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apache12

Can you cool a barrel quicker at range

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So I want to try the OCW Dan newberry charge weight shooting technique for load development. My issue is in order to do it correctly and have a cool barrel I will be at the range for 10 hrs

 

Has anyone used a cool towel or any other method to cool a barrel quicker. These are standard non fluted sports #2 contour

Shooting 270 win and 30-06

 

My conern with a towel is that the barrel will cool unevenly and make the harmonics even crazier

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They used to sell s deal that hooked up to a liquid nitrogen tank. Always thought that seemed like a good way to wreck a barrel! Sorry I am of no help but I am curious to see what you find out.

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Buddy of mine, who is an extremely knowledgeable shooter uses co2? Something hooked up to a tank and it works wonders.

 

I've had an idea floating in my head that I've yet to make, but think it would work.

 

5 gallon bucket with lid

Air mattress pump

Hose/tubing

Ice/dry ice

 

Full the bucket with either ice or dry ice and put a towel or something to keep the water from getting I the pump. Place pump in bucket, cut a hole in the lid big enough for the tubing to come out. Attach tubing to pump, then put tubing in the chamber and turn it on. In MY head this works great but I'm yet to try it out.

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I'm shooting from memory here, so my numbers may be off a little, but we use liquid nitrogen in my shop on occasion for assembly operations that require a temperature differential between components of 700°F or more. Basically, you bake one part to 350°-400° and cool the other part in LN (Nitrogen has to be -350°F ish to be in the liquid phase), then slap the two pieces together as quickly as you can. This temperature can cause Ø8.00 inconel pressure vessels with walls about .350 thick to contract & shrink more than .010 in diameter. Knowing that, I'd be very hesitant to use this stuff to cool a barrel. It seems like you could very easily cool it too much, to such an extent that you not only make the steel brittle, but also shrink it to a certain extent and than try to push a bullet through a brittle barrel that has been shrunk from it's normal operating size.

 

I'm thinking using a cooler full of ice and some towels to prevent your barrel from getting wet would be a safer, cheaper and easier way to accomplish what you want to do, but I've never done it so could be completely off the mark.

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I usually take a .22 or some other plinkers to mess with while the barrel of the one I am working on cools. Makes the waiting much more bearable when your still pulling a trigger.

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yes id would think uneven cooling would be real bad for the barrel, I say pull the bolt put it in the shade. shoot something else while you wait.

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Lately we have been this since we learned about and it works great. Take a vacuum seal bag and fill it with water make it the length of your barrels. Have just enough water that u can still slip it under your scope and drape the bag lengthwise with barrel... the water will help draw the heat from the barrel. We have done the run the truck and place the warm barrel in the AC, but we tested this one day and the water bag cooled the barrel faster the the AC and of course always open the bolt to get a little air flow going too.

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I always take at least a few rifle when I go to the range for just this reason, to give them time to cool down between. I've considered several different cool down methods, but most give me cause for concern about potential barrel damage.

 

Seems like the safest option might be to shoot ambient temperature air down through the barrel. I'd want to make sure to have something to filter the air so as not to shoot dust particles into the barrel. I've considered hooking up some sort of small battery powered fan (nothing as powerful as an air compressor) to a tube the size of the chamber that will send a mild stream of ambient air down the barrel. My thought is it would speed up the cool down without exposing it to temperatures that could damage the barrel. If I were more mechanically minded I would make something and patent it. Anyone want to go into business?

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If nothing else, stand the rifle vertical with the action open. The chimney effect helps cool a little quicker.

Then shoot your .22 or whatever.

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