Carbon Fiber vs Steel: Barrel Heat Test

[@shroudedunity]

Ugh. All of my favorite things. Guns, test equipment and data points!

[@TechDregs]

We aim to please!

[@blainek9344]

Great video and test, well done! Bergara has their Cure carbon wrapped barrel that has a conductive wrap and different layers of carbon. Would be interesting to see that vs Proof.

[@TechDregs]

Some day, when I win powerball, I'll get around to some fancier stuff. :-)

[@dillontimm9442]

Great video! Thanks for putting this together 👍

[@66branch]

This a great a video this is exactly the test I was searching for.

[@chazanderson4532]

this is a really good video! Keep up the good work!

[@Tomdog83]

Thank you, I've heard to get a carbon fiber wrapped or carbon fiber barrel. I always had my doubts but this....clearly, shows the numbers. I suppose hardness and wear would need to be added but this is as good as you are able to provide and I believe is extremely telling.
Thank you.

[@TechDregs]

I wish I'd have thought to have taken my thermal camera. I think you'd probably see a sharp difference between the heat given off by the steel vs carbon that would further illustrate how much better the steel is at conducting heat.

[@Chuck_Stick]

BSF Carbon fiber barrels address all of these issues. They run on a gas gun, in my case an AR-10 chambered in 308WIN, after long shot streams, and stay cooler all around. They also cool much faster due to how they vent the carbon fiber sleeve.

[@JackManiacky]

My hunch on the chamber initially being cooler than the exterior of the barrel is the brass is a heatsink and pulling some of the chamber heat out.

[@attrezzopox]

Just being sure this is Fahrenheit. 10 degrees F is nothing. I suspect this is only a realistic issue if you're trying to use CF in a semi-automatic rifle.

[@TechDregs]

Yes, 10F. I agree, it's probably not a huge issue unless it's a semi or competition gun where you're shooting longer strings.

[@A-a-ron480]

Great research. I like it.

[@Core-vu6mc]

Carbon fiber seems like a good solution for hunting which requires carrying the gun for hours at a time. If you are tree stand hunting it doesn't matter that much. The thing I've heard is they don't have point of aim shift like steel. That would be a big advantage for hunting where you want the cold bore shot to be on target.

[@dillontimm9442]

I hope this comment gets you more than 0.0001 cent lol

[@djl0fne]

At WhT temp does the geometry change to a point where it effects accuracy

[@mothman-jz8ug]

I'm sure carbon fiber will stand up to repeated pressure loadings just fine. Why, one could even build a deep sea diving vessel with that stuff...

[@bennielson5070]

I'm sure building a ship out of steel will go well, just look at Titanic

[@JamesClark-lw6sw]

​@@bennielson5070The Titanic was made of brittle iron plate.

[@bennielson5070]

The Titanic was made of mild steel@@JamesClark-lw6sw

[@IoT_Me]

Really found the video intresting, like seing actual data vs egos on forums just yapping on. Couple Question for you. This line of research leeds to, does carbon firbe barrels have shorter life then steel barrels. This as a function of chamber heat( at what temp does damage acctually occure.
2) Accuracy when a hand full of rounds are shot put of each common wisdom seems to be they are both the same but carbon drops off after this due to heat. My questions is if the carbon acts as an insulator and the barrel has warmed up and is slower to cool down. Would that not positively impact accuracy as the barrel would be less likely to have thermal differences between shots.
3) If the above holds true and carbon barrels does have a tempeture/barrel life threshold what is that bullet count in short succession(one session) are we talking 10 or 500 rounds before the effects become problematic

[@TechDregs]

I can't speak to barrel life, as I couldn't afford to wear one out just for testing. But I can speak to shot to shot accuracy a little. With this rifle, I've noticed that if I do cold bore shot groups (letting the barrel come completely to ambient in between) that it shoots better.
Since the barrel cools slower, rather than that meaning the temp is more stable, it actually means that each shot results in a larger temperature jump in the bore. So within a group, you get more shot to shot variation in barrel temperature rather than less. I agree that it's most likely not a large issue with small group sizes (3-5 shots), but my personal rifle seems to do better when it gets to cool off quite a bit between shots. That anecdotal though; I haven't tested it.
I have heard that CF barrels can have shorter lives *if* you shoot long strings of fire with them. I'm not sure that it would matter much for a hunting rifle where the absolute temps you run the barrel are never very high. It would likely be more of an issue for a competition gun, where you're constantly shooting strings of shots.

[@Longshothawk]

You might find someones used proof barrel to test the heat. A gunsmith might have one laying around to give you.

[@chasesorensen4235]

What state do you live in I have friends with Christensen, proof, and steel we can test! I’m in Idaho

[@davidreed6779]

I think a better test would be the weight of the barrels being the same not the diameter

[@WildBushGrit]

I don't have 1k to donate, but I can subscribe and hopefully help push your needle someday :) Great content Bruv!

[@SW737Flyer]

I think a more accurate comparison would be the same exact rifle, one in carbon fiber wrap the other just steel. Something like a Fierce Twisted Rival vs Fierce Carbon Rival. Also, not all carbon barrels are equal. Example, you quote Proof Research barrel. Check out a Springfield Waypoint 2020 with the BSF barrel. It is a heavily fluted steel barrel with a carbon sleeve to stretch the barrel. I believe Bergara's carbon barrels also cool better and run cooler.

[@TechDregs]

If anyone wants to sponsor that sort of test, I'd be glad to do it. :-D

[@user-pj7kd6xu3w]

Did the group open up toward the end of the 10 shots on the Ridgeline? Curious now for what kind of temperature rise starts to cause drift…..

[@TechDregs]

I wasn't shooting carefully for this video. Just purely focused on trying to capture all the temp data. The groups wouldn't have really reflected what the barrels are capable of.

[@anthonymeyer183]

A company needs to make a carbon barrel presed into a harden aluminum barrel

[@chetfriday7636]

You use 6 different names to describe the two barrels - confusing. Just describe them as steel/carbon barrels. Through most of the video, I couldn't figure out if the cartridges are the same... say this stuff up front.

[@TechDregs]

Yes, it's the same ammo. All rounds from the same box. I show the box of ammo at 3:00. That seemed pretty up front to me.

[@chetfriday7636]

@TechDregs I guess I get easly confused.

[@msromike123]

And, does it matter for a hunter? First shot on a cold barrel? Don't see the difference. 4 follow up shots? Doubtful. But even at that, does it matter? Target shooter? Homogenous steel barrel fired with consistent loads at a a consistent rate matters more, I would think. These barrels are a solution looking for a problem.

[@TechDregs]

I think cold bore shift is clearly the biggest concern for a hunter. If you zero your rifle on a warm barrel (like at the end of a load development trip at the range) and that barrel has significant heat shift, you might observe some shift when you go to take a cold bore shot on an animal. I've moved to doing my zeroing on stone cold barrels that have fully returned to ambient in between shots.
That said, I doubt it would have any practical impact unless you're either varmint hunting (very small targets) or at very long ranges (>500yds) on deer or something.

[@sekaf4125]

When I’m reloading my 7mm Mag my barrel gets quite hot, got to wait actually awhile between shots

[@roycevaughn6472]

Carbon fiber helps if you hunt with a suppressor and trying to save weight to you make your barrel stiffer

[@spdcrzy]

IMO, there's no reason NOT to save weight whenever you can.

[@DadWil]

Good video thanks ... I'm curious as to how much faster the interior of a CF barrel would heat up vs all steel..
watched another video where they ran 1000 rounds down a Proof Research barrel
not quite as scientific a your test
th-cam.com/video/ByiaYeNTHTc/w-d-xo.htmlsi=or9hBeEhktUvhR3E
(destructive testing)
Heat was mostly being dissipated off the breech and muzzle of the barrel.

[@anthonymeyer183]

Just like a bat action

[@Rico11b]

Your data is WAY OFF!!! There's no way you're only getting only 118+ degree Fahrenheit from a rifle barrel after firing 10 rounds in quick succession. Firing 10 rounds will raise the temps a hell of a lot more than 20 degrees Fahrenheit. If you bothered to touch the barrel you'd see your data is off. The barrel is so hot you can't hold onto yet you show that it's 118 degrees F as a high point.

[@user-ku8px1jr8o]

Good catch.