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Your PVA prefit experience

Shots 1-6 with 1st shot being a bore sighter on a tikka 25cm prefit. 0 load work and shitty nosler 100gr spitzers at a random seat depth.

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I replied to all the emails about half an hour ago. I don't know who you are by your Hide username. We don't need to go into details here, just keep it to email is fine.
Thanks, you got to me.
 
Been a while since I've got the new barrel and actually got to shoot it. I have close to 50 rounds through it now and it's only getting better. I have definitely been satisfied with the barrel. Install was easy, and performance has been great. Even grouping the cheap Norma match well.
 
I have quite a few PVA barrels last one I got was a couple years ago a TL3 6BR Hawk Hill its a hammer, the bore in it is scary ugly but it shoots lights out and is pretty easy to clean. When I got it, it was one that was ready to go with no wait and in the back of my mind I have always wondered if it wasnt available because it was accidentally set aside because of that bore that looks like it has skin cancer lol. Again damn thing shoots like a beast and I will continue to buy barrels from PVA as I need them because they just plain shoot.
 
Well I got it spun on finally. Got the 6 creed starter set. 1500 105 hybrids, keg of h4350, cci 450s and Lapua brass.

Opened up the barrel and machine work looked excellent, threaded on smooth, headspace gauges did what they are supposed to.

Going to break in in per the manufacturer sometime this month.

If it shoots good hopefully on Black Friday I’ll grab a duplicate but 22 or 24 inches for dedicated suppressed shooting. Really wanting to try being suppressed at a match but want a dedicated barrel to glue a TBAC CB to.

So far so good for me.
 
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You will be super happy with the barrel. Both of mine rock
 
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For those enjoying our barrels, here's a new product that ought to make your life easier for cleaning them.

It does work with other barrels, we just recommend you use ours... because they're ours. ;)

Anyway: Here's the Muzzle Jimmy with the add-on "Jimmy Stick"

Yes, I've been told there's a joke in the name somewhere. The goal is for folks to be able to clean barrels more easily and let the cleaning agents do the hard work. This means fewer damaged crowns and gouged throats from over-zealous scrubbing on stubborn carbon and copper fouling.

They're brightly color anodized and hopefully nobody will send a bullet downrange with the Jimmy still over the muzzle. However, if they do, the precautions to make the cap out of low strength aluminum is meant to mitigate the damage caused by the accident.


And a quick clip on why the Jimmy Stick is so useful...
 

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For those enjoying our barrels, here's a new product that ought to make your life easier for cleaning them.

It does work with other barrels, we just recommend you use ours... because they're ours. ;)

Anyway: Here's the Muzzle Jimmy with the add-on "Jimmy Stick"

Yes, I've been told there's a joke in the name somewhere. The goal is for folks to be able to clean barrels more easily and let the cleaning agents do the hard work. This means fewer damaged crowns and gouged throats from over-zealous scrubbing on stubborn carbon and copper fouling.

They're brightly color anodized and hopefully nobody will send a bullet downrange with the Jimmy still over the muzzle. However, if they do, the precautions to make the cap out of low strength aluminum is meant to mitigate the damage caused by the accident.


And a quick clip on why the Jimmy Stick is so useful...

Ordered. Been keeping an eye out since the podcast you mentioned them in.
 
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@Schw15 check out the 7mm blanks


Also available in carbon wrap.
 
@Schw15 check out the 7mm blanks


Also available in carbon wrap.
What's the twist rate? I didn't see that on prefit barrels
 
8 twist is a good twist for the 7mm. My last 7mm I had was a 8.5 twist and it stabilized the 180 ELD-Ms great. 8 should work well with most bullets available.
 
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Got out and put a few boxes of factory Berger through it. Started pretty rough. Shot okay at the end. Last 10 round group below, one shot was me, but there are 10 in there.

Hopefully it likes 105 hybrids and h4350.

If it’s a no shit all the time 1 MOA rifle I’ll be happy.

Headspaced good as well.

I can see why people get lazy on the recoil management with the 6mm. First to at a 6mm cartridge, I can tell it’s going to be way easier.

Hopefully @bohem has a Black Friday sale, I think I’ll do a matching 22” for when I want to shoot a match suppressed…. A 16.5 22 creed sounds fun too. Question… say I bought another 6creed tikka barrel from you, what are the chances brass will work similarly in both?


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Got out and put a few boxes of factory Berger through it. Started pretty rough. Shot okay at the end. Last 10 round group below, one shot was me, but there are 10 in there.

Hopefully it likes 105 hybrids and h4350.

If it’s a no shit all the time 1 MOA rifle I’ll be happy.

Headspaced good as well.

I can see why people get lazy on the recoil management with the 6mm. First to at a 6mm cartridge, I can tell it’s going to be way easier.

Hopefully @bohem has a Black Friday sale, I think I’ll do a matching 22” for when I want to shoot a match suppressed…. A 16.5 22 creed sounds fun too. Question… say I bought another 6creed tikka barrel from you, what are the chances brass will work similarly in both?


We do a black friday every year. Typically it's a limited selection of calibers so that we can run through them pretty quickly and get deliveries out. 6 Creed is always on that list.

The brass will be very close, being on a different action though it's unlikely that the headspace is going to be close enough to share brass between two rifles without bumping them. The HS on the barrel will be within half a thousandth, the action however may not be.

Group on that last 10 round doesn't look bad, it does look like it's time to give that breakin cleaning a shot. Then try it again. With box ammo we strongly encourage folks to try out the ATS tuner on it. The rifle clearly wants to shoot, I suspect that 10 round group will drop in size by 25% or more. Hand loads on it are probably a 3/8 MOA result without much work if you're getting them to shoot 7 of 10 factory in a half a minute.
 
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We do a black friday every year. Typically it's a limited selection of calibers so that we can run through them pretty quickly and get deliveries out. 6 Creed is always on that list.

The brass will be very close, being on a different action though it's unlikely that the headspace is going to be close enough to share brass between two rifles without bumping them. The HS on the barrel will be within half a thousandth, the action however may not be.

Group on that last 10 round doesn't look bad, it does look like it's time to give that breakin cleaning a shot. Then try it again. With box ammo we strongly encourage folks to try out the ATS tuner on it. The rifle clearly wants to shoot, I suspect that 10 round group will drop in size by 25% or more. Hand loads on it are probably a 3/8 MOA result without much work if you're getting them to shoot 7 of 10 factory in a half a minute.
You going to have any 7 prc barrels for black Friday nucleus prefit?
 
We do a black friday every year. Typically it's a limited selection of calibers so that we can run through them pretty quickly and get deliveries out. 6 Creed is always on that list.

The brass will be very close, being on a different action though it's unlikely that the headspace is going to be close enough to share brass between two rifles without bumping them. The HS on the barrel will be within half a thousandth, the action however may not be.

Group on that last 10 round doesn't look bad, it does look like it's time to give that breakin cleaning a shot. Then try it again. With box ammo we strongly encourage folks to try out the ATS tuner on it. The rifle clearly wants to shoot, I suspect that 10 round group will drop in size by 25% or more. Hand loads on it are probably a 3/8 MOA result without much work if you're getting them to shoot 7 of 10 factory in a half a minute.
I gave it a thorough cleaning prior to packing it up for the fall, following that group. I only bought two boxes of factory for break in and to make sure it shows some potential. And I’d agree it shows some potential, it did start ugly though. Is it common to start out ~2moa? Following ammo will all be hand loaded. 105 hybrids and h4350 to be exact.

I’ll be putting the second barrel I’m thinking about on the same action, hence my brass question. So I’d have a 26” brake barrel and thinking a 22” suppressor barrel. Atleast that’s my plan for now. This is my game gun only so the scope gets pulled every fall to get used elsewhere.
 
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I gave it a thorough cleaning prior to packing it up for the fall, following that group. I only bought two boxes of factory for break in and to make sure it shows some potential. And I’d agree it shows some potential, it did start ugly though. Is it common to start out ~2moa? Following ammo will all be hand loaded. 105 hybrids and h4350 to be exact.

I’ll be putting the second barrel I’m thinking about on the same action, hence my brass question. So I’d have a 26” brake barrel and thinking a 22” suppressor barrel. Atleast that’s my plan for now. This is my game gun only so the scope gets pulled every fall to get used elsewhere.

Just for peace of mind on your part, i never got the berger 6cm to shoot well in any of my barrels. the Hornady 108 shot great and the sierra 107 ammo shot great.

Now the 6.5 140 berger ammo is the best factory ammo ive ever shot. Literal 1 hole accuracy and single digit SD's. I wish the 6cm stuff shot as well b/c the 105 berger is my favorite bullet.

I think the federal 105 berger grouped well in my barrel but the spreads were around a 14-18 SD. The hornady was around 10 SD.
 
Just for peace of mind on your part, i never got the berger 6cm to shoot well in any of my barrels. the Hornady 108 shot great and the sierra 107 ammo shot great.

Now the 6.5 140 berger ammo is the best factory ammo ive ever shot. Literal 1 hole accuracy and single digit SD's. I wish the 6cm stuff shot as well b/c the 105 berger is my favorite bullet.

I think the federal 105 berger grouped well in my barrel but the spreads were around a 14-18 SD. The hornady was around 10 SD.
Did you hand load any of the 105s?

The factory Berger 6cm burned real dirty. Like black patches Iv not seen with h4350. Or Berger factory 6.5cm. Mainly just bought it for breakin and the brass. And figured it should tell me if there was anything immediately wrong with the barrel.
 
Did you hand load any of the 105s?

The factory Berger 6cm burned real dirty. Like black patches Iv not seen with h4350. Or Berger factory 6.5cm. Mainly just bought it for breakin and the brass. And figured it should tell me if there was anything immediately wrong with the barrel.

lol, i refuse to load 6cm or 6.5cm since there are factory offerings with the accuracy i require out of them. Only reason i would break from that is factory ammo prices now days. I only load .25cm, dasher, BR, and .223 for tac class in the future. And with 6cm and my 25cm loads, i dont even own a 6.5cm anymore.
 
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I gave it a thorough cleaning prior to packing it up for the fall, following that group. I only bought two boxes of factory for break in and to make sure it shows some potential. And I’d agree it shows some potential, it did start ugly though. Is it common to start out ~2moa? Following ammo will all be hand loaded. 105 hybrids and h4350 to be exact.

I’ll be putting the second barrel I’m thinking about on the same action, hence my brass question. So I’d have a 26” brake barrel and thinking a 22” suppressor barrel. Atleast that’s my plan for now. This is my game gun only so the scope gets pulled every fall to get used elsewhere.

Not in my experience but the factory ammo I shoot is hornady not Federal and I shoot very, very little factory anyway so I can't really say. Most people don't worry about anything until there's at least 50 rounds down the barrel.

If you're putting different barrels on the same action then you should have minimal differences in the brass. We don't use floating holders because they're prone to causing web runout if something sticks. Rigid all the way in a CNC. The chambers come out the same size over and over and over again.
 
Josh,

Will 22cal CF Osprey Prefits be on this years Black Friday sale?
 
lol, i refuse to load 6cm or 6.5cm since there are factory offerings with the accuracy i require out of them. Only reason i would break from that is factory ammo prices now days. I only load .25cm, dasher, BR, and .223 for tac class in the future. And with 6cm and my 25cm loads, i dont even own a 6.5cm anymore.
Current ammo prices and the fact that I seem to have more time than money keeps me cranking in the basement closet.

26$ a box creedmoor again could maybe change my mind.
 
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Current ammo prices and the fact that I seem to have more time than money keeps me cranking in the basement closet.

26$ a box creedmoor again could maybe change my mind.
I miss $26/box good ammo, fiercely.
 
For the CF ospreys - with the 'wear collar' is this a carbon tension design? I'm dumb and from reading the description and pictures I don't quite understand the 'cut to length' part and whether that implies a tension design, or a bonded CF sleeve.
 
How about 7mm CF prefits? For Tikka.
You will be able to order a custom Tikka in a short list of 7mm calibers.

For the CF ospreys - with the 'wear collar' is this a carbon tension design? I'm dumb and from reading the description and pictures I don't quite understand the 'cut to length' part and whether that implies a tension design, or a bonded CF sleeve.
It's not a tensioned design like a BSF barrel. It's a wound design that the CF can be cut short to any length. Some companies have done this in the past but the problem we ran into with them over time was the carbon would "broom" out or crush at the shoulder from muzzle devices on the ends, especially if a can came loose once and got shot a few rounds.

So we can cut to length and then we thread and bond the stainless wear collar such that the stainless is always up against the carbon and provides a metal to metal surface for muzzle devices to be installed against.
 
I dunno if I got a bad barrel or what. The PVA prefit I recently screwed on is a PITA.

If I don’t clean the barrel basically down to bare metal every 25 rounds or so it pressures up like CRAZY. It’s not a carbon ring..

The group sizes are right on the edge of what I consider acceptable so I’m gonna toss the barrel and get something else.
 
Have you contacted PVA? I haven’t had any issues with my barrels from them but they seem to be responsive on here within a reasonable amount of time as well as if you email them I have almost always gotten a response back within 48 hours
 
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I dunno if I got a bad barrel or what. The PVA prefit I recently screwed on is a PITA.

If I don’t clean the barrel basically down to bare metal every 25 rounds or so it pressures up like CRAZY. It’s not a carbon ring..

The group sizes are right on the edge of what I consider acceptable so I’m gonna toss the barrel and get something else.
What action and what caliber?
 
I dunno if I got a bad barrel or what. The PVA prefit I recently screwed on is a PITA.

If I don’t clean the barrel basically down to bare metal every 25 rounds or so it pressures up like CRAZY. It’s not a carbon ring..

The group sizes are right on the edge of what I consider acceptable so I’m gonna toss the barrel and get something else.

Super vague post. How about some specifics?

Also did you contact PVA? Give them a chance to work on it?
 
I haven’t reached out to PVA. I like barrels that pretty much shoot most bullets decent and can handle a wide range of charge weights and still shoot well. I know this is a lot to ask it’s just the luck of the draw getting a barrel that will do that. This one isn’t so I’m not too interested in it. Plus it’s hunting season….

I’m really just curious more than anything what could cause a pressure issue like this.

The barrel is mounted to a bighorn TL3 action and the barrel is chambered in 300 WSM.

I’m about 140 rounds in and found the barrel shoots 200gr ELD-X bullets best with H4350 powder. I shoot with a TBAC ultra 9.

After fire forming my norma brass I did a test to find pressure and located it at 64 grains. My most consistent and accurate charge weight ended up around 62 grains.

I didn’t notice any pressure issues at first but I was also cleaning after every session.

During load development I started getting heavy bolt lift on loads I previously shot with no issues. I grabbed some factory ammo that I know is loaded fairly light and was damn near blowing primers. Each round fired had more serious pressure signs. I loaded a round with 59 grains ( 5 below max) and still got stiff bolt lift.

I bore scoped the barrel and didn’t notice anything. I scrubbed out the throat with Isso just in case I had a carbon ring. I also scrubbed the chamber with acetone in case I had some sizing die lube in there.

So now after spending 30 minutes of labor cleaning the barrel I can shoot the rifle about 20 times or so at my normal load of 62 grains before pressure comes creeping back. I’m not seeing anything weird in the bore. No excessive carbon or copper. No damage. Totally stumped.
 
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I haven’t reached out to PVA. I like barrels that pretty much shoot most bullets decent and can handle a wide range of charge weights and still shoot well. I know this is a lot to ask it’s just the luck of the draw getting a barrel that will do that. This one isn’t so I’m not too interested in it. Plus it’s hunting season….

I’m really just curious more than anything what could cause a pressure issue like this.

The barrel is mounted to a bighorn TL3 action and the barrel is chambered in 300 WSM.

I’m about 140 rounds in and found the barrel shoots 200gr ELD-X bullets best with H4350 powder. I shoot with a TBAC ultra 9.

After fire forming my norma brass I did a test to find pressure and located it at 64 grains. My most consistent and accurate charge weight ended up around 62 grains.

I didn’t notice any pressure issues at first but I was also cleaning after every session.

During load development I started getting heavy bolt lift on loads I previously shot with no issues. I grabbed some factory ammo that I know is loaded fairly light and was damn near blowing primers. Each round fired had more serious pressure signs. I loaded a round with 59 grains ( 5 below max) and still got stiff bolt lift.

I bore scoped the barrel and didn’t notice anything. I scrubbed out the throat with Isso just in case I had a carbon ring. I also scrubbed the chamber with acetone in case I had some sizing die lube in there.

So now after spending 30 minutes of labor cleaning the barrel I can shoot the rifle about 20 times or so at my normal load of 62 grains before pressure comes creeping back. I’m not seeing anything weird in the bore. No excessive carbon or copper. No damage. Totally stumped.
Maybe your tbac ultra 9 needs to be cleaned.
 
Check your bolt head for burrs especially in/around the extractor and area supporting the case head.

I will say my PVA does the same thing with regard to pressure issues in my rifle, but I had to have the bolt serviced and haven’t had the rifle out since.
 
I haven’t reached out to PVA. I like barrels that pretty much shoot most bullets decent and can handle a wide range of charge weights and still shoot well. I know this is a lot to ask it’s just the luck of the draw getting a barrel that will do that. This one isn’t so I’m not too interested in it. Plus it’s hunting season….

I’m really just curious more than anything what could cause a pressure issue like this.

The barrel is mounted to a bighorn TL3 action and the barrel is chambered in 300 WSM.

I’m about 140 rounds in and found the barrel shoots 200gr ELD-X bullets best with H4350 powder. I shoot with a TBAC ultra 9.

After fire forming my norma brass I did a test to find pressure and located it at 64 grains. My most consistent and accurate charge weight ended up around 62 grains.

I didn’t notice any pressure issues at first but I was also cleaning after every session.

During load development I started getting heavy bolt lift on loads I previously shot with no issues. I grabbed some factory ammo that I know is loaded fairly light and was damn near blowing primers. Each round fired had more serious pressure signs. I loaded a round with 59 grains ( 5 below max) and still got stiff bolt lift.

I bore scoped the barrel and didn’t notice anything. I scrubbed out the throat with Isso just in case I had a carbon ring. I also scrubbed the chamber with acetone in case I had some sizing die lube in there.

So now after spending 30 minutes of labor cleaning the barrel I can shoot the rifle about 20 times or so at my normal load of 62 grains before pressure comes creeping back. I’m not seeing anything weird in the bore. No excessive carbon or copper. No damage. Totally stumped.
"Thanks for reaching out and letting us know you're having an issue. I am happy to help, let's get to the bottom of what's going on."

That's the email you would have gotten if you had reached out to let us know.


Someone else had a problem recently where the rifle would shoot fine for groups and pressure. Then inside a handful of rounds they got sticky extraction. Turned out that the bolt was screwed up somehow and it needed to go back to the action maker. I haven't heard back on anything since then so I have no idea if that cured his problem.

Yours sounds similar that things were fine at 64 grains but now over time you're having problems at 59.

Let's try this:

Email me ALL the information you have and I will see what we can do to sort it out.

Order number
Action
Barrel blank ordered (Osprey or Rock Creek)
Bullets and powder being used
Brass being used
What symptoms you're calling "pressure signs" (there's a lot of poor or misapplied information out there as to what pressure signs are).
 
This thread is titled “your PVA prefit experience” and that was mine.

I put a proof prefit on the action since and it works just fine. It’s not a action issue.
 
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