Current 6mm Grendel barrel makers: BHW, McGowen and who else?

[StoneHendge]

..

[keystone183]

All the talk of 224 Valkyrie has stirred suppressed emotions. My 22 Nosler rested quietly in the corner of the safe. A fine rifle with a fine barrel that has been rendered useless by a craptastic case design and craptastic quality brass. So I'm done with it. If someday someone else ventures to put their cherished name and reputation on a 22 Nosler case head I may get back into the game - but not before. Nosler marketed the 22 Noslef as an easy barrel swap - no need to even buy a new bolt! Well guess what guys, that makes it just as easy to convert it to 223. So Nozzie will soon be ordered a 20" 223 barrel - likely either a BA or BHW.

Cotemporaneously, the 24" bull barrel on my trusty 223 bench beast has finally started to fade. I probably shoot this rifle more than anything since ammo is so cheap and easy to make and there is virtually no recoil. I usually bring 3 rifles to the range and the 24" 223 probably makes the trip 75% of the time and gets 70-100 rounds put through it. If I don't bring it, it's usually because it's time to make more ammo. It's still shooting sub MOA but groups have widened. So doing the 20" 223 will effectively replace the 24"

Which leaves only one thing that can be done with what remains - screw on a 24" or so heavy contour 6mm Grendel barrel! All the talk of 224V made me look long and hard at the ballistics and 105s out of a long 6mm Grrrrrrr approach 6.5 CM 130 grain ballistics. What's not to like about that - especially when all you need to do is buy a barrel!

So having scoured the worldwide web, the only options I could fine are:

ARP, but they do 20" max and probably won't have any until next year

BHW can do a 243 LBC (and a 24" bull barrel at that). Yeah, they call it LBC because they're not allowed to use Grendel, but it does make me a tad wary. Is BHW hand lapped?

McGowen will do a 6mm Grrrrrrr with an HBAR contour up to 26". Built to order, on sale and a hand lapped barrel for under $300. Don't hear too much about them these days and they seem to have gone through a rough patch a few years back with some bad reviews. Issues seem to have been rectified.

The Kreme de la Kreme would be an (up to 28") Krieger Varmatch contour. They could do everything but chamber it. I would need to find somebody competent to do such (and I wouldn't know where to start and what it should cost), but that makes me a tad nervous if there's a problem (i.e. Gunsmith blames it on barrel; Krieger blames it on gunsmith)

Any others out there that I am missing? This will be a bench/mat beast. Practice practice practice.The only hunting it will see is popping prairie dogs from aside my truck. A few months wait is no biggie - the 223 barrel is fading but she ain't done yet.

How much does a reamer cost? Screw arp. Call mark at pf, and get the krieger.

[Kilco]

ARP claims they will be doing a 22" heavier fluted 6mm Predator 3R rifled barrel that uses a .136 bolt instead of the .125 bolts BHW uses.

Based on reviews those barrels are tack drivers, and for $200?? Ill be picking one up for sure.

FWIW every BHW barrel I've shot has been very accurate. The polygonal rifling seems to offer about 50-100fps over standard rifling barrels... at least was my experience with their 5.56 barrels.

[SHORT-N-SASSY]

All the talk of 224 Valkyrie has stirred suppressed emotions . . . made me look long and hard at the ballistics and 105s out of a long 6mm Grrrrrrr approach 6.5 CM 130 grain ballistics. What's not to like about that - especially when all you need to do is buy a barrel! . . .

Under the topic, Is there a Hornady 6mm Grendel Improved, in the near future?, I today emailed Jason Hornady, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Hornady Manufacturing, Inc. ---

[Kilco]

While I let this marinate, I gave McGowen a call this morning with a few ?s.

- bolt face depth? Send us your bolt an we'll headspace it
- can you do an R+2 gas system? Sure can!

Anyone see a downside to R+2 with a 26"? Seems like it should be the way to go - bullet will still have 12" of barrel past the port.

1:8 twist seems the way to go for heavier bullets (they can do as fast as 1:7 and as slow as 1:14. The only other question would be 4 or 5 groove rifling - well above my pay grade! I know there's an eternal debate on accuracy, but 4 groove should theoretically allow for a tad more velocity, right?

I know Sierra recommends a 1:7.5 twist for the epic bad ass 110 SMK. FWIW my 22" 6mm Creedmoor with a 1:7.7 twist stabilized them just fine at 2950fps.

[BluntForceTrauma]

Velocity is a matter of pressure, all else being equal.

Insofar as number of grooves affects pressure, you'll see velocity differences. If number of grooves does not affect pressure, you will not see velocity differences. Typically, however, a barrel maker will make sure the area of the grooves — no matter how many — corresponds to the SAAMI spec for that cartridge.

If SAAMI spec says six grooves with an area of X, then a barrel maker will make four grooves slightly fatter so that they still have an area of X. Pressures will, thus, generally remain the same — and so will velocities.

So, do not assume that fewer grooves means more velocity.

Next, many barrel makers have told me that number of grooves, per se, does NOT affect accuracy.

[Kilco]

I wonder if the number of grooves, hence deformation on the bearing surface of the projectile has any long term effects on the ballistics of that projectile...

No idea... just thinking out loud..

And for a wildcat without SAAMI recognition like the 6mm Grendels, you would have some wiggle room regarding total groove area contacting the projectile, or "X" as BFT put it..

[Sticks]

Velocity is a matter of pressure, all else being equal.

Insofar as number of grooves affects pressure, you'll see velocity differences. If number of grooves does not affect pressure, you will not see velocity differences. Typically, however, a barrel maker will make sure the area of the grooves — no matter how many — corresponds to the SAAMI spec for that cartridge.

If SAAMI spec says six grooves with an area of X, then a barrel maker will make four grooves slightly fatter so that they still have an area of X. Pressures will, thus, generally remain the same — and so will velocities.

So, do not assume that fewer grooves means more velocity.

Next, many barrel makers have told me that number of grooves, per se, does NOT affect accuracy.

How does this apply to the specs you gave Faxon on the GB Barrels? You explained it in another thread, and it makes sense. Are the GB Faxon barrels out of SAAMI Spec in the rifling?

Stonehenge & BFT - Would Faxon do a single custom cut?

[SHORT-N-SASSY]

This Discussion on the 6mm caliber brings me back to the 1970's and my experiences with the 6mm Remington cartridge (C.O.L. 2.825"), in Colorado. I used it to good success, shooting a Bullpup'd Remington 40-XB, with the 80-grain bullet, on high country marmots ---


and shooting the Remington Model 660 carbine, with the 100-grain bullet, on Mule Deer.

Here's some downrange ballistics on the 6mm Remington ---

(http://guide.sportsmansguide.com/bal.../6mmrembal.htm)

Comparing these downrange values against those of today's 6mm's loaded with all-new high-BC bullets, I think it's fair to state we have a whole new ball game.

[Kilco]

Off topic, but 6mm Rem is one of my all time favorites..

If big green would have just chambered rifles in 6mm Rem with a 1:10 - 1:9 twist, most people wouldn't know what a 243 Win is today ..

My younger sister still uses a 6mm Rem AI that my father built her to this day to take Black bear, whitetail and moose.

[BluntForceTrauma]

Sticks, yes, the GB bbls have reduced rifling compared to SAAMI spec. They have SAAMI chambers, but not SAAMI rifling. (SAAMI spec is 6-groove, so right off the bat a 5R is not SAAMI.)

[Sticks]

What happened to the ultra light precision build?

[Kilco]

Well, when your Google searches bring you full circle back to this subsection of the Grendel forum, you know you've found all options. Just ordered up from McGowen today

26" HBAR if they confirm they really can do R+2; otherwise 24"
1:7 twist
Whichever rifling they think is faster (they already say that one isn't going to be more accurate than the other); if they don't get the joke, whichever rifling fits into their production schedule faster
It'll be hand lapped 416R for about $310 shipped with their "early black Friday sale" + whatever they charge me for the extended gas system.

So while I wait, even though I have a perfectly workable lower receiver on the rifle its going on, these barrels are something of a Unicorn. So this becomes so tempting in my twisted little mind......

[ATTACH=CONFIG]10030[/ATTACH]

Lookoing foward to this build!

From my testing so far, I'm blown away a factory hasn't picked this cartridge up yet..

In a 20" barrel in getting 2850fps with the 95gr TMK over a charge of CFE223.

The 26" is going to give you some damn impressive performance.

I'm looking at ARCOMP to do some load dev with next. It's nice because 6mmAR uses the same powders as the Grendel.

[bj139]

BFT,
How about a Faxon group barrel buy in 6mm AR Turbo 40 Improved?

[Kilco]

https://truesportingarmsllc.com/product/264lbc-1x8-24-br-58-blk/https://truesportingarmsllc.com/product/264lbc-1x8-24-br-58-blk/https://truesportingarmsllc.com/product/264lbc-1x8-24-br-58-blk/