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Spinning on your own barrel - is it easy enough?

dradeke

Private
Minuteman
Hi there,

I have an MPA rifle in 6.5 creedmoor and am approaching 2000 rounds. I'll easily pass 2500 before the fall and am looking at what my options are. One of the them is getting a barrel vise, action wrench, torque wrench, go/no-go gauges and purchasing one or more barrels and put one on.

It would save me the expense and loss of time of sending to a gunsmith and would potentially allow me to purchase two barrels. I'd also welcome the experience and learning. However, I don't want to screw anything up and of course be safe. I'm looking at a Krieger barrel but will explore Bartlein as well.

The question is really is whether putting on a barrel will be easy, assuming that I have worked with the barrel manufacturer to make sure it will fit my action (Curtis).

Would appreciate any experiences and input on this.

Many thanks
 
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The prefits with a barrel nut will save you a little money over a shouldered barrel. NSS has a good price on the Criterion prefits and mine will shoot sub 1/2 moa all day.
 
Easy to do with a few tools.
Get some headspace gauges.
Cheap investment when you effectively have a bomb 3” in front of your face.
Anyone can make a mistake sometime.
 
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Almost too easy. Put together a 6 creed Friday night and got my dope to 1000 yards Saturday morning. Bighorn TL3 action, shouldered proof barrel, manners compact stock, trigger tech trigger and put a NF NXS on all in about 30 minutes. Just make sure all your parts are torqued to spec and you'll be good to go!
 
Made my first attempt on my RPR. Simple steps. Didn't blow my face off. Done it twice more since. Will do if again.

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Thanks again guys. Definitely leaning to this option now. Follow up question - looks like both Krieger and Bartlein don't make finished barrels: how do I go about getting a finished barrel to the specs that I need?
 
Super easy. I regularly switch between 223, 6.5CM, and 6GT prefit Bartlein barrels on my Impact action. I’ve even done it on the range to switch calibers mid session. I carry both a 223 and 308 bolt and swap out bolts as well in the same Impact action 👍
 
I am close on this ... almost seems too good to be true. Thinking Origin action in 223 with a 308 B/F as well. Prefits available. Off to the races. What am I missing??? I will build the trainer first and add calibers as I want/need them. Was thinking DTA but this is way cheaper, more ergonomic and familiar. Sounds like accuracy is on par ... Hmmmmm?
 
No offense, but if the possibility of screwing it up weren't really, really, really tiny, barrel companies wouldn't sell prefits for legal reasons. Like, you almost can't screw it up unless you were really, really, really dumb. Reloading is FAR more dangerous than screwing together the right parts.

If you can turn a screw and follow instructions to use a go gauge and no go gauge to check the work of precision CNC machines, then you too can succeed in going all Lego Master Builder on rifle parts. Seriously, the last Lego project I did with nephews was way more complex than screwing together a rifle.

While I understand the hesitancy for a first timer, cause I remember my first Savage barrel, I am becoming more surprised at the questions these days with so much more information and amazing options. Its like people read how simple it is, but need personal assurance that they won't die if they try it. Its a strange quirk of human nature...
 
Call a company that makes Curtis Prefits. Pretty sure MPA will spin one for you. PVA and Straightjacket will for sure.
 
I am close on this ... almost seems too good to be true. Thinking Origin action in 223 with a 308 B/F as well. Prefits available. Off to the races. What am I missing??? I will build the trainer first and add calibers as I want/need them. Was thinking DTA but this is way cheaper, more ergonomic and familiar. Sounds like accuracy is on par ... Hmmmmm?

Only thing you are missing is that many guys just end up getting a second action, and then a third action, because swapping bolt faces and barrels and re zeroing is somewhat bothersome. Its not even difficult, just bothersome enough to justify spending another $850 on another "cheap" Origin, hahahaha.

It is a bad addiction, and I know more than one guy in this thread fell victim to the switch barrel bait and switch that ended up in three new guns, lol.
 
Only thing you are missing is that many guys just end up getting a second action, and then a third action, because swapping bolt faces and barrels and re zeroing is somewhat bothersome. Its not even difficult, just bothersome enough to justify spending another $850 on another "cheap" Origin, hahahaha.

It is a bad addiction, and I know more than one guy in this thread fell victim to the switch barrel bait and switch that ended up in three new guns, lol.

This is why an optic like a Tangent with the ridiculously simple zero setting is such a good option for multi caliber, single action set ups. With my Origin, IFM rings and TT optic I have pretty repeatable return to zero across those calibers. Of course, this assumes quality barrels - hence PVA for those.
 
Only thing you are missing is that many guys just end up getting a second action, and then a third action, because swapping bolt faces and barrels and re zeroing is somewhat bothersome. Its not even difficult, just bothersome enough to justify spending another $850 on another "cheap" Origin, hahahaha.

It is a bad addiction, and I know more than one guy in this thread fell victim to the switch barrel bait and switch that ended up in three new guns, lol.
I found switching barrels and bolt faces a pain in the ass.
 
This is why an optic like a Tangent with the ridiculously simple zero setting is such a good option for multi caliber, single action set ups. With my Origin, IFM rings and TT optic I have pretty repeatable return to zero across those calibers. Of course, this assumes quality barrels - hence PVA for those.
I can swap barrel/calibers around and only see a couple tenths difference in zero. Pretty damn good.
 
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Switched from 6GT to 223 barrel this weekend. Less than 1/2” POI shift in windage only, 2 shots max to rezero. Easy peasy. Will be switching to 6.5 creed this weekend. Like post above said, easier than LEGO. Impact action, all Bartlein barrels.
 
This is why an optic like a Tangent with the ridiculously simple zero setting is such a good option for multi caliber, single action set ups. With my Origin, IFM rings and TT optic I have pretty repeatable return to zero across those calibers. Of course, this assumes quality barrels - hence PVA for those.

It works to switch barrels. Barrels take seconds to swap. Applied Ballistics works great to give zero offsets just by dialing the number for each gun. Resetting zero on my MK5 is super easy too. Zero barely changes on a barrel going on and off.

Its still a pain and I bought more... lol
 
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It works to switch barrels. Barrels take seconds to swap. Applied Ballistics works great to give zero offsets just by dialing the number for each gun. Resetting zero on my MK5 is super easy too. Zero barely changes on a barrel going on and off.

Its still a pain and I bought more... lol
Haha "It's still a pain and I bought more" That torture on your wrist for a split second to torque that prefit kills me. LOL I've only used shouldered prefit Bartlein barrels spun by Stuteville Precision and he makes them specifically for Impacts. So I can only speak for HIS barrels. It's great that I can go from my competition rifle to a trainer rifle with pure ease. Now to rezero with 2 clicks even between a 223 and 6GT, thats a real pain ....
 
Haha "It's still a pain and I bought more" That torture on your wrist for a split second to torque that prefit kills me. LOL I've only used shouldered prefit Bartlein barrels spun by Stuteville Precision and he makes them specifically for Impacts. So I can only speak for HIS barrels. It's great that I can go from my competition rifle to a trainer rifle with pure ease. Now to rezero with 2 clicks even between a 223 and 6GT, thats a real pain ....

Hahaha, true that. I can be lazy and even minimal amounts of torture make me curse the gunpowder gods!

Its not the barrel swap really, that is the easy part. Its the other stuff involved that gets tedious and takes from range time. Bolt head swaps and zero confirmation. And, in the end, I just would rather have two guns. Also, sometimes I am working on a load and letting a barrel cool between groups. Its hot pretty much all the time in AZ, lol. And, I wanted to shoot more and swapping the barrel doesn't make sense in that situation. It's a lot of it is how a guy uses his gear. Lately, I don't go to the range, I just hike and shoot in practical field conditions. I've also got to the point that having a bunch of different rifles, calibers, etc. bored me. I sold a bunch of the gear off that I used for switch barrels. I was being stupid wasting time instead of shooting. Basically, having the switch barrel didn't make a lot of sense for me.

You have the perfect reason. If I were gonna go for a hard day of range training with a .223 on the trainer, then its a no brainer like you said. Shoot it all day, then swap the 6gt barrel back in and confirm zero and walk away. I don't do a lot of that.
 
Hahaha, true that. I can be lazy and even minimal amounts of torture make me curse the gunpowder gods!

Its not the barrel swap really, that is the easy part. Its the other stuff involved that gets tedious and takes from range time. Bolt head swaps and zero confirmation. And, in the end, I just would rather have two guns. Also, sometimes I am working on a load and letting a barrel cool between groups. Its hot pretty much all the time in AZ, lol. And, I wanted to shoot more and swapping the barrel doesn't make sense in that situation. It's a lot of it is how a guy uses his gear. Lately, I don't go to the range, I just hike and shoot in practical field conditions. I've also got to the point that having a bunch of different rifles, calibers, etc. bored me. I sold a bunch of the gear off that I used for switch barrels. I was being stupid wasting time instead of shooting. Basically, having the switch barrel didn't make a lot of sense for me.
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Hahaha, true that. I can be lazy and even minimal amounts of torture make me curse the gunpowder gods!

Its not the barrel swap really, that is the easy part. Its the other stuff involved that gets tedious and takes from range time. Bolt head swaps and zero confirmation. And, in the end, I just would rather have two guns. Also, sometimes I am working on a load and letting a barrel cool between groups. Its hot pretty much all the time in AZ, lol. And, I wanted to shoot more and swapping the barrel doesn't make sense in that situation. It's a lot of it is how a guy uses his gear. Lately, I don't go to the range, I just hike and shoot in practical field conditions. I've also got to the point that having a bunch of different rifles, calibers, etc. bored me. I sold a bunch of the gear off that I used for switch barrels. I was being stupid wasting time instead of shooting. Basically, having the switch barrel didn't make a lot of sense for me.

You have the perfect reason. If I were gonna go for a hard day of range training with a .223 on the trainer, then its a no brainer like you said. Shoot it all day, then swap the 6gt barrel back in and confirm zero and walk away. I don't do a lot of that.

Agree with you 100%. If I was in your situation, I’d probably want a whole separate rifle. I’m in Vegas and i can literally drive 10 mins from home for a 1,000 yd spot to shoot. I normally keep the trainer barrel on and do hard weeks of training before putting on my comp barrel just before a match.
 
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Thanks for all the replies and the responses.

I had a couple of minor follow up questions:
1) where to get go/no-go gauges? They seem like they're all gone - at least for 6.5 creedmoor. I was hoping to buy a set but so far, no one has them in stock.
2) several posters mentioned some anti-seize as a part of the tool kit to have here. Wanted to get some input on what to get there as well.

Putting an order in this week for the barrel and tools.

Thanks
 
Thanks for all the replies and the responses.

I had a couple of minor follow up questions:
1) where to get go/no-go gauges? They seem like they're all gone - at least for 6.5 creedmoor. I was hoping to buy a set but so far, no one has them in stock.
2) several posters mentioned some anti-seize as a part of the tool kit to have here. Wanted to get some input on what to get there as well.

Putting an order in this week for the barrel and tools.

Thanks
1) try northland shooters supply
2) any type will work, if you dont already have antisieze but have some automotive grease just use a little smear of that, just a bit of lubrication on the threads is what youre after so they slide tight instead of galling tight.
 
Thanks for all the replies and the responses.

I had a couple of minor follow up questions:
1) where to get go/no-go gauges? They seem like they're all gone - at least for 6.5 creedmoor. I was hoping to buy a set but so far, no one has them in stock.
2) several posters mentioned some anti-seize as a part of the tool kit to have here. Wanted to get some input on what to get there as well.

Putting an order in this week for the barrel and tools.

Thanks

Just received go, no go and field gauges direct from PTG. They’ll show not in stock, but they’ll make them and get them out pretty quick and will ship them out as they’re made. I received 9 gauges over the course of 3 weeks
 
I found switching barrels and bolt faces a pain in the ass.

It's convenient in theory, not so much in practice. You will see a lot of people that started off thinking that a switch barrel setup was the way to go eventually end up with dedicated rifles for each cartridge.

I have two barrels for my Mausingfield PRS rifle, a 6BRA and 6.5 Creedmoor. The 6.5 Creedmoor barrel rarely comes on now. While switching barrels is easy, it takes a little bit of time, you have to re-zero or at least check your zero when swapping barrels (my zero generally shifts a tenth of a mil or less), ensure you have the correct mags with you, etc. It's a lot more little steps, that just ends up getting annoying. I've found that I like leaving my rifle setup for one cartridge - less chance for things to go wrong, it's ready to rock when I want to take it out, and I would rather focus on one short action cartridge anyways. After I burn up this 6.5 creedmoor barrel, I'll probably just stick 100% to 6BRA. To much crossover in performance, and there's something to be said about keeping things simple.

If you want to swap between cartridges that have different bolt heads, then it gets even more involved, and another opportunity for something to go wrong. You may have brought only your .223 bolt but .308 mags, for example.

What I think is kind of entertaining is all the pro-shooters that shoot for so-called switch barrel designed actions (like say Curtis), and yet even they find it isn't convenient enough to switch barrels - they all have dedicated setups. If it was that convenient they would be switching barrels as the action was designed for, not very good advertisement for their switch barrel capabilities.
 
Super easy. I regularly switch between 223, 6.5CM, and 6GT prefit Bartlein barrels on my Impact action. I’ve even done it on the range to switch calibers mid session. I carry both a 223 and 308 bolt and swap out bolts as well in the same Impact action 👍
I was just wondering if your still alive since your playing with fire?