Nobody makes nicer barrels than X-Caliber. We’ve been using them at Black Collar Arms for all of our high-end, custom guns and every single one has been an absolute work of art. Art that shoots lights out accurate, of course.
Even better, each barrel is custom-made to order and nearly every aspect of the barrel from the rifling type and twist rate to the external contour and length can be spec’d out by the customer. But up until now, X-Caliber barrels and blanks have only been available in chromoly or stainless steel . . .
To save weight and up the sexy factor, earlier this week X-Caliber announced carbon fiber pre-fit barrels and carbon fiber blanks. They have a thick, straight contour yet weigh far less than an all-steel barrel by taking advantage of the incredible stiffness and light weight of a carbon fiber wrap on top of a skinny, steel barrel inside. All the benefits of a bull barrel without the weight penalty. Nice!
X-Caliber’s announcement follows:
That’s right, X-Caliber Barrel & MFG is proud to announce that Carbon Fiber is finally here! We now offer Carbon Fiber Contoured Blanks and Carbon Fiber Prefit Barrels!
Bring your Rifle up to the next level of accuracy at a fraction of the weight with one of our precision Carbon Fiber Barrels!
<< Head over to X-Caliber.net/carbon-fiber to find out more! >>
If you’re interested in a custom-made barrel but have questions about twist rates, contours, etc., reach out to us at Black Collar Arms and we’d be happy to help. We have great pricing on X-Caliber, too.
A few glamour shots of stainless steel X-Caliber barrels we’ve received recently:
I am excitedly waiting for someone to find a way to make a nice profit selling high-quality light-weight carbon-fiber reinforced barrels at the same price as all steel barrels.
Important question: would carbon-fiber reinforced steel barrels overheat during rapid fire since the carbon-fiber is a poor heat conductor? If that is true, is there any practical solution to enable rapid heat dissipation to the environment in spite of having carbon-fiber reinforcing a steel barrel?
It depends on the form of carbon. Example : Diamond slices have been used for thermal control in some semiconductors. If you’ve ever felt a good-sized diamond in your hand, it feels very heavy. That density helps in heat transfer.
A carbon fiber composite with a resin of some sort? Not so much. It would probably act like a insulator, slowing down heat transfer. Carbon composite over a steel barrel may help with damping out barrel resonance, improving shot grouping.
I’d say it’s a definite risk of damage to that barrel with rapid-fire…
I only see bolt guns there…. so are we talking about a full semi auto belt fed Rem700 here? Because I think those are illegal in California.
Currently taking a heat transfer course. Even though it may act as an insulator, for cylindrical surfaces, there is a critical radius of insulation that must be exceeded before it starts impeding the transfer of heat rather than increasing it. This is due to the increased surface area of the cylinder due to increasing radius.
Hope this helps.
Ah, makes sense. Thank you for mentioning that. Thus, whether or not a carbon-fiber wrapped barrel would degrade or enhance heat transfer depends on the thickness of the carbon fiber and its heat transfer coefficient.
The carbon fiber *and* the resin that holds it together…
Carbon wrapped barrels were initially being developed back in the day to reduce weight. After everyone finally figured out the right types of carbon fiber to use, the unexpected benefit of the carbon barrels was rapid heat dissipation. So the carbon doesn’t actually act like an insulator. Carbon wrapped barrels actually dissipate heat much faster than plain metal barrels.
Take a quick look at a different approach to weapon accuracy and advanced materials. Utilizing a steel core, nano-enhanced resin, and a carbon shroud.
http://www.dreadnoughttechnologies.com
That next to last shot of the bore is very pretty.
I failed at taking a good photo of it as the bores are literally mirror polished. Just couldn’t capture what it looks like in person. Full-on mirror.
A good macro lens isn’t cheap, but the results can be *spectacular*…
nice too in that they are often in a potrait focal length.
It’s very kind of you guys to incorrectly blame it on the lens or camera and not on me haha
I am really curious as to the long term life of composite barrels such as these… I tend to look at my bolt guns as fundamentally durrable goods that given how much I shoot these days will shoot the same in 50 years as now,. Heck one of my most accurate bolt guns has its original barrel made in 1952…. I have never seen anything addressing long term life and degredation of composite barrels, and I am curious as to the expected sit on the shelf life.
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