X-Caliber Carbon Fiber Barrels

[YotaEer]

Anyone have experience with x-calibers carbon fiber blanks? Found some info on other sites and a YouTube video from panther hollow that show good results, but looking for hide input.

I’m thinking of having Anthony at crown ridge make a a 22” tikka prefit using the carbon blank. Not much difference in price compared to a fluted one. Just waiting to hear back from him on lead time once he’s back from vacation.

 

[b6graham]

is it worth saving $300 over a bartlein to maybe have the same issues as your C6?

 

[YotaEer]

is it worth saving $300 over a bartlein to maybe have the same issues as your C6?

my fears exactly as that's my only experience with a carbon barrel. although I've only heard great things about crown ridge and the barrels he's cut. Really helpful and responsive too.

end of day, I could spend $200-250 more and get a 22" proof prefit with almost a guarantee it'll be g2g.

 

[b6graham]

yeah caliber depending i'd go proof prefit if available (about same price as a xcaliber plus chamber/muzzle) otherwise it'd be a bartlein blank to have a smith chamber if doing a sherman/wildcat/non proof cartridge or something with a custom freebore etc

not worth saving a bit on money imho

 

[shoots100]

is it worth saving $300 over a bartlein to maybe have the same issues as your C6?

He could use that $300 savings to buy another bolt for his Tikka ?

 

[Dough300]

I have had nothing but good luck with xcaliber. Won a few one day Prs competitions with a stainless barrel chambered in 6xc in 2020. I’m very excited to test and review this barrel. I will be completely transparent, if it’s good or bad you will find out! But I sure have a feeling it will be good! I will also keep this posted filled with some information as I try my hand at the nrl hunter series and how we do at the Burris optics team challenge with this barrel.

 

[YotaEer]

I have had nothing but good luck with xcaliber. Won a few one day Prs competitions with a stainless barrel chambered in 6xc in 2020. I’m very excited to test and review this barrel. I will be completely transparent, if it’s good or bad you will find out! But I sure have a feeling it will be good! I will also keep this posted filled with some information as I try my hand at the nrl hunter series and how we do at the Burris optics team challenge with this barrel.

Maybe I’m mistaken, but didn’t you post the same review on another site? Which if I recall, was good?

 

[shoots100]

Have only a few hundred rounds down the tube, but the X caliber .243 CF barrel shoots just as good as my Proof and Christiansen barrels.
I don't know if it was worth the extra money I paid to expedite it, as it took almost 5 months to reach my doorstep.

 

[just browsing]

Built a .25 Creed with an XCal carbon blank for NRL Hunter matches earlier this year and it had some of the worst heat-induced POI shift I’ve ever seen. More than 5-6 consecutive rounds and it was all over the place.

Also, cold bore was .3 - .4 low but it was repeatable.

Overall, it didn’t shoot poorly, but it was definitely picky and obviously not optimized for Hunter matches or longer strings of fire. If I had it to do over again, I’d spend the extra and go with Bartlein or Proof.

 

[shoots100]

Built a .25 Creed with an XCal carbon blank for NRL Hunter matches earlier this year and it had some of the worst heat-induced POI shift I’ve ever seen. More than 5-6 consecutive rounds and it was all over the place.

Also, cold bore was .3 - .4 low but it was repeatable.

Overall, it didn’t shoot poorly, but it was definitely picky and obviously not optimized for Hunter matches or longer strings of fire. If I had it to do over again, I’d spend the extra and go with Bartlein or Proof.

I only use a CF barrels on my hunting rifles, for weight reduction, not on my comp/target rifles.
I don't recall ever taking more than two shots at game and that's how I practice for hunting.
Usually it's one and done, as I don't take ELR shots at game and animals don't usually hang around long enough to take multiple shots at them.
I practice shooting one cold bore and one or two more follow up shots a few seconds afterwards.
A .3 or .4 cold bore difference is well within my tolerances for a hunting rifle, no matter what type of barrel it has on it.

 

[YotaEer]

Built a .25 Creed with an XCal carbon blank for NRL Hunter matches earlier this year and it had some of the worst heat-induced POI shift I’ve ever seen. More than 5-6 consecutive rounds and it was all over the place.

Also, cold bore was .3 - .4 low but it was repeatable.

Overall, it didn’t shoot poorly, but it was definitely picky and obviously not optimized for Hunter matches or longer strings of fire. If I had it to do over again, I’d spend the extra and go with Bartlein or Proof.

That’s exactly how my carbon six barrel was. Would be great for a pure hunting gun but not for any extended firing

 

[DeathBeforeDismount]

Penny Wise Pound Foolish.

We know what barrels shoot.. No reason to deviate from that.

 

[just browsing]

I only use a CF barrels on my hunting rifles, for weight reduction, not on my comp/target rifles.
I don't recall ever taking more than two shots at game and that's how I practice for hunting.
Usually it's one and done, as I don't take ELR shots at game and animals don't usually hang around long enough to take multiple shots at them.
I practice shooting one cold bore and one or two more follow up shots a few seconds afterwards.
A .3 or .4 cold bore difference is well within my tolerances for a hunting rifle, no matter what type of barrel it has on it.

For sure. Again, it’s application specific. For my application it was not good. For pure hunting it would have been fine.