20" Odin barrel build and questions

[bj139]

TH,
Thanks for reporting.

[brian y]

This is what I am getting out of my 20" Odinworks barrel, As you can see I need to improve.

6.5 grendel 100yds
And best 3 shot group
IMG_0363

I had the chance to shoot it 1000yds yesterday, The wind was rough but I will put a post about my day in the 6.5 Grendel Target & Competition Shooting forum later this evening

[growling dog]

Here is another update to the Odin 20" barrel story. When I was getting ready to load the Nosler competition bullets to test my returned barrel, I first measured to see how close the new bullets would be to the rifling, using a resized case with notched neck and pushing the bullet into the rifling by hand. I also compared this to my AA 18" barrel and noticed that the difference between the two was less than measured with other bullets. I then checked the measurements of the returned barrel to my recorded measurements from before I had sent the barrel back to Odin. The returned barrel's measurements showed that somehow, the length to the rifling was less than before. I then decided that I'd better check the headspace. The returned barrel was able to completely chamber by Brownells no-go gauge, which meant the barrel now had excessive headspace or was very close to excessive headspace. Before I had returned my original barrel to Odin, it would not come close to chambering the no-go gauge.

This meant that Odin had either tried to re-chamber the barrel that I had returned to them or they sent me back a different barrel than the one I had sent them. When I asked Odin about this, they said trying to re-chamber a barrel was not cost effective, but they could not explain the change. They asked me to send them a short video showing the no-go gauge being chambered, which I did. Then they had me return the barrel and my Odin bolt carrier group(BCG) after seeing my video. After Odin checked out the returned barrel, they sent me a new replacement barrel and BCG. I have assembled the new Odin parts back to my old upper. The headspace of the new barrel and BCG is good. I now need to test the new barrel.

I am not trying to criticize or run down Odin. They paid for shipping on all returns, their customer service was fine, and they ended up doing the right thing. It is a mystery why the chamber dimensions were different. It would be easy to inadvertently switch barrels. I think the moral of the story is to make sure to check your headspace on any barrel that is new or has been out of your hands. Hopefully the new barrel is accurate.

[tracker12]

So how did the new barrel shoot.

[growling dog]

I shot the new barrel today and am happy with how it performed. It was pretty windy today, but I could still tell this barrel is a lot better than the first one. After getting the scope close, I shot seven 5-shot groups and my friend shot one 5-shot group(100 yards). My friend had the best group at 1.25 inches. My best group clustered 4 shots into 3/4 of an inch, but the 5th shot made it a 1.5 inch group. Most of the groups would have a few shots clustered together with a couple of flyers. I shot Hornady Black and SST factory loads and some Nosler 100 grain ballistic tip hand loads. It shot best with the hand loads.

This new Odin barrel looks like the bore is blackened or coated with something inside. After shooting 45 rounds today, it had very little copper fouling and it cleaned up easy with two applications of Pro-Shot copper solvent and patches. No brushing was needed. The black coating, whatever it is, was still in the bore after cleaning. The new barrel also has a shorter throat (length to the rifling) compared to the original Odin barrel. The rifle cycled perfectly and the fired brass looks great. I know Odin said the first barrel met their 1-inch guarantee, but it never did when I had it. I think that first barrel was not nearly as good as this replacement barrel. Thanks for all the previous suggestions from the hoard.