Barrel Crowns...

[Jim White]

NOTE: Not sure if this is the right place to post this.

Has anyone ever heard of, or have an opinion of which type of barrel crown is the best for varmint rifles. I've seen flat crowns, recessed flat crowns and the 11 degree crown. Are there any others?

Any preferences/advantages of one vs the others?

Thanks,

[Ray P]

Jim I'll try to answer...........I've been tring to have my smith use Rick's crown 11*/60*..........this give your muzzle some protection. All mine have the 11* target crown. When I'm done cleaning I always story my rifles muzzle down. Soo I'd like the added protection of the 11/60. Rick might jump in and post a pic.
Hope this helps.
Later
Ray P

[Rick in Oregon]

Jim: This is the crown Ray is referring to...11* target crown for best gas influence on the bullet base, and a cut of 60* right at the lands for ease of brush entry. The theory is to obtain the best of both worlds; accuracy with the 11* crown, and by using the 60* cut for the brush, damage to the lands & grooves is minimized as the brush has a "funneled" effect so as not to abrade too heavily on the sensitive junction of lands/muzzle and wear over time. (It always will of course, but this minimizes the effect.)



This is the most recent barrel I had cut this way, my 11 twist 204 tight neck SPOD (Silver Princess of Death).

[Jim White]

RIO/Ray P; Interesting. The reason I ask, one of the 1st things I have done is to recrown all of my new (non military target) rifles if for nothing else, a little bit of insurance (it doesn't take much to mess one up and never know it). This new Remington's is flat with little to no protection and I feel that needs to be fixed.

Most of mine have what I call a recessed flat crown. It looks a lot like the ones that came on my Savage 17 HMR's. They all shoot good once the right recipe is found. For the reasons mentioned, I like the 60* cut and besides all of my target M1A's & M1's have have a set up very similar to the 60* cut and they shoot real good too (although I don't recollect what the deg* is). It was one of those "curiosity killed the cat" questions.

Thanks,

Jim

[Wrangler John]

I agree with Rick. I was introduced to this crown by Ikey Starks back in the 1970's. Ikey was a National Champion in several disciplines, a Remington Prep. and gunsmith. He re-cut a 40X barrel for me and I never looked back. It just works better.

[Silverfox]

Jim--I have a couple rifles crowned like Rick's but on my new .17 Tactical, my gunsmith crowned it like this and I had wanted it crowned like the one Rick posted: (sorry about the little pieces of lint that show up on the 60º chamfer ) .



I will shoot it for a while and see if I can get the accuracy I want. I kind of like the idea of having the outer rim for added protection on the crown, but I'm not sure if it will have a negative effect on escaping gasses and mess up the bullet path???

[Jim White]

To all, thanks for replying.

My 40x had the 11* taper crown and several years back I had some work done to it and the smith recommended a recrown. I said OK and now it looks just like your's Silverfox's (and I too like the added protection) but without the bevel right at the entry to the muzzle. This has been done to all my rifles now and they all shoot well, so no impact on accuracy, just a different setup. Also, all bolt guns are cleaned from the breech. The only time a coated rod goes down the muzzle is when I'm checking seating distances with a comparitor and only if needed.

I asked why, and the smith explained (I hope I repeat this right) its easier to get a more consistent cut when its flat when you take into account the tolerences of the machining equipment. If it's flat its within 1/1000".

I was just curious if one style has been proven superior to the others through the years.

Thanks again,

Jim

[acloco]

....

I asked why, and the smith explained (I hope I repeat this right) its easier to get a more consistent cut when its flat when you take into account the tolerences of the machining equipment. If it's flat its within 1/1000". .....

Either the headstock is true with the bed of the lathe or it is not. Your smith is right...easier to take a straight cut.

I have cut crowns as pictured above using a standard single point cutter and using an 11 degree crown tool from PTG (chucked in the reamer floater). They both do well.

[Jim White]

To all,

Thanks for sharing.

Jim