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Carbon Six barrels?

KPK

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Mar 2, 2009
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Oklahoma
Anyone running a carbon six barrel? Interested in a carbon wrapped barrel and they are quite a bit cheaper than proof.

Buy once cry once or are they good rigs?
 
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I have one on order. Proof wouldn’t make me a 45 pistol barrel so I could do a 450 Bushmaster build for Ohio deer hunting. CarbonSix was very acommodating.

They use McGowen blanks, so I’d expect them to shoot just like a McGowen. I’m not expecting 1/4 MOA, as it’s a gun for under 200 yd shots and I don’t know how inherently accurate a 450 BM is to begin with. If it shoots under 1 MOA I’ll be pleased. I think they guarantee 1/2 MOA, though.

So while I can’t really help, they were accommodating and great to talk to and seemed eager to help me out. Can’t say the same with Proof and I wanted to use them because I have two other barrels of theirs.
 
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Tagging in for other people's experiences. I want an 18 or 20" 7mm barrel, and the shortest 7mm Proof makes is 22".

FYI CarbonSix is having a Christmas sale, 10% off. Barrel blank I worked up on their website came out to $580.
 
Been thinking of ordering one from them. May have to drop the hammer with that price....
 
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Tagged in. I’m also curious to hear some feedback. I’ve been thinking of getting one of their CF prefits for my Tikka. Just don’t know if I should take the chance, or just go with a Proof...?
 
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Yeah, I've been thinking the same thing. Not sure if Proof does pre-fits, but apparently C6 does (it's what caught my attention). Been looking to build a light, hunting focused 6.5CM on a Tikka, and so C6 looked like a good option.
 
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Yeah, I've been thinking the same thing. Not sure if Proof does pre-fits, but apparently C6 does (it's what caught my attention). Been looking to build a light, hunting focused 6.5CM on a Tikka, and so C6 looked like a good option.

Proof makes prefits for AR (small and large frame), RPR, AI, and savage threads.

So they make prefits, but not for what you're looking for it sounds.
 
Yeah, I've been thinking the same thing. Not sure if Proof does pre-fits, but apparently C6 does (it's what caught my attention). Been looking to build a light, hunting focused 6.5CM on a Tikka, and so C6 looked like a good option.

Yes sir, I was thinking of doing the exact same thing with my Tikka....shaving some weight for a dedicated hunting rifle.
 
I can't comment on the full Carbon Six process, but i do know that McGowen Barrels HAMMER.
 
Yeah, they clearly state that everything is made to order. 6-8 wk lead time listed, but reality shows a 3-4 month delivery times are normal. I'm in no rush, so it's not an issue. Hunting season is 11 months away...
 
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I wonder why there’s no info out there. They’ve been around a few years seems like.

I am not really in a hurry either, but I hate waiting!!
 
And they do have a 10% mil discount, but you have to send the required documents, and then call in the order.
 
I'm not too sure I understand the whole idea of having really skinny contours in a carbon wrapped barrel.
 
I've got a carbon 6 24inch 7 rem mag tikka prefit in their light profile on the way. I ordered it a couple weeks ago. I'll post results when I get it.
 
As an update, I got a call from C6 this morning about some ordering details. One of the things that came out of that is that their Tikka pre-fits don't use a barrel nut. They feel that Tikka's manufacturing tolerances are good enough to make a pre-fit shouldered barrel without a nut.

I found that pretty interesting, and figured I'd pass it along.
 
As an update, I got a call from C6 this morning about some ordering details. One of the things that came out of that is that their Tikka pre-fits don't use a barrel nut. They feel that Tikka's manufacturing tolerances are good enough to make a pre-fit shouldered barrel without a nut.

I found that pretty interesting, and figured I'd pass it along.
hmmmmm
 
As an update, I got a call from C6 this morning about some ordering details. One of the things that came out of that is that their Tikka pre-fits don't use a barrel nut. They feel that Tikka's manufacturing tolerances are good enough to make a pre-fit shouldered barrel without a nut.

I found that pretty interesting, and figured I'd pass it along.

Very interesting. Is anyone else even doing pre-fit shouldered barrels for Tikka's? I know their tolerances are tighter than say a Rem 700, but they're still a mass produced, fairly inexpensive rifle. I'd assume Carbon Six did their homework though and have had many Tikka actions in hand to come to this conclusion.

I'll definitely be looking forward to the reviews of those that ordered the Tikka prefits.
 
That would kinda scare me, they are the only people that I have seen that feel comfortable doing that. I'm hoping one of the gunsmiths on this site will see this and chime in their thoughts.
 
I have headspace gauges, a 6.5CM reamer and a lathe, so am not overly concerned. If push comes to shove, I can set the shoulder back and face the barrel tennon to account for any excessive or generous headspace. In the other direction, I have a reamer, so pushing the chamber slightly deeper isn't an issue either.

For me, the big thing is cutting threads (I suck at it). Everything else (with a little bit of set up work) I can resolve if it doesn't fit right.

One of these weekends I need to just park my ass in front of the lathe and practice cutting threads until I'm comfortable and proficient with it.

Carbon Six did offer to install it on the action and check it for something like $60 (IIRC), but, living in California, and them being in Louisiana, doesn't encourage me to take them up on the offer (especially given that I have the tooling I need to do the job, if needed).
 
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Very interesting. Is anyone else even doing pre-fit shouldered barrels for Tikka's? I know their tolerances are tighter than say a Rem 700, but they're still a mass produced, fairly inexpensive rifle. I'd assume Carbon Six did their homework though and have had many Tikka actions in hand to come to this conclusion.

I'll definitely be looking forward to the reviews of those that ordered the Tikka prefits.
Interesting, so headspace is supposedly pre-set to index to the shoulder?
 
Hey Guys, Just checking in here. We certainly recommend having the barrel professionally installed. Or at least handled by someone with experience properly installing barrels.

At the moment, the best I can do to help share our customer's experience is point you towards our site.(see below) We post a good bit of the customer pictures that they send back. We're not nearly as large as some of the other guys out there, but we stand behind our product. We strive to give old fashioned customer service.

CarbonSix Customer Reviews

Let us know if you have any questions.
 
Hey Guys, Just checking in here. We certainly recommend having the barrel professionally installed. Or at least handled by someone with experience properly installing barrels.

At the moment, the best I can do to help share our customer's experience is point you towards our site.(see below) We post a good bit of the customer pictures that they send back. We're not nearly as large as some of the other guys out there, but we stand behind our product. We strive to give old fashioned customer service.

CarbonSix Customer Reviews

Let us know if you have any questions.

You haven't had any issues shouldering barrels for tikka actions without having the action in hand? I am just curious as I have never heard of this for a Tikka action before.
 
I think most guys here are going to be curious how much fitting is normally (on average) required for the Tikka pre-fits. Tikka's are gaining a LOT of popularity here on the Hide, and though the 6.5CM isn't as bad as some, there are still a lot of guys looking for barrel options when it comes time to swap them out.

I'd say some of the questions will be:

1. How close are these chambered to nominal (what is the range of headspace to expect; +/- .003?).

2. Tikka specs are pretty tight, but how many barrels do you see that need to be tweaked to fit, rather than just screwed in?

3. If it doesn't fit, what likely needs to be adjusted, the shoulder?
 
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No issues on the Tikkas. The tolerances lend themselves perfectly to a shouldered prefit. We've been doing Remington shouldered barrels through our sister company (TheBarrelOutlet.com) with no issues for many years. There is always the possibility of a receiver needing a bit of minor tweaking. That is the case with any mass produced rifle.
 
I talked to my bench guy just to get a proper answer of your 3 questions. He rattled figures off his head on the shank to tenon measurements and how far the HS gauge sticks out from the tenon etc. Your tolerance is about right. He said -.0015/+.003. Regarding #2 and #3 his answer was "we've yet to have a single issue or single one come back to us" so hard to me to give you a clear answer there. We've got you covered though. We're an email or phone call away if you have questions. I'm looking forward to seeing your results!
 
I'll be sure to give you a call if I have any problems, as well as post the results here.

If it turns out to work well, then I'd guess you may be facing a flood of orders. :)

May even consider becoming a paid advertiser here, as the Hide get's a LOT of traffic, and word spreads quick around here (which is good and bad). To be honest, most here are fair minded and like to give vendors credit where credit is due.
 
What is the average lead time right now? Need to get my action in first before I order the barrel. Looking at a 22" 9-Twist 300WM Bull contour Savage Small Shank prefit.
 
We're running about 2.5 months and working hard on improving that. That's a fairly safe estimate at the moment.

Thinking about one of your Remage barrels for my 30-06 Rem 700 next year. May change calibers. Looking to lighten things up. Just did a Savage .308 to 6.5 swap and it was simple, simple.....
 
@CarbonSix I looked at the barrel builder tool on your website, is having it threaded to a Big Horn action not possible? I could do the savage threads and barrel nut, but would prefer a prefit with a shoulder.
 
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I ordered one a week ago, or so with the Christmas sale price. For the price, I'm willing to give it a try. Will probably sit in the safe for a long time before I get around to building on it, or fitting it to another receiver as part of a switch barrel.
 
@CarbonSix Does that 2.5 months apply to my 45P caliber barrel I ordered in early-mid November? I need to get this 450 Bushmaster going lol.
We're working on it! Our estimates have recently changed a bit for the better. I'd refer to whatever timeline you were told at your time of order. We're steadily working on increasing capacity and that is helping. It's always an estimate though. Some faster, some slower. I could lie and say they all get out ahead of schedule but that doesn't do anyone any good.
 
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I just took pictures of this custom job. 28" long. 1.3" x 3" Shank. 1.20" x 1.5" Muzzle. The kicker...un-chambered and unthreaded. 4lbs 12oz. A steel barrel we measured that was slightly smaller was over 10lbs.
BBB_-4.jpg


BBB_-7.jpg
 
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Do you only wrap Mcgowen barrels?

I was about to order one on the sale, and then saw they use Mcgowen barrels. After 3 Mcgowen barrels where 2 are junk and have to be replaced and the 3rd is marginal at best.... I'll never use Mcgowen again!
 
Do you only wrap Mcgowen barrels?

I was about to order one on the sale, and then saw they use Mcgowen barrels. After 3 Mcgowen barrels where 2 are junk and have to be replaced and the 3rd is marginal at best.... I'll never use Mcgowen again!
Hey GPR. We do only wrap McGowen's. They are a custom contour and are the only ones we handle. I'm sorry you had a bad experience (several) with them. We do guarantee 1/2 MOA with ours, but I understand if you are done.
 
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From my conversation with the representative at carbon 6 when I ordered my 7 rem mag tikka shouldered prefit, it was possible to get your prefit threaded for a barrel nut as long as it is not a long magnum chamber in a tikka prefit. That was my understanding. Maybe the rep can verify that. If my prefit shoots good I will order a 6.5 creedmoor threaded for a barrel nut on a tikka action as well.