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Thread: Daniel Defense CHF 14.5 vs Colt/BCM SOCOM 14.5

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    Daniel Defense CHF 14.5 vs Colt/BCM SOCOM 14.5

    As far as I know the SOCOM's aren't cold hammer forged, but I know they are thicker and disperse heat more evenly than standard barrels. My question isn't a brand vs brand pissing contest. I would like to know which barrel would last and keep its accuracy the longest after being run hard. Would a CHF barrel hold up to F/A fire as well as a SOCOM and still keep its accuracy after thousands of rounds?

    I appreciate any help. Thanks

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    I'd guess that a meatier barrel should outlast a thinner barrel even if the thin one is hammer forged.

    The idea behind the SOCOM was to be able to run high volumes of fire longer before any overheating malfs happened.

    I'd guess again that the SOCOM would stand a better chance of retaining accuracy on an equal firing schedule. Hard to say for sure though.
    "You people have too much time on your hands." - scottryan

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    Or, do like I did and buy the 14.7" CHF SOCOM barrel from PSA. It's a CHF FN blank with the heavier Socom Profile. The gas port is a little larger than it should be, but not grossly oversized. You can always mitigate that with an insertable gas port or a regulating block like the Syrac.
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    Quote Originally Posted by markm View Post
    I'd guess that a meatier barrel should outlast a thinner barrel even if the thin one is hammer forged.

    The idea behind the SOCOM was to be able to run high volumes of fire longer before any overheating malfs happened.

    I'd guess again that the SOCOM would stand a better chance of retaining accuracy on an equal firing schedule. Hard to say for sure though.

    I've always been under the impression that the only benefit of a heavier profile barrel (aside from adjusting balance) is that it does not heat up as quickly, thus keeping your groups a little tighter for a little longer. I'd like to hear more about this as it could certainly effect future purchases for me.

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    I swapped out a LW DD 16" CHF for the PSA/FN I mentioned above. My reasoning was:

    1) Improved accuracy as the barrel got hotter (The DD held around 1.7 MOA consistently as it was hot, but the first 3 shots were always a much tighter group before the heat got involved).

    2) I have an M4-2000 suppressor pending and figure the shorter/thicker barrel will be stiffer and handle both the weight and additional heat of the suppressor better than the longer LW profile.

    As far as the reasoning behind the SOCOM barrel, there's a guy called "Augee" on TOS who seems to know a lot about the M4/M4A1 program and how, when, and why changes were made. According to him, the original M4 profile (light under handguards) barrels were failing at that thinner part (which is also where the most head is generated closest to the chamber) on "Break Contact" drills, where several mags are dumped on full-auto fire in a row.

    Pic of failed barrels (Google):


    Contact drill:

    http://youtu.be/oqqYK22n274
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    I'm waiting for BCM socom uppers to come available again.

    I like meaty barrels... and never once have I been out in the sticks and thought... "this rifle is too heavy".
    "You people have too much time on your hands." - scottryan

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    I still don't think hammer forging has squat to do with anything regarding a barrel's performance or durability.

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    Quote Originally Posted by samuse View Post
    I still don't think hammer forging has squat to do with anything regarding a barrel's performance or durability.
    Can you please describe to me the process of hammer forging and how it is different than other forging methods? Also, please explain the effects of "work hardening" on metal.
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    Quote Originally Posted by ASH556 View Post
    Can you please describe to me the process of hammer forging and how it is different than other forging methods? Also, please explain the effects of "work hardening" on metal.
    You mean COLD hammer forging? There's probably videos on the youtube machine.

    I do respect his notion that there isn't much of a discernable difference for the end user. I mean... you could likely give a guy a button rifle barrel and tell him it was hammer forged and he'd never know the diff.
    "You people have too much time on your hands." - scottryan

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    Quote Originally Posted by markm View Post
    You mean COLD hammer forging? There's probably videos on the youtube machine.

    I do respect his notion that there isn't much of a discernable difference for the end user. I mean... you could likely give a guy a button rifle barrel and tell him it was hammer forged and he'd never know the diff.
    Yeah, I agree with this part. Then again, the same could be said for 4140 vs 4150 barrel steel. Does that mean we should all settle for 4140?
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