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Obermeyer Approved   5-R™ Rifling Now Available!


AR-15 16.5" Carbine's & M14 "Bush" 18.5" barrels now available!


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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do you recommend Salt Bath Nitriding

A: There have been many praises of this surface hardening treatment applied to rifle barrels in relation to extended barrel life, easier cleaning, non existent copper fouling. However there are some concerns that must be understood if you move forward with this. The temperature that the steel is brought up to during this process is within the range that can remove the temper from the steel if not properly finished potentially causing the steel to become dangerous and not contain the pressures your cartridge will produce. Any heat treating process done after the rifling process can lead to bore and groove dimensions and uniformity being changed. Also, the salt bath nitriding process produces a very hard surface finish. If the barrel IS NOT broken in prior to this process being done, it will never properly break in. If the barrel IS broken in there could be traces of copper left in the bore (even in the pores of the steel) and will react with the nitriding process in the form of pits or corrosion in the barrel where it reacted to the copper. The person or company you choose to do this operation must be aware of these items and would assume responsibility for what happens to your barrel as all of these operations and procedures are out of the control of Krieger Barrels, Inc.

For the reasons stated above, the answer to this question is no.

 

Q: My semi-auto rifle is denting/scratching my brass. What is wrong with my barrel?

 A: In a few words, Nothing, it is an autoloader and it will mark your brass & bullets. We have had several calls from people asking this question with M14/M1-A, M1 Garand, AR-15 and AR-10/DPMS platform rifles. Every single semi-auto that we personally own marks the brass and bullets to some degree, and no two are exactly the same. To quote a respected shooter and author...

"The M14, like many military semiautomatic rifles, is very hard on brass. Let us examine what happens to a cartridge during function of the rifle. As the bolt comes forward, the cartridge is stripped from the steel magazine lips, occasionally scoring the length of the brass. It is driven into the (steel) chamber, which can dent or bend the brass. Upon firing, the brass expands against the chamber wall and against the closed bolt. The case is then pulled out of the chamber, while still quite hot. The extractor and bolt try to twist the head off of the cartridge case while the body is still adhering to the chamber wall. It is dented while thrown against the moving operating rod hump at great speed. Finally the spent brass lands in the weeds, or the only mud puddle on the firing line. And you want to reload this piece of abused brass?"

The M14 Owners Guide, P.106, Author, Scott A. Duff

In addition to the above description, the loaded cartridge also is forced across and up feed ramps cut into the barrel, changing direction only once the bullet tip is forced into the top of the chamber. Once it is fired, the case mouth can also take a beating when it hit's the front receiver ring, barrel extension and/or a scope base if installed, further denting your brass.

Although the sequence of operations may be different on an AR based rifle, the result is the same. Brass gets beat up in a semi-auto rifle. It is often stated by many sources, that brass fired through a semi-auto should only be reloaded 3 times, then toss it. The abusive forces that the rifle applies to the brass, then re-sizing and re-shaping the brass, then re-fire forming concave dents out of the brass when fired again rapidly work hardens the brass and shortens it's life dramatically. If long brass life and pristine condition brass is what your goal is, you shouldn't choose this type of rifle to do your shooting.

 

Q: When will my barrel ship? (this is a long one, please read it through)

A: Delivery times vary throughout the year and can be dependant on what you are looking for. The "Estimated Delivery" date on your order confirmation is just that, an Estimate of when we expect the barrel to get to our shipping department. If the barrel is not paid for in advance, or your credit card does not go through at the time of shipping, this will increase this date by the amount of time it takes to resolve payment. Furthermore, the Estimated Delivery date is NOT an exact date, or a "promise of shipment" on this date. This date is generally selected the week you order your barrel based on current production times and current backlog. If we get a surge of orders during the time that your barrel is being manufactured, or job batches within the shop are rescheduled, this time frame will increase. We have a finite number of employees and hours in the day and we will not rush production or sacrifice quality on our barrels to meet a date. Because of the volume of work that we have, we cannot promise an exact shipping date for your order, nor will we be responsible for the additional cost of next day, second day, or other expedited shipping costs. If your barrel is ready to ship on a tuesday and you 'need' it before the weekend, you would be responsible for any additional expedited shipping costs that we would be happy to quote for you.

PLEASE plan your projects with enough lead time to allow the component manufacturers and gunsmith plenty of time to complete your project and leave YOU enough time to break the rifle in, work up loads, and be confident with your rifle before it's first match or a planned hunt. Nothing done in a rush turns out well or as planned.

Semi Auto rifle barrels: We try to keep rifled (but unchambered) gas gun barrels (AR-15, M14, M1 Garand, M110) in inventory in standard twist rates. Sometimes that is hard to acomplish as we can under-anticipate what the public will order and we do not make enough for inventory. If we have in stock what you need, it takes about 4 weeks to get one through chambering and crowning and to the shipping department.

Bolt gun blanks: These are a bit tougher to stock. Due to the vast combinations of caliber, twist, contour, material, etc. we simply cannot make for inventory what everyone wants for bolt gun blanks. These are made when a customer orders them on a custom basis, as well as barrels for AR-10/DPMS-LR series of rifles.

If you are in a rush for a barrel, you can check our online inventory (updated weekly) or simply check with one of our distributors listed on our links page. They may have just the barrel you are looking for and you could get it in days instead of months.

Q: I have a problem that I think is related to my Krieger Barrel, What do I do?

A: Depending on the nature of the problem we ask that the customer take some steps before calling. First, if this is an accuracy issue try changing to a known good scope, tighten mounts, rings, insure stock bedding is proper, action screws are properly torqued, try different bullets/loads/seating depth etc. If all of this is checked and tried, then have the gunsmith that performed the work on the rifle, or another gunsmith check that work. Many times an accuracy issue is the result of a poor crown or a chamber that is not straight, or simply an ammunition issue (see the "Proper Reloading Practices" page of our website). If all of this has been checked and found to be proper then you are more than welcome to send the barrels to us for inspection. We do require that if you send a barrel back to us that you supply the original serial number that was on the barrel when it shipped. If you did not directly order th barrel, your gunsmith should have recorded this serial number. We cannot perform any work or warranty/return service on a barrel that we do not know is ours. The unique serial number that we mark every barrel that leaves this facility is the only way to know for sure that it is our barrel.

If your barrel is a Criterion Barrel, it should be marked CBI. Krieger Barrels, Inc. does not perform any warranty or service work on Criterion Barrels. You will have to call them directly.

Q: What are the advantages of 5-R style rifling?

A: This is a tough one. There have been many reports and opinions on an "improvement" by using 5-R style rifling vs. conventional rifling. Many of these reports are of increased bullet speed, better gas seal on the bullet, less copper fouling/easier cleaning, etc. These are issues that are not prevelant with our traditional rifling style, so we really expect no improvement with our 5-R barrels. Our 5-R barrels are made with the same bore and groove dimensional tolerances and uniformity as our conventional record setting rifled barrels, so there certainly should not be a disadvantage. We offer the true Obermeyer style 5-R rifling in select calibers for shooters that feel there is an advantage to this style of rifling, you can be the judge.

Q: What type of rifling process does Krieger Barrels use?

A: We use the single-point cut-rifling method only. Please note that some barrel makers advertise that they do cut rifling but are actually doing broach cutting. Broach cutting is a form of cut rifling, but the two methods are completely different. Please see page two of our catalog or the "Barrel Making & Steel" section of our website for a better description of the single-point cut-rifling method. Krieger barrels does not make button rifled barrels, nor do we chrome line our barrels.

Q: Why is there some confusion that we might do button rifling?

A: In 1999, another barrel company was started under our roof, Criterion Barrels, that manufactures button rifled barrels for the O.E.M. market. These barrels are not directly for sale by Krieger Barrels. Depending on what you are looking for, are available through distributors that can be found on www.criterionbarrels.com. Recently there have been some magazine articles written regarding this company which has caused some confusion. Be assured that when you order a Krieger Barrel, you are getting a precision single-point cut-rifled Krieger Barrel.

If you are a distributor looking to purchase Criterion barrels in quantity, please call them at 262-628-8749 and you will be in touch with them directly. Krieger Barrels cannot answer any questions about Criterion Barrels products, procedures, tolerances, or quality of work.

Q: Should our Barrels be Fire Lapped?

A: No. Due to our process of Manufacturing we Pre-Lap them before Rifling and finish lap them after rifling. This gives a very smooth and uniform finish. Fire lapping it will not make the Barrel any Smoother.

Note: If you fire lap one of our Barrels, All warranties will be void.

Q: Is there any advantage to a single-point cut-rifled barrel vs. other manufacturing methods?

A:We feel there are several:

  • Most stress-free way to rifle a barrel.
  • Bore, groove, and twist rate dimensions very uniform throughout the entire length of a barrel.
  • On average the barrel lasts longer than a button rifled barrel.

This is not conjecture on our part. This is information reported to us by military armorers and by very long-time competition shooters who have used a considerable number of both button-rifled and cut-rifled barrels.

Q: Do we have different grades of barrels; i.e. Standard vs. Match...?

A: No. All of our barrels are made the same way to the same dimensional tolerances. We do not manufacture different grades of barrels.

Q: Why don't we have different "grades"?

A: Due to our manufacturing process -- single-point cut-rifling-- we do not have the dimensional change issues that other barrel makers may have. Because of the uniformity of the twist and the consistency of the bore and groove dimensions, our barrels do not need to be graded differently. Everything we make is top quality or it doesn't get "Krieger" stamped on it.

Q: Do we lap the barrels?

A: Yes. Actually they get lapped twice. Once after the barrel is reamed to remove any reamer marks and then a second time after it is rifled for a finish lap.

Q: Can you damage a barrel during cleaning?

A: ABSOLOUTLY. Damage is possible in many ways including but not limited to the  following:

· By not using a bore guide. Use a bore guide whenever possible to prevent damage to the throat of the rifling and nicks and scratches to the bore. Always clean from the breech end if possible.

· Damage to the crown from the cleaning rod. This is the most frequent cleaning damage we see when a barrel is cleaned from the muzzle.

· Never mix your solvents either in a bottle or in the barrel. You never know how the solvents are going to react with each other or to the steel. You can also damage a barrel from simply over cleaning (cleaning more often than needed) and by the over/improper use of abbrasive cleaners.

Q: What is our opinion on moly-coated bullets?

A: For the most part accuracy is a wash between moly coated and "naked" bullets. Your gun might shoot better, or it might shoot a little worse. For the most part we feel there is no difference. You will have to try them to find out if your gun "likes" them. Most people agree that you do lose a little velocity with them. As far as barrel life goes, there is no hard proof that a barrel will last longer using moly-coated bullets. These bullets might help a barrel that fouls badly (copper) to shoot better for a longer period of time (number of rounds being fired without cleaning). This could possibly help factory rifle barrels or a premium barrel that simply has an afinity to collect copper.

Q: How does fluting a barrel help?

A: Fluting reduces weight while increasing rigidity over an unfluted barrel of the same weight, ie: smaller contour. By exposing more exterior surface area, it also aids in cooling your barrel. On the barrel contours that we will flute, we expect the same practical accuracy out of a fluted barrel vs. an un-fluted barrel as long as it is fluted by us. A note on fluting done by others: We have researched and performed fluting using many different methods over the years and have really perfected the system we use. Like any other outside operations performed on our barrels, we will not be responsible for the results of other methods of fluting performed by gunsmiths/machinists other than Krieger Barrels, Inc.

Q: What causes copper fouling in a barrel?

A: There are several factors: · The finish of the bore. · The roughness of the throat after chambering. Fouling can start back at the throat. (Please see our "Barrel Break-In and Cleaning" Instructions.) · Quality of the bullet jacket material. I.e. match bullets vs. military style ammo (fmj) or lower grade factory ammo. Good quality hunting bullets that have pure copper jackets to control expansion will tend to foul more. · Pressure. Our experience and some of the bullet manufactures' is that the higher the pressure/velocity, the more the bullets tend to foul the barrel. Long bearing surface bullets will also foul a barrel quicker than a short bearing surface bullet. And finally, some barrels simply have an afinity to collect copper faster than others. We take great measures to insure the consistency of our steel from lot to lot, but some lot's of steel will copper foul more/faster than others. NO two barrels can be guaranteed to foul at the same rate.

Q: Which is better Chrome Moly or Stainless Steel?

A: For the most part neither one is better than the other. The only difference we find is that sometimes the chrome moly might take a little longer to break-in and might have a little more affinity for copper or seems to show it easier. In terms of barrel life and accuracy, we can find no difference comparing clean barrels.

Q: Does a barrel with more grooves shoot better or last longer than a barrel with less grooves?

A: No. With the single point cut rifled barrels that we make we have found no difference in performance based on the number lands/grooves as long as the surface area ratio remains the same.

Q: Do we offer pre-threaded or pre-chambered barrels for bolt action rifles?

A: No. We do not offer this type of barrel due to wide varying tolerances from action to action regarding the threads, breech cone depth, and chamber/headspace depth. Also with a drop in barrel you just end up with a factory fit and not a custom fit to your action. The threads of a drop in barrel have to be made so they fit EVERY action of that model. To achieve this, the thread will be loose on 70% of the commercial actions in that model line due to widely varying thread. Some truly custom benchrest actions (B.A.T., Kelbly's, etc.) CAN have a drop in barrel made by a true benchrest gunsmith, but we do not perform this service.

We will only provide a rifled and contoured blank, or if your action is on the list of approved actions for us to perform a fitting on, we will install the barrel to your action. Please call to make sure we have a chambering reamer for the cartridge that you want a fitting performed in if you choose to have us provide this service. We will not chamber or fit a barrel using a customer supplied chambering reamer.

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