Bug holes introduces a better barrel but.
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So Bugholes.com just posted this on the Hide.
I figure some people who post here might not go there.
We're all familiar with Barrel nuts (I presume) mostly known or associated with Savage, adapted to Remington and now some high end custom actions take it into consideration.
To me they've always been ugly as sin though. (A few other things as well)
But this is much, much better and cleaner!
new barrel nut system, the BugNut
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That sure peaks my interest. I've always liked the idea of a barrel nut. Honestly it's about ge same cost as a smith installed barrel. $350 for a barrel, $180 smithing, one time cost of $100 for the tools.
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Cool system, definitely better looking than a Savage style nut.
I've no doubt it will work out well for BugHoles. They'll be able to keep a few 20tpi tenon barrels spun up in various calibers/contours for actions such as Savages, BigHorn TL3's, and Mausingfields that share a flat breech face and similar tenon lengths. They'll also be able to have 16tpi barrels such as Remington's w/ .250" lug, Defiance Deviant, Surgeon 591, Stiller Tac30 w/ .250" lug, Impact, and Lone Peak that would all share a .950ish" tenon length and bolt nose counterbore.
I still have my reserves about the barrel nut systems though.
A barrel nut system requires more tools than a standard shouldered barrel.- For a barrel nut system it is required that you have a set of Go and No-Go gauges for every caliber of barrel you have. With a shouldered barrel, the headspace is set and not adjustable therefore gauges are not required for anyone besides the smith.
- Also for the easiest installation of a barrel nut system, you're going to want both the nut wrench and an action wrench so you can hold the action still while trying to get the nut tight. (I hate re-installing Savage barrels for this reason. It's easiest with 3 hands.)
- A set of go gauges will run you $70-$90 and action wrenches are all $60-$100.
It is nearly impossible to remove and re-install a nut barrel to exactly the same headspace as the prior installment
- Every fraction of a rotation between the receiver and barrel is changing the amount of headspace and there is no way to set it exactly besides trial and error. The difference between Go and No-Go is .004" which is more than most of us are going to bump our brass back to ensure our ammo fits no matter where the barrel gets torqued up to. This poses the very realistic possibility of swapping from two barrels and having ammo loaded for the original headspace dimension that won't go into your chamber after a barrel swap, thus requiring you to fixture up your barrel and action again to re-adjust headspace to fit the ammo. Now you could get a GO+ measurement from smashing a piece of lead or solder between the bolt face and GO gauge and measuring with a good micrometer. However, that seems like a lot work and time expelled.
- A shouldered barrel is going to return to within .0002" every time if torqued to the same value as before. Simply clamp barrel, spin receiver up to the shoulder, insert action wrench with torque wrench, SNAP! to determined torque value, and you're off and running again.
The thread fit MUST be looser to allow for fitment to a gamut of receiver specs.
- After chambering more than a few hundred barrels on a nice, wide range of receivers, it's no mystery that receivers vary an uncomfortable amount. That's even with custom receivers that are spec'd to a 2a/3a thread class. Bear in mind, those specs are a range of values, not an absolute given pitch diameter.
- Therefore, to be certain that every pre-fit barrel is going to fit in ANY receiver, the threads on the barrel must be cut to the bottom end of the specification. This will still result in some receivers having a desirable thread fit and other not so much. It can be argued that a tight thread fit provides no accuracy advantage over just having concentric and perpendicular mating surfaces; but I'd put my money down that over time a closer thread fit between receiver and barrel is going to prove more accurate and forgiving.
This may not be a solution but's my alternative measure for my customers that are running custom actions.
Since I started chambering barrels on my CNC lathe last July, EVERY barrel has been logged into an Excel spreadsheet that lists date, receiver make/model/mfg, cartridge, reamer designation, and customer name. November '16 I procured some awesome thread measuring wires that make it super easy to measure wire pitch diameters. I've now started recording the headspace measurement on every barrel and the thread wire measurement on each applicable barrel.
With my machinery and measuring equipment investment, a customer can now burn their barrel out, call me up, and say "Hey, can I get another barrel for my Lone Peak Fuzion serial #LPF0004 in 6mmXC." I'll have the necessary information to build that customer another barrel with the exact same thread fitment and headspace without having to touch their receiver. I build the barrel, ship it to the customer, and with no more than a barrel vise and action wrench he can install his new barrel in any caliber in a few minutes. Pretty much just clamp, snap, and shoot! I think this is a better alternative, and a good reason to be a TS Customs customer!
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Perfect answer Travis.
The barrel nut systems were a solution to a problem that never existed. A way to make money off garage gun plumbers... and it has worked perfectly in that regard.
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Thanks for the excellent answer Travis.
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My biggest fear if you will, of the barrel but setup was possibly having some unsupported case area. No idea If this is true or not, but that's what my thought was.
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Does this mean you can turn up a 6.5 creed barrel for my DT without me having to mail in the bolt and it will still be perfect?
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@dddoo7 said:
Does this mean you can turn up a 6.5 creed barrel for my DT without me having to mail in the bolt and it will still be perfect?
In that instance, it would be like having a new receiver... so no. However, on a re-barrel, I bet he could. Even still, it's just really nice to have the extension and bolt in hand. Nothing says "perfect" like being able to check it.
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@orkan said:
@dddoo7 said:
Does this mean you can turn up a 6.5 creed barrel for my DT without me having to mail in the bolt and it will still be perfect?
In that instance, it would be like having a new receiver... so no. However, on a re-barrel, I bet he could. Even still, it's just really nice to have the extension and bolt in hand. Nothing says "perfect" like being able to check it.
That's correct on the rebarrel if I have the measurements from the first go-round.
