October 20th 2023How Hammer Forged Barrels Are Made – Process ExplainedGun maker Bear Creek Arsenal has an interesting article on their website about rifling. The article explains the four most common methods for rifling barrels’ interiors: Cut Rifling (also known as Broach Rifling), Button Rifling (also known as Button Rifling), and Hammer Forging. The article also describes a new method (which is a bit radical), Cation Rifling. This uses acid to etch the rifling. The article focuses on Cold Hammer Forging. The results are consistent, even though it requires expensive and massive tooling. Hammer forging is used by many top gun makers, including FN, HK and Ruger. Now, Bear Creek Arsenal offers barrels that are hammer-forged. Bear Creek has recently acquired two cold hammering machines that are state-of-the art. The hammer forging process allows a chamber to be formed as well as the barrel contour shaped all at once. This process produces some the most consistent barrels on the market today. Cold Hammer Forging – Machinery and ProcessA cold-hammer forged barrel begins life as a short and thick blank with a polished center hole. A hardened mandrel with the proper caliber and rifling pattern is inserted into the smooth bore. The steel is hammered into shape by a forging machine, which compresses it against the mandrel. Some barrels still bear the faintly visible spiral patterns left by hammers. However, some companies polish them. Cold hammer equipment is expensive and represents a large investment for companies. When the hammering process is completed and the mandrel is removed, the barrel will be the correct length and profile, with consistent rifling and butter smooth. The process is done at room temperature despite the misleading term “cold”. Hot hammer forging is possible, but the equipment costs more and the slight increase in grain consistency is not enough to justify the investment. The performance is impressive and consistent. A cold hammer barrel has a long life. They… last longer and survive abuse. Each strike of the hammers adds to these enviable qualities. Blacksmiths have been using this process for centuries.What rifling method should you choose? Cut rifling will be the best choice if you are a long-distance shooter and you make your own custom cartridges for printing tiny groups in the next ZIP code. Button rifling can be a good second choice but is not always what long-distance shooting enthusiasts dream of. Cold hammer barrels last longer, but they also offer great performance at a lower price.
Similar Posts Tags: Cold Hammer Forged Barrels, Cut Riflings, Hammer Forging, Bear Creek Arsenal
