Changed my first barrel.

B

BJS6

Guest
My new Kreigers arrived from Kelbly's along with the barrel vise and their rear entry action wrench.

I took my old barrel off, orginally installed by Kelbly's, and fitted up one of the new ones for a quick bit of load development in the next week or two before an upcoming shoot. The old barrel has 1000 rounds on it and I wanted to start with a fresh barrel for our Nationals, hope the one I put on is as good as the first one !

First off the quality of the Kelbly work on the barrels looks first class, like everything I have that they have done for me. The barrel vise works well with no marking of the polished barrel finish and the action wrench is an excellent fit in the raceway area, a very substantial tool.

For those that may not know the Kelbly action wrench has a T handle that is a total length of about 18 inches. There is plenty of leverage on the wrench and yet even with that the Kelbly fitted original barrel on my rifle took a good "grunt" to break it free.

I marked a spot on the barrel to align with a prominent area of the action and when the barrel was free and then butted back up just firm on the action face the mark was around 1/8th inch or about half an action flat from where it was before. The barrel was pretty tight and in the order of the 3/32 that I recall Jackie mentioned as being his idea of the correct tightness.

I cleaned the action threads, noted that the Sinclair action tool does reach into the locking lug corners nicely, greased up the new barrel tenon with the Kelbly supplied grease and locked the new barrel up with about the same degree of tension as the original one had.

The distance to the lands is the same as the old barrel within a few thou and headspace seems to be very close as well.

All went well, look forward to testing the new tube. Kelbly's even went to the bother of supplying thread caps with each new barrel and even marked down the make, twist and weight of each barrel.

With the size of the action wrench and the amount of force needed to tighten a barrel to what Kelbly's obviously feel is needed I have no idea how you'd ever achieve that with one of those port wrenches !

To shooters outside of the accuracy game swapping a barrel probably seems like a big deal, I know I was a little anxious before I started. I am pleased to say with the quality of the machine work on the action and barrels and the excellent Kelbly barrel and action tools it was a piece of cake.

Now I feel like a genuine benchrest shooter !!!

Bryce
 
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Was the old one starting to deteriorate on you. At our club, we had a celebration when one particular member's PPC barrel finally died in the mid-two thousand range.
 
Tom,

I think the old barrel is still a shooter. Recently a bit of vertical crept in but a brief play with loads seems to have sorted that out, still need to double check the load tune but a 0.3 - 0.4 grain change seemed to pull the groups back in nicely. A bit of throat wear may have been part of that as well. Checking last night showed I had about 8 thou less jam than I thought I had and it liked a lot of jam.

I am short of time to do much tuning before heading to the shoot and I figure I am better placed starting with a fresh barrel and experience from the old one rather than try and make a bug hole shooter out of a 1000 round barrel and hope it works OK for another few hundred rounds at our Nationals.

I had lost a little confidence in the old barrel, that and I wanted to mess with the barrel changing now that I have the gear !!

The first barrel has served me well and if it is done at least I will have a dedicated fireform barrel for the two new ones. Knowing my luck it will keep on shooting and I'll have three decent barrels and still be forced to use good barrel life forming brass and practicing !!

Bryce
 
Good idea.

I may have got lucky but Kelbly's got the stamping in the exact correct place with no refernce to my action or original barrel at all.
 
Bryce-

your using a piece of target paper in the barrel vise to wrap around and protect the finish of your barrel arn't you? If not, I would reccomend it.

-Mike
 
Target paper you say Mike.

I tried a wrap of leather when removing the original barrel and it wouldn't hold tight enough. Put a very minor scuff in the polished finish that will come out with some Autosol on a rag and a bit of elbow grease.

I then just clamped the new barrel straight in the vice and relied on the aluminimum vice being softer than the barrel steel. It didn't leave even the slightest mark, and believe me, I am pretty anal and looked carefully !!

You reckon target paper will hold and offer a degree of scuff protection ? Just one layer ??

Bryce
 
Bryce

I tear a top 2" piece off of one of my many substandard targets and wrap it around the spot I'm going to clamp. You may have to tighten it a little tighter, but you will never scuff the barrel. Leave the paper in the vise and use it until the paper wears out. It works for me.

-Mike
 
I'll give it a whirl when I remove this barrel after the shoot, thanks gents.
 
If you didn't, I would highly recommnend that you tighten the barrel, then loosen and retighten it again. At least for me, it really does seem to make a difference in the groups in early load development. Don't know why but out of the twenty barrels I had, everyone that change a little on the tune after being removed were the ones that I just tightened and didn't loosen and retighten.

Hovis
 
Bryce,


It ain't ABOUT luck, the folks down at Kelbly's aren't known for relying on luck ;)


FbRraAANScCcCIISssss is right about the target paper.......you casually tear the corner off of a .0xx group and toss it in the corner (not where somebody will walk on it or nothin'!) and if someone happens to pick it up you jest mention that you were "working up a load, and she was startin' to shoot eh??" and that "you're starting to like that 133......."


Actually I just tear the corner off and throw it away, I use the aluminum vise straight-up, no paper.....make sure it's CLEAN! I've found that to be the only way to ensure no slippage since I started really tightening up on the barrels. I've got a blued barrel on one of my Bordens and it's been on and off a dozen times and no scuffs in the bluing. AL and no layer of paper. I used to use playing cards too for a paper liner, but first I had to throw them up and shoot them in half with my .45 and that was HARD :D so I quit..



LOL


al
 
BJS6 said:
Good idea.

I may have got lucky but Kelbly's got the stamping in the exact correct place with no refernce to my action or original barrel at all.
Click to expand...

It ain't luck on the late model Pandas. Kelbly's engineer it that way. You can order 5 more Pandas from them, then you can swap the barrels around on each randomly. Then you can swap bolts, randomly, then you can swap fired brass between them randomally....and it will all fit. And the lettering will still be lined up where it should be. It's called PRECISION gunsmithing.

BTW, they can chamber barrels and ship them to you faster than you can wear them out.
 
Jerry, I have to say that it was a real pleasure swapping the barrels. Even down to the way the action tool splipped into the action, fitted as good as the bolt does !

I was kinda jesting on the stamps, I know they do good work, but it did surpise me just a little that they could machine a barrel and have it turn up to the desired spot so perfectly.

You are right on the barrel shipping deal, I got two this time and the old one still looks like it will go a few more rounds yet.

I don't want to sound like an advertisement for them but Kelbly's have been a pleasure to deal with. It is a nice change to get more than you hope rather than less !! They sure under promise and over deliver !!



Hovis, thanks for the tip. I have cranked this one in good and tight but I will remember your back off and retighten next time. I struggle to see what difference it would make but sure can't harm anything either.


Al, what can I say, it is always a pleasure reading your posts !!

Bryce
 
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Another good barrel clamping device is the paper tube from a roll of toilet paper. Used those for years with no problems, good grip but no marring of the barrel finish.
 
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