How hot does a rifle barrel get during competition? At what temperature does barrel heat begin to affect group sizes, if at all? Measuring barrel temperature hasn’t been a practical pursuit, due to the cost of specialized equipment. But the new Creedmoor Sports Barrel Temp Strip provides an inexpensive means for finding that correlation between barrel heat and accuracy.
Precision shooting is a science, and the most important tool in science is accurate data collection. Without it, subsequent results or decisions are based only on guesswork, assumption, or trial and error. While rifle competitors, snipers and other precision shooters know that shots move or disperse as a barrel heats up, there’s been no practical way in the field to discover exactly when that may occur during extended firing sessions. Creedmoor Sports purpose-built its Barrel Temp Strips specifically to allow shooters to monitor barrel temperature as an aid to accuracy and barrel life.
Attaching Creedmoor Sports Barrel Temp Strips to a rifle’s barrel provides the shooter a means for visually measuring barrel heat and correlating that with shot dispersion, noting the temperature at which shots begin to move off the rifle’s zero. The strip is a liquid crystal display (LCD) thermometer that attaches to a stainless steel, blued or Parkerized rifle barrel via an adhesive backing. One inch wide and six inches in length, the strip’s temperature range is 30 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit, indicated in 10-degree increments.
Because the hottest part of the barrel is the throat area (which is why erosion shows up at that point first), it’s best to attach a strip as close to the barrel-receiver junction as possible. Monitoring temperature at this juncture can help forestall throat erosion; Creedmoor Sports suggests that when barrel temperature measured at that point reaches 140 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s time to stop firing.
Creedmoor Sports cautions that bore solvents and oils may damage the Barrel Temp Strip or its adhesive, so be sure to protect it during cleaning. Prolonged exposure to direct sunlight over the course of months can damage the LCD display, but it will provide years of service under normal use and storage out of the sun. Also know that, because suppressor temperatures can reach 300 degrees Fahrenheit, attaching Creedmoor Sports Barrel Temp Strips to a suppressor will damage the strip and its adhesive.
Creedmoor Sports Barrel Temp Strips have potential for answering other questions, as well. What is the temperature gradient between the throat area and the muzzle? How hot does a .22 LR barrel get? Does shooting lead bullets rather than jacketed bullets result in lower barrel temperature? Beyond learning the correlation between barrel temps and group sizes, at a cost of three strips for $12.95, Creedmoor Sports Barrel Temp Strips are inexpensive enough to justify simply satisfying curiosity. Go to creedmoorsports.com.
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