Saturday at the Movies – Barrel Coolers Review

The Summer Solstice is only four days away. Shooters across the country will soon have to deal with high ambient temperatures during summer. When it is hot outside, your barrels will heat even faster when you are using them. This is not good for barrel durability or consistency over long string of fire. You need to prevent a barrel from becoming too hot if you want it to last as long as possible. You should use a barrel coolant. There are many models, but the most common ones blow cool air through the bore. This can reduce barrel temperatures significantly in a short time. For this Saturday Movies feature we found 7 videos that either review commercial barrel coolers, or show how to make your own cooler using a hose and small electric fan. There are many barrel coolers available on the market today. Three of the most common coolers include the yellow BarrelCool ($39.99 at MidwayUSA), the red Magnetospeed RifleKuhl ($59.99 MSRP), as well as the black/yellow Chamber Chiller (BA PRO) for $80.40. The host, who is a long-range instructor, explains that barrel coolers are the best way to prolong barrel life. After decades of shooting, we have learned that keeping the barrel as cool as possible and cooling it as quickly as possible between relays or strings of fire will result in a significant increase in the life of your rifle barrel. Shooting suppressed, as we do, brings the importance of this to a new level. The barrel cooler featured in this video is $65.00 on the Wolf Precision website. Barrel Cooler Tests – Four Options Barrel coolers are essential accessories that allow you to get more shots at the target with less waiting time. Ryan Furman from LongRangeOnly shows in this excellent comparison test video which barrel coolers remove the most heat by comparing the rate of airflow. Ryan also discusses some of the basic differences and attributes between each unit and tests them with temperature gauges. The units tested were the BarrelCool and Magnetospeed RifleKuhl. Also included was the blue-bodied Original Barrel Cooler (at the 6:48 mark), as well as a large Coleman rechargeable quick-pump (8:12 mark). The two latter units produced the most airflow with the appropriate hose. Build Your Own Barrel Cooler – New and Improved YouTube host F Class John was one the pioneers of building very affordable yet very effective barrel coolers. John first used a hose attached to a black Rechargeable mini air pump powered by batteries. John then tapered the hose to fit the cartridge case, ensuring a perfect fit inside the chamber. The case-head of the cartridge was removed to allow for maximum airflow. F-Class John created a barrel cooling system that was upgraded using smaller, compact pumps. He charged them with a high capacity battery pack (see image above) and USB charging cord. This Gen 2 system was very effective, as shown in the video. John says: “Make sure to watch how long the pump runs, and don’t allow it to overheat”. Amazon currently has one of these USB Mini Air Pumps for $29.98. There are also similar compact pumps that cost a little less. Listen to the tester’s conclusion at 2:40. The tester says that both the RifleKuhl chamber chiller and the Chamber Chiller fit into the chambers well. Both units cooled barrels down in the field almost identically. The RifleKuhl was able to cool barrels at 12 mph, compared to 11 mph for the Chamber Chiller (at the 3:03 mark). The Chamber Chiller’s superior battery life (with an additional USB battery attached) as well as its quietness were the deciding factors (1:32 time mark) for the tester. The turbocharger-inspired impeller is engineered to produce great airflow in a small package. Powered by a CR123A lithium battery (included), ambient is forced down the bore of a rifle through the extendable nozzle. This method is very efficient and can cool a barrel within 8 minutes. The Riflekhl is a chamber flag that also has an air filter built in to prevent dirt and dust from entering your rifle. In this GunMart.TV UK video, the host shows off a barrel cooler that he made with an electric mattress pump and a hose. The unit is able to cool a barrel within a few minutes (3:10 mark). The components are available for under $30. The tester bought his cooler fan on Amazon for $14.99 (3:40 mark). Thanks to Boyd Allen for helping find these videos.