- Thread starter Qazwsx
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I wonder that too.
Also aren't the Desert Tech ones more expensive than all of em'?
Also aren't the Desert Tech ones more expensive than all of em'?
My guess is that the answer is something along the lines of, "Because the market will bear it." Really, it kind of makes sense... here you have a group of people who paid $3k+ for a rifle, thus implying that they're willing to spend more on this on this hobby than the folks who buy a $1500 rifle (RPR).
As for the Desert Tech, part of the cost is the proprietary barrel extension, but again, I'm guessing that the well-heeled nature of the average DT owner plays a large role in the pricing of replacement barrels.
As for the Desert Tech, part of the cost is the proprietary barrel extension, but again, I'm guessing that the well-heeled nature of the average DT owner plays a large role in the pricing of replacement barrels.
This would be my guess, too. It's why I spent $400 in gear blanks and heat treating to be able to chase metric threads on my lathe. A Bartlein blank for $345 shipped, already had the reamer, my first AI barrel justified the cost of the tooling.
Typically a quality barrel is in the $350 range, and most smiths charge around $300 to chamber/thread the barrel. So for most thread-on barrels you're looking at $650 charge for the barrel.
Once someone like LRI chambers quality barrels in quantity, there are small savings in barrel cost and labor for chambering, so $575 is a good deal.
For Desert Tech barrels, the above applies with the additional $350 for the Desert Tech extension and now a finished barrel costs right around $1,000. The extension is reusable so the next replacement barrel will cost more in line with other barrel replacements - in the $650 range.
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Once someone like LRI chambers quality barrels in quantity, there are small savings in barrel cost and labor for chambering, so $575 is a good deal.
For Desert Tech barrels, the above applies with the additional $350 for the Desert Tech extension and now a finished barrel costs right around $1,000. The extension is reusable so the next replacement barrel will cost more in line with other barrel replacements - in the $650 range.
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DTA barrels cost more due to the special blank and Barrel extension.
AI and Big Horn pefits cost more due to longer run times on the lathe. Time is money. Cutting a continuous thread (Savage, Remage, Tikka/Nut) takes less time than cutting a shouldered barrel.
AI and Big Horn pefits cost more due to longer run times on the lathe. Time is money. Cutting a continuous thread (Savage, Remage, Tikka/Nut) takes less time than cutting a shouldered barrel.
Buy a barrel for 330 bucks, send it to a smith and have them chamber for 300, then thread the muzzle for 100 and then cerakote for another 100. All of a sudden 830.00 sounds about right for a barrel and AI prefits are anywhere from 650-830 from what I've shopped for.
Sorry guys, but if you're asking the question, you really don't understand the mechanics.......
The other profit barrels aren't heads paced until you fit them to the action, put in a go and no go gauge and set the barrel nut. They are NOT headspaced by the barrel manufacturer and therefore not much time/expertise is taken up in the machining (well not as much anyway).
AI barrels are headspaced from the factory so you just screw them into the action until they stop, then do up the cap screws (to 49 inch pounds, or as we say here in Aus "bloody tight") and you're good to go. There is a LOT more care required in this, so a lot more $.
Oh, and yeah, if you can afford an AI, then apparently you can afford a barrel. However I can't bring myself to buy a .308 barrel because it would cost me more than my Kimber Tactical in .308 did and it shoots under 1/2 MOA.....
The other profit barrels aren't heads paced until you fit them to the action, put in a go and no go gauge and set the barrel nut. They are NOT headspaced by the barrel manufacturer and therefore not much time/expertise is taken up in the machining (well not as much anyway).
AI barrels are headspaced from the factory so you just screw them into the action until they stop, then do up the cap screws (to 49 inch pounds, or as we say here in Aus "bloody tight") and you're good to go. There is a LOT more care required in this, so a lot more $.
Oh, and yeah, if you can afford an AI, then apparently you can afford a barrel. However I can't bring myself to buy a .308 barrel because it would cost me more than my Kimber Tactical in .308 did and it shoots under 1/2 MOA.....
Ha! I like all the attempts at justification but the real reason is because it's what the market will bear. Guys that buy AI's have lots of money, or at least that's what the folks selling barrels for them think. In capitalism the market sets the price, the cost of manufacture has little to nothing to do with it. You sell something for what you can get. If your profit margin isn't high enough to justify making something then you figure out how to make it cheaper or you quit making it. So long as people are paying your price most people won't lower it just because their costs go down, they'll pocket the extra money. That's just the way it works.
If I take my BMW Z4 in for an oil change at the dealer they'll charge me $120, if I take my toyota camry in for one at the toyota dealer they'll charge me $40. I do my own oil changes on both of them so I know that they cost roughly the same for the materials (the BMW oil filter is a couple of bucks more). The BMW is actually easier and quicker than the toyota so it requires less labor. There's no reason in the world the BMW oil change should cost 3X the price of the toyota other than that's what the market will bear. It's the same with AI barrels.
If I take my BMW Z4 in for an oil change at the dealer they'll charge me $120, if I take my toyota camry in for one at the toyota dealer they'll charge me $40. I do my own oil changes on both of them so I know that they cost roughly the same for the materials (the BMW oil filter is a couple of bucks more). The BMW is actually easier and quicker than the toyota so it requires less labor. There's no reason in the world the BMW oil change should cost 3X the price of the toyota other than that's what the market will bear. It's the same with AI barrels.
Hmm, sorry Garyc, you're not getting the machining bit........
On another note, wow oil changes are cheap over there!
On another note, wow oil changes are cheap over there!
You can get an AI prefit from MHSA for $550 for a Krieger tube spun by them or $575 for Bartlein by Tooley. Price includes Cerakote IIRC.
http://www.milehighshooting.com/accuracy-international/accuracy-international-rifles/barrels/
- Feb 16, 2017
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I'll drop 800-1000 on an AI barrel if it means I don't have to send my action off and wait for a quoted 4 months, that turns into 8. That's supports the guy above who says because the market will support the price. I don't like waiting......
Side note, 300 to chamber is about standard nowadays.
Side note, 300 to chamber is about standard nowadays.
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