Hand tight switch barrel accuracy?

Metzger

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I am having a barrel spun up for me with a wrench flat on the end to tighten. I was thinking of just having them do away with the wrench flat and screw on hand tight. Does this affect accuracy?
 
It depends on your goal. Yes there are folks that hand tighten, I've heard of some bench resters doing this. However, the chamber should be headspace for this method. Some actions are designed to be hand tightened. But like mentioned the ones designed for this also have the set screws, ala zeus, vector, AI. I was talking to a shooter over the weekend that used a vector and decided to use a barrel set up for hand tightening as a normal torqued in barrel. He said he lost .002 in head space. He said he didn't get the predictability that he was looking for and also had issues striping the set screws even when used recommended torque, so he went back to regular.

I'd keep the wrench flat and then keep a torque wrench and crows foot in your kit, so you can be sure to put the barrel back on to the same torque, even if that is only 35 ftlbs or so.
 
I hand tighten, BUT there is a technique employed similar to spinning on a nut. The barrel MUST be snapped into place.
If it doesn't snap on, it will be loose enough that it will eventually come loose.
I spin the action onto the barrel, not turning the barrel at all.
Even when using my Davidson barrel vice, I only just nip it up past hand tight, never had one come loose. I DO NOT torque switch barrel set-ups, you WILL gall the mating surfaces over time if you are spinning them off and on as regularly as I do.
I also use nickel anti-seize on the threads EVERY TIME I put a barrel on, you just can't have too much.

Cheers.
 
I have a terminus zeus, barrels hand tight with two small set screws. No accuracy issues at all. Swap barrels at the range hand tight and still print very good groups.

If you are torquing on your barrels with a wrench I would want to use a torque wrench and be able to repeat the torque setting when swapping barrels.
 
I've tested this a ton on several Bench rest guns. Going from hand tight to 60 lbs and everywhere in between looking for an accuacy advantage. I found no magic place for any of the barrels. From hand tight to really tight I didn't see much change in accuacy at all. I've tried using teflon tape or anti seize with no difference. I put my own barrels on with very little torque but on customers guns I normally use 30 pounds. I change my barrels at the range and don't want to have one to tight to get off. Barrels typically get tighter as you shoot. You may get in on with a snap of the wrist but after you shoot it I've had to put an action wrench in them and use a portable bench vise to get them back off.
Shep
 
Yep, I've had to employ a wrench and barrel vise at home to get them off again several times now.
It's all good fun anyway.

Cheers.
 
Why not just use a strap wrench? No need for flats, and tighter than hand-tight.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000RHZO7U/?tag=lrhmag19-20
41LK3xeenML._AC_.jpg
 
I tried the strap wrench a long time ago. The barrels will get too tight for the wrench. They just can't grip the barrel hard enough. The ones I tried had rubber straps. I wouldn't get flats on the barrel. Just get a cheap bald eagle barrel vise and an action wrench. I personally use the vise by Viper and they work very good. No your not going to break factory barrels off with them but they will do everything thing else.
Shep
 
I am having a barrel spun up for me with a wrench flat on the end to tighten. I was thinking of just having them do away with the wrench flat and screw on hand tight. Does this affect accuracy?


If you want consistent results, You should have some system that is repeatable. You don't "Have to" torque the barrel down to 65 Ft/lbs + if you keep an eye on the tightness and don't wait until it gets lose to re tighten it. In order to remain consistently made up, some torque is needed.

If you want to be able to switch barrels by hand, Your original idea of a hand wrench and/or barrel nut with flats on it was a good one and is the best way to achieve consistent performance short of torquing in my opinion.

J E CUSTOM
 
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It depends on your goal. Yes there are folks that hand tighten, I've heard of some bench resters doing this. However, the chamber should be headspace for this method. Some actions are designed to be hand tightened. But like mentioned the ones designed for this also have the set screws, ala zeus, vector, AI. I was talking to a shooter over the weekend that used a vector and decided to use a barrel set up for hand tightening as a normal torqued in barrel. He said he lost .002 in head space. He said he didn't get the predictability that he was looking for and also had issues striping the set screws even when used recommended torque, so he went back to regular.

I'd keep the wrench flat and then keep a torque wrench and crows foot in your kit, so you can be sure to put the barrel back on to the same torque, even if that is only 35 ftlbs or so.

As one who used torture wrenches on a daily basis while employed in the aviation industry for decades, I wholeheartedly agree with using a torque wrench for repeatability.
That said I want to mention that the typical torque wrench you buy from Sears, Auto Zone or wherever are said to COME setup with a certification of accuracy but wrenches SHOULD be tested on a regular basis.
When I was still employed our employer paid to have all of our torque wrenches certified every six months (I had six different kinds of torque wrench gear) and it can be expensive.
Point is, even if you store your wrench in a suitable container for travel, they can and WILL lose accuracy and sometimes for no reason at all. But should you drop your wrench it is HIGHLY recommended you refrain from using it again until it has been tested for accuracy.
I have seen homemade devices to do a home calibration that seem to be accurate and verifiable, but you need to know how to adjust your wrench to bring it back into specifications, not something familiar to the average DIY'er.
Lastly, and to make a point, I have a quality SnapOn torque wrench I happened to not use at all between calibrations and when it went in it was found to be out of spec.
Why that happens is anybody's guess.
So don't buy a torque wrench and think it is a buy and fly for free forever. You might find out you're under or OVER torquing a widget. At best the widget is a little loose. At worse you stretch the threads and ruin a barrel or (heaven Forbid) your receiver.
Buyer beware and educate yourself WRT owning and using a torque wrench.
Good Luck in your endeavors, Sir.
 
I was thinking more for lightly tightening the barrel. that they might tighten in use didn't percolate thru until after I posted.

Downside to a barrel nut vs. a shouldered barrel is setting the head-space. Not that it is hard to do, it's just that it's another step and a possible point of inconsistency. I could see profiling a shouldered barrel to use, say, a Savage barrel nut wrench. Then no flats, but up to the OP if the Savage drive splines are unacceptable. I don't know of a way that I would trust to 'seize' a barrel nut on a barrel in an attempt to create a shouldered barrel once the head-space was set.

On the subject of torque wrenches, BT, DT with a clicker that was out of calibration. Cost us a good part of the racing season and a whole bunch of rod & main bearings. I use beam type torque wrenches these days. It is easy to spot when one of those is out of calibration and it is easy to "re-calibrate" it. They're just not very fast to use, but since I am not racing I don't care.
 
If you want consistent results, You should have some system that is repeatable. You don't "Have to" torke the barrel down to 65 Ft/lbs + if you keep an eye on the tightness and don't wait until it gets lose to re tighten it. In order to remain consistently made up, some torque is needed.

If you want to be able to switch barrels by hand, Your original idea of a hand wrench and barrel nut with flats on it was a good one and is the best way to achieve consistent performance short of torquing in my opinion.

J E CUSTOM

If you make a mark on both the barrel and receiver after a positive torque, you can be fairly certain you're at the same torque each time. Or at least danged close.
The marks can be a couple of small dimples or an etched line showing both parts coincide for alignment and torque.
You could even use a laser-like substance that is called Torque Paste or Anti-Sabotage paste. When it dries, any disturbance will crack the now-hard paste, showing movement. Or rotation in the case of a barrel/receiver. The paste doesn't easily fracture so recoil isn't enough to cause it to flake off in short order. It can also be had in a variety of colors if desired.
Just remember, depending on the frequency of removal/install of a barrel, things DO stretch, even if only a tiny amount. But when absolute "perfection" in the fitting of all parts and ammunition construction is required to achieve that elusive ragged one hole 10-shot group, EVERY tiny inconsistency conspire to change things to mess with success.
Good Luck.
 
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