Hey guys, just wanted your thoughts on cryo freezing. It's something I may do to my BLR soon. I wouldn't do it for accuracy, it's pretty accurate already. But I think it would benefit from the barrel life extension and especially from the barrel heat transfer. They say that the barrel heats up more on the outside because it cools off the inside quickly. I think our pencil thin barrels would really benefit from that for those third to fifth round flyers. And much like lapping a barrel, cleaning it and fouling is less of a problem. Your thoughts?
I am a big advocate of cryo freezing barrels. In 1997 or so, i bought a new BLR lightning in .30-06. I loved the rifle, and it was very accurate. A great deer and hog gun for me. But, i noticed at the range that i would get maybe 5-6 shots off before the bullets started spraying all over the paper. Let it cool, back to moa. This was not an issue for hunting, but bothered me enough that i sold it. Fast forward ten years, and i buy a Benelli R1 in .300 win mag and put a .30-06 barrel on it too. Benelli does a great job with their cryo treatment. I can shoot both calibers all day with a very hot barrel, and no change in POI whatsoever. I think that cryo barrel is the most valuable feature of the rifle. I'd consider getting it done on my other rifles, but havent heard any feedback on the aftermarket guys who do it. My .02 on the subject.
That's the main reason why I want to get it done. So I can shoot multiple shots and not have the groups open up due to barrel heat up. Those who knock cryo freezing get upset bc their accuracy doesn't automatically improve. There are too many factors that attribute to accuracy to properly say "it did nothing". Since my rifle is already accurate my concern is in a straight barrel when hot.
I think your concern is the reason to get it done. I wish I had a before and after story to tell about it, but I still think it's worth a try. I don't know why anyone would think the the cryo treatment would make a barrel more accurate? I believe it would make a hot barrel more accurate or less prone to degrading it, but I don't think it' makes an MOA barrel a sub-MOA barrel under non-hot conditions. If you decide to do it, don't forget to post the results.
You would have to reduce as many factors as possible, such as using a bench rest (obviously), as well as hand competition loaded ammunition, controlled environment, timed shot recovery gap, etc. It would be interesting to see the results though. Also, I wonder if there would be a break-in requirement after the treatment, in order to assure the best accuracy? Just a thought though, but if cryo-treating the barrel would yield improvements in accuracy without negative affects, I cannot help to wonder why this would not be standard on the M40 that the USMC has been using as a primary sniper rifle for decades. It would be interesting to call Gary Schneider (primary supplier of the M40A3 barrels) to see if they have considered this treatment in their barrels, and if not, why not.
The first thing i though of was the military application. Maybe a hot barrel on an m40, m16/4 or m249 saw doesnt yeild accuracy variance ourside of acceptable ranges? I need to create a giant cryo chamber.
I could see that on a SAW or M-16/M4- these are less a precision rifle and more a rapid fire type weapon, but the M40 has a much slower shot recovery time (time from fired round to rechamber), and accuracy is critical. On a side note, if you do look into getting a giant cryo chamber, let me know. I remember first hearing about cryo freezing when it was a big fad in the '90's to have your head frozen after you die, and would be interested in having my mother-in-law's head done. She isn't dead yet... would that be a deal breaker?
I may send the barrel off this next week to 300 below. They seem to be the front runners for this process. My rifle is already at moa so I don't care to better that. I'll see if they open up once the barrel is hot. I'm not expecting a miracle either. I know they may eventually spread, but getting 6 shots instead of 3 at 1 moa would be way worth it to me.
I know I'm late getting here, but... I understand the modern BLR barrels are pressed into aluminum alloy receivers rather than screwed into steel receivers like the early models. How would you remove the barrel from the receiver to have it cryoed?
A TD seems like it would work well, because you'd just send the barrel & steel extension. Before sending an entire BLR, I'd talk thoroughly with the treatment company to see whether the process would cause trouble with the steel extension's fit in the aluminum receiver. I'd love to hear if anyone has done it!
