with 24.4gr H4895
24.0gr H4895 with 75 ELD has been my go to load across numerous 26" 223wylde barrels for years and no loose pockets after numerous firings for me.
I am running my first Ace in 6gt. So far so good. 150 down the tube with 107s and N160. Shot a .26" group last outing. Will be going to DTACs once I finish firing virgin brass. @LR1845 has shot a few Ace barrels now. Ace is about 1.5 hours from my barrel smith. He went and met them and got 6 barrels to have some shooters test. I finally got to shoot mine.
I have several Aces: 1x 6saum, 2x 6gt, 3x 6.5cm, 3x 6cm, 1x 6.5 Saum, 1x 300 norma imp, and waiting on my 7saum.
The only one that's been a problem is the 20in 6saum. I've tried 3 bullets, 3 powders, 3 primers, 2x scopes, a stock and a chassis. I cannot get repetitive consistent groups. It'll put 3 of 4 into a lil cluster, then throw one 3/4", so I ordered a new barrel.
Sometimes you just get a turd. Bartlein has sent me a few, as well as Brux.
The only one that's been a problem is the 20in 6saum. I've tried 3 bullets, 3 powders, 3 primers, 2x scopes, a stock and a chassis. I cannot get repetitive consistent groups. It'll put 3 of 4 into a lil cluster, then throw one 3/4", so I ordered a new barrel.
Sometimes you just get a turd. Bartlein has sent me a few, as well as Brux.
@406shootist I had that issue with a 6.5 prc, bedded it and problem solved. Now I just bed all my rifles.
Yup. Had one Krieger where the throat moved a gawd-awful amount (20-40 thou) every few hundred rounds - in a 308, of all things. Never had that problem before or since
Most barrels are pretty good any more, but sometimes you end up with one from either end of the bell curve.
100pc of 1x brass sized, mandrel and trimmed
Gonna load up a varget and h4895 load test with 80smk and if the rain stays away hopefully shoot it tomorrow.
Gonna load up a varget and h4895 load test with 80smk and if the rain stays away hopefully shoot it tomorrow.
I bed everything if possible. My groups above with the 65saum that are 1/4moa or smaller, that 6saum barrel(the turd) was on that exact setup initially. I was beginning two really wonder wtf was going on, after trying so many combinations and different setups. Then I went back to the original equipment and put the 65 barrel on and it's shot amazing since the git go.
Just got back from the range.
Loaded up a mini OCW test with 80 SMK's and H4895 in the 1x brass. It hammered, hard to test anything else after how well this test shot!
All five charge weights shot in the 0.2's or better with the smallest group measuring 0.166". The low node charge had a ES 2.1 and SD 1. SD's went up to low double digits for the higher charge weights but still hammered.
Im going to do a seating depth test with 23.8gr and see how small I can get that already awesome group because of the really low ES/SD then Ill dial in the tuner and take it to distance. Point of impact is the same from 23.6 - 24.2gr so its right in the middle.. Zero pressure signs either, brass and primers look great and bolt feels great. Loving this 0.100fb chamber Mike did for me in this barrel!
I just love H4895 and 80 SMK.s.. And this ACE 224 barrel is hammering.
Loaded up a mini OCW test with 80 SMK's and H4895 in the 1x brass. It hammered, hard to test anything else after how well this test shot!
All five charge weights shot in the 0.2's or better with the smallest group measuring 0.166". The low node charge had a ES 2.1 and SD 1. SD's went up to low double digits for the higher charge weights but still hammered.
Im going to do a seating depth test with 23.8gr and see how small I can get that already awesome group because of the really low ES/SD then Ill dial in the tuner and take it to distance. Point of impact is the same from 23.6 - 24.2gr so its right in the middle.. Zero pressure signs either, brass and primers look great and bolt feels great. Loving this 0.100fb chamber Mike did for me in this barrel!
I just love H4895 and 80 SMK.s.. And this ACE 224 barrel is hammering.
Last edited:
Its just an Anker 60,000 mAh portable battery bank I keep in the car. My chrono and ear protection were almost dead so I had to pull out the battery and plug everything in.
Last edited:
Just got back from the range.
Loaded up a mini OCW test with 80 SMK's and H4895 in the 1x brass. It hammered, hard to test anything else after how well this test shot!
All five charge weights shot in the 0.2's or better with the smallest group measuring 0.166". The low node charge had a ES 2.1 and SD 1. SD's went up to low double digits for the higher charge weights but still hammered.
Im going to do a seating depth test with 23.8gr and see how small I can get that already awesome group because of the really low ES/SD then Ill dial in the tuner and take it to distance. Point of impact is the same from 23.6 - 24.2gr so its right in the middle.. Zero pressure signs either, brass and primers look great and bolt feels great. Loving this 0.100fb chamber Mike did for me in this barrel!
I just love H4895 and 80 SMK.s.. And this ACE 224 barrel is hammering.
I spy Elds too.
Nope. Old 80 Amax's with Varget. They didnt shoot nearly as well as the 80smk H4895. Around 0.75moa
These numbers are in line with what I get from previous 223rem barrels with 80's.
Looking at my data on my server for my 26" 223rem barrels with 0.080fb... 80gr projectiles are right at 2905... so 2960 out of this 28" tube and 0.100fb makes sense to me.
I have a LOT of 223rem data with Varget and H4895 shooting 75 and 80gr projectiles. H4895 produces higher velocity per grain compared to Varget.
There just isn't enough room in the little 223 case for me to shoot anything heavier than 80gr.. to shoot 85-90gr pills on a 223 you need a minimum of .130-0.150 freebore
I shoot the 85.5's in my 22br at 3030 and they hammer
Last edited:
Loaded up a seating depth test with the low node 23.8gr and I tested 0.005 closer to the lands with the 24.4gr high node...
Checked the weather this morning and it said dead calm with thunderstorms rolling in this afternoon. Not a bit of breeze outside so I ran to the range to test these out before the storms rolled out. Well, as soon as I got to the range 30min later the storms were early. Wind was blowing pretty good off and on, not the day to do a seating depth accuracy test but i was there and shot them at 100yds.
Even with the winds and off and on rain, this combo just continues to hammer out tiny groups...
I shot a 5 shot group on the cold but not clean barrel with the 23.8gr charge to start that measured 0.343"... Not bad.. I then shot these 5 shot groups next with the 4 different seating depth tests.... All the 5 shot groups were in the 0.4's with the one standing out measuring 0.240" in the nasty wind and rain.
I then shot 5rd each of the 24.4gr charge loaded with 2 different seating depths...
I had one out of the group when I caught a nasty gust of wind but both seating depth shot really good measuring 0.244"
I had 6rd left of the 24.4gr load and shot a piece of steel at 200yd which stacked right on top of each other. I shot the last round on the top of the orange line to check POA/POI and it splashed right where I was aiming.
Checked the weather this morning and it said dead calm with thunderstorms rolling in this afternoon. Not a bit of breeze outside so I ran to the range to test these out before the storms rolled out. Well, as soon as I got to the range 30min later the storms were early. Wind was blowing pretty good off and on, not the day to do a seating depth accuracy test but i was there and shot them at 100yds.
Even with the winds and off and on rain, this combo just continues to hammer out tiny groups...
I shot a 5 shot group on the cold but not clean barrel with the 23.8gr charge to start that measured 0.343"... Not bad.. I then shot these 5 shot groups next with the 4 different seating depth tests.... All the 5 shot groups were in the 0.4's with the one standing out measuring 0.240" in the nasty wind and rain.
I then shot 5rd each of the 24.4gr charge loaded with 2 different seating depths...
I had one out of the group when I caught a nasty gust of wind but both seating depth shot really good measuring 0.244"
I had 6rd left of the 24.4gr load and shot a piece of steel at 200yd which stacked right on top of each other. I shot the last round on the top of the orange line to check POA/POI and it splashed right where I was aiming.
I have a few 8lb jugs of this American Reloading MP455 (they say similar to H4895) and a ton of these Norma Greenfire small rifle primers.
To be clear, the powder doesnt look like H4895 the sticks are much smaller. I wanted to do a pressure test to see how velocity to grain worked out with this powder so I can decide how to use it moving forward.
I grabbed some 1xLC matching headstamp brass, chamfer/deburr the necks, loaded them up with these Norma Greenfire small rifle primers from American Reloading and then loaded 3rd each of powder from 21.0gr to 24.5gr in 0.5gr increments. I then seated some 80 ELD-M's just off the lands.
This powder doesn't match the speed per grain of H4895 but definitely showed good accuracy and low SD's... Just not as fast as actual H4895... Zero pressure signs but at 24.5gr and only 2869fps its a solid 100fps slower than actual H4895 at the same charge weight. Ill load up a little higher and see how much I can get in the case with the sticks being smaller than H4895...
To be clear, the powder doesnt look like H4895 the sticks are much smaller. I wanted to do a pressure test to see how velocity to grain worked out with this powder so I can decide how to use it moving forward.
I grabbed some 1xLC matching headstamp brass, chamfer/deburr the necks, loaded them up with these Norma Greenfire small rifle primers from American Reloading and then loaded 3rd each of powder from 21.0gr to 24.5gr in 0.5gr increments. I then seated some 80 ELD-M's just off the lands.
This powder doesn't match the speed per grain of H4895 but definitely showed good accuracy and low SD's... Just not as fast as actual H4895... Zero pressure signs but at 24.5gr and only 2869fps its a solid 100fps slower than actual H4895 at the same charge weight. Ill load up a little higher and see how much I can get in the case with the sticks being smaller than H4895...
I was testing a new Geissele cut rifled AR barrel today and had a bunch of leftover 69TMK 23.4gr 8208XBR CCI 450 2.25" AR mag length rounds with me. I decided to shoot 10 of them in this ACE..
Funny, these things are jumping a metric mile @ 2.25" COAL in this 0.100 match chamber and they wanted to shoot and the speed was really good with 23.4gr 8208.. If I did an actual load workup with 8208 and seating depth test I bet these things shoot stupid tight! The wind was my enemy today.
Funny, these things are jumping a metric mile @ 2.25" COAL in this 0.100 match chamber and they wanted to shoot and the speed was really good with 23.4gr 8208.. If I did an actual load workup with 8208 and seating depth test I bet these things shoot stupid tight! The wind was my enemy today.
Ace is regionally local to me and I've talked with a few shooters and builders who've been using their barrels, the consensus is that the steel is soft and barrel life is shorter than normal.
In my 300 norma improved shooting krg nightforce and light class my barrels start losing speed around 750ish rds maybe 7ish. Accuracy is good but by 800 rds start seeing fliers at distance. That was with bartlein and ace I haven't seen any difference but the only difference was bartlein was with n565 and ace n568. But I will keep an eye on it more u have 2 brand new ace barrels ready to go.
I was of the impression most of these places got their steel from the same sources?
Similar threads
