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Thread: Cold Hammer Forged or not?

  1. #1
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    Cold Hammer Forged or not?

    I'm thinking about getting this upper receiver from BCM (http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/Produ...MID-16%20DDL12) but can't decide if getting the hammer forged barrel option is completely worth the extra $100. Where will I see the advantage? I know the hammer forged option is stronger, but will someone like me (who shoots paper, wants a good weapon for when the shtf, and would like to do carbine courses in the future) ever see my extra $100 be put to good use?

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    if you plan to shoot a ton of rounds per year then the hammer forge is worth it due to the barrel life. How many rounds do you expect to shoot per month or per year. Standard barrels can last 10k rounds, hammer forge 2-3x that.

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    I shoot about 200 rounds when I go to the range because I can't afford to shoot more at this time. I would like to go at least once a month when I get my new build together.

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    In my opinion...

    If you have the $100.00 to spend, and it isn't a big deal; go for it. IF you won't be able to afford ammo or food for the next week, keep the $100.00 and go for non-hammer forged. You'll see extra life from a CHF barrel, but CHF doesn't change accuracy or reliability (Until you get close to shooting out the barrel, then reliability becomes and issue, but that is after tens of thousands of rounds, if not more). You could always save the $100.00 and use it for ammo or training, and then if/when you need a new barrel (Very doubtful if you are just a recreational shooter that shoots 1,000 rounds and less a year) you can just buy a CHF one then.
    I would opt for the CHF barrel personally; no reason to delcine getting more life out of a barrel if cost is not a big issue...

    Don't sweat the decision too much, they are both great barrels and will last a long ass time.
    Last edited by THCDDM4; 08-02-10 at 14:28.
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    100 bucks is not much in terms of a rifle build which often costs 2,000 once you include the optic (ACOG? over 1K sometimes, Night Force in the range of $1500), mount (Larue 125), rail (300 or more?), match BCG (205), fancy trigger (170-350), fancy buttstock (UBR 225), fancy brake (150), good LPK ($80), nice grip ($40), rail covers (?), Troy flip up sights ($240), tritium front sight insert ($50), special buffer ($40 on up), etc.

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    Well I've been trying to set my budget at right about $1k for my new upper. Not to mention I'm gonna have to buy a front BUIS since I don't have one and the upper doesn't have a front sight post. So that right there is gonna put me at $1k after shipping and all that. Also I guess by the time I shoot out the barrel I'll (hopefully) be in the position where I can spend a couple hundred bucks on a new CHF barrel and keep shooting for another 10 years. As long as there is no compromise in accuracy then I can live with the non CHF option. Times are tight but I gotta keep shootin!

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    ive read its a YMMV on accuracy improvements? Never really seen it quantified. I've never had direct experience with a CHF. I dont shoot enough to justify the CHF for a barrel life standpoint.
    Last edited by ForTehNguyen; 08-02-10 at 14:41.

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    Wasn't Pat Rogers' "filthy" BCM a 16" hammer forged barrel that still shot MoA after 25,000+ rounds?

    As 500 gr mentioned, when you consider the additional cost in the total cost of the rifle, it's not that high, and if you can afford it, I'd say go for it.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by ForTehNguyen View Post
    ive read its a YMMV on accuracy improvements? Never really seen it quantified. I've never had direct experience with a CHF. I dont shoot enough to justify the CHF for a barrel life standpoint.
    I've heard this as well, but haven't seen any real world evidence of it. I have one of the first few DD M4 V1's to be built aqnd sold and it has a non-CHF barrel; I will just replace it with CHF when the time comes. I have (3) buddies with the same DD M4 V1, but the newer CHF barrel, I out shoot all of them with my rifle, and I see no difference in my accuracy whe I try out their rifles.

    Anyone done any real hard-use comparisons? Such as pushing multiple non CHF and multiple CHF barrel to the 10K mark and seeing if the non-CHF has any noticeable decrease in accuracy Vs. the CHF barrel? Sounds like an interesting test I would like to see performed. I wouldn't be surprised if the CHF barrel held accuracy better than the non-CHF approaching the higher round counts, but not sure if it would even be that much of noticeable or problematic decrease?
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    Quote Originally Posted by ForTehNguyen View Post
    if you plan to shoot a ton of rounds per year then the hammer forge is worth it due to the barrel life. How many rounds do you expect to shoot per month or per year. Standard barrels can last 10k rounds, hammer forge 2-3x that.
    I've seen the 10~15k barrel life # tossed around. Is that based on semi-auto or military F/A type usage?
    - Jeff

    “Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.” ― George Orwell, 1984

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