Looking to lighten up your long gun? PROOF Research may have the barrel solution for which you’ve been searching. According to their website, PR’s goal is to reduce barrel weight, and from there, to improve barrel accuracy and durability.
Depending on the caliber and barrel length, PROOF Research’s carbon fiber wrapped barrels provide up to 64% weight reduction. Weight saving is one perk of using carbon fiber wrapped barrels, but there a couple of other advantages to consider as well. Using carbon fiber reduces the barrel harmonics, or whip, improving the barrel’s accuracy at extreme distances. The carbon fiber wrapping also improves the barrel’s durability. It’s generally rugged and durable, but also has up to four times the temperature resistance of typical all-steel barrels.
For the time being, PROOF Research CF barrels are the only models approved for military use. Using a carbon fiber-wrapped barrel, they cut down the weight of a sniper weapons system by as much as ten pounds. PROOF Research offers carbon fiber wrapped options for bolt action as well as AR style rifles. Whether you’re looking to gussy up your Remmy 700 or working on a lightweight AR-15 build, you’d be dropping around $900 for a PROOF Research barrel. Is it worth it? Voice your opinions below.
Featured image courtesy of proofresearch.com
If they really offer what they claim, they definitely worth the price, A standard match grade barrel cost from 300 to 500$, so the additional money are not so much after all, also considering the overall price of a precision rifle. 10 pounds are a lot of weight when you carry your rifle for hours and when you have to shoot from unsupported positions.
I think it’s worth. For being lightweight and have more resistance. I’m happy to see the carbon fiber is not only anymore on racing cars and exotic street cars.
I think this is clearly where barrels will go in the mid-future. It is a rapidly maturing technology with some real advantages in terms of stiffness, heat management, and weight. Durability (in terms of rough handling, they already match or exceed steel in terms of barrel life) and cost are still issues, but as the cost comes down, I think many rifles, particularly those made for precision, will sport these.
AlessioBaldi They had a .50 cal at the range that, apparently, ran solid shooting at 1000yds all day long. Sadly, I didn’t get the chance to shoot it, myself :[
EricKmiecik The weight savings that PROOF accomplishes does seem to be remarkable, at least at face value.
drmorris9 If it’s as durable/reliable as PROOF claims, I could definitely seeing their options becoming more popular…
I own 4 Proof Research barrels and have 2 more ordered. I am getting <.25MOA accuracy out to the 800 yard limit of my range. The barrels are extremely accurate in addition to the benefits of weight reduction and rapid heat dissipation. I recommend them highly.
Picture of 2 800 yard groups shot on different days/conditions. The largest group is 1.75″. This gun is 6.5×284. It has 975 rounds through the barrel.
I’ve been reading about US weapons that are built of Depleted Uranium. Is this similar?
BarbaraLarge No, Depleted Uranium is used as intermediary layers in tank armor (between layers of hardened steel), and as an armor piercing penetrator core in in large bore ammunition (such as 25mm gatling guns all the way up to 120mm cannons). It is used because it is very dense (nearly twice as dense as lead), and as a penetrator, will ignite when vaporized, such as after passing through armor. In this use, most large militaries employ Depleted Uranium rounds, including the US, Russia, The UK, France, and others.
The only other uses I am aware of are as counterweights (such as in the keel of a ship) or, ironically, as radiation shielding (DU itself emits little radiation). Having said that, there is a great deal I am not aware of.