are carbon fiber barrels the wave of the future?

Bigeclipse

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Until recently, carbon fiber barrels have been reserved for the expensive custom rifle market. We are now starting to see more and more barrel makers making these carbon fiber barrels and recently Savage has even released a production rifle with a CF barrel at a bargain if you ask me. Will we see CF barrels hit mainstream rifles? Will they become common place and basically end regular rifle barrels as we have today? Just curious. Partially because will this hurt the value of modern rifles. For example, a rifle from the 90s can still fetch a decent price since there aren't too many differences from them compared to rifles from a few years ago but if CF barrels become common practice, future generations may not want regular barrels making the common rifles now much less value. Thoughts?
 
No

There has to be a market for them to actually be the "norm" that market isn't in comp where the weight loss is pointless at best. Is it in hunting rifles? I doubt it for the vast majority, people want sub 500$ plastic fantastics now. "It's just a deer rifle" is common for new guys. They don't want to pay tikka prices, much less tack on another 300+ dollars.

the only market they can really hold is with high end hunting rifles, and that's simply not enough to become "the norm" Imo
 
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for myself anyway I don't foresee needing or wanting a carbon wrapped barrel anytime soon. Doesn't really improve anything in my inexperienced opinion and adds one more variable, one more complexity, one more manufacturing process in which something can go wrong, to account for. I like my rifle to be as simple as possible.
 
This is a really good question. I kind of assume that they would cool slower than a 'monolithic' steel barrel of equal weight, due to the poor thermal transfer coefficient of the CF.

I doubt we will see many of them in competition, so I feel like it'll be difficult to know what the pros and cons actually are without shooting a few barrels out of oneself.

Are they more stable and easier to tune than a steel.barrel. of similar weight? I can certainly see that argument.
 
for myself anyway I don't foresee needing or wanting a carbon wrapped barrel anytime soon. Doesn't really improve anything in my inexperienced opinion and adds one more variable, one more complexity, one more manufacturing process in which something can go wrong, to account for. I like my rifle to be as simple as possible.
The problem is its really no longer complex and has very little risks but it offers one great thing...being able to have a varmint contour barrel in shorter contour weight which is amazing for hunting purposes.
 
If firing shot strings I think they will burn up faster than a steel barrel as the CF acts like an insulator and traps the heat in the liner. For hunting rifles I think CF can be an advantage but not for competition where multiple shots are required.
 
If firing shot strings I think they will burn up faster than a steel barrel as the CF acts like an insulator and traps the heat in the liner. For hunting rifles I think CF can be an advantage but not for competition where multiple shots are required.
I think most production rifles are for hunting or target shooting purposes and not competition si that is why I stayed my original case. Most competition shooters shoot custom rifles.
 
If firing shot strings I think they will burn up faster than a steel barrel as the CF acts like an insulator and traps the heat in the liner. For hunting rifles I think CF can be an advantage but not for competition where multiple shots are required.
My sample size is small, 2, and so far you are correct. Not that all was equal though, I will never repeat the buy for my style of shooting.
 
The cost for CF barrels should probably stay in that $700 range unless there is a major breakthrough in machining the blanks and wrapping the fiber and curing, finish machining etc. That becomes the niche market for those with money and those who just can't afford the leap.
For those that pack in, endure high climbs, it makes sense to me to plunk down the cash for a rifle system primarily for less weight.
Mainstream? Not yet.
 
The cost for CF barrels should probably stay in that $700 range unless there is a major breakthrough in machining the blanks and wrapping the fiber and curing, finish machining etc. That becomes the niche market for those with money and those who just can't afford the leap.
For those that pack in, endure high climbs, it makes sense to me to plunk down the cash for a rifle system primarily for less weight.
Mainstream? Not yet.
Savage was able to pack one onto a 1000$ rifle and keep their other parts similar cost. The similar rifle configuration without a CF barrel from savage is in the 700-800$ range. The sales for that rifle has been through the roof so I bet money on it other manufacturers and models will follow suit is my point. Maybe not mainstream but very close as the hunting world drives these type rifle sales.
 
Didn't someone release a titanium barrel? Would it be possible to wrap one in carbon fiber in the same contour as the CM or stainless currently being used? How much weight can be shed with titanium versus either steel counterpart?

Would titanium offer longer barrel life?

If so, that has to be hard to manufacture, would tooling life be shorter?

Reading thru various threads here is like YouTube for me, I find myself reading about twist, rifling and weights and end up in a rabbit hole looking at boat ramp follies.
 
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