Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Mule Deer: threaded barrel rifle

FYI some of the Barrett team really like that rifle with the 5/8-24 REC7 muzzle brake attached. Makes spotting your own shots very easy, and it I was surprised that it looks pretty good too.

Well the senior buyer at the dealer emailed me a copy of her description of my rifle and a photo of the box-stock Barrett FC: I approved it and am now back in the wait mode. Since I am not hunting right away I can out wait whatever the California authorities require in their 10-day waiting system (or think I can at anyway).

I do admit to being a bit sad that the "exclusive model" of the FC will no longer be mine, but I am happy that any after-market goodie I order for my rifle will be a straight-forward fit. Ah well, I still find the thing on the end of the barrel to be ugly...jim

To each his own, but the thread cap pictured on the rifles are about as attractive as a wart on the end of your nose. Fugly.

If I lived in a state where Suppressors were illegal, I would move...but if I remained, every rifle I had would wear a brake. Again...absolutely zero downside to a threaded rifle.

100% correct, no downsides whatsoever. I was turned on to threaded barrels/suppressors during a hunt in Africa years ago and it definitely changed my opinion about them. I believe suppressors are the wave of the future, particularly in more urbanized areas.
R

There is not one single item that has made hunting and shooting more enjoyable for me.

What aftermarket goodie would fit the regular model but not the aftermarket model? The differences are in paint, coating, and barrel contour/length.

I think you're making a huge mistake by sending the perfect rifle back to go with the lighter barrel contour, but to each his own. No big deal to cut and recrown if you're that worried about the threads.

If you want to get real technical....fewer aftermarket parts will fit the non threaded version....

And yeah, I agree that ditching the heavier barrel over some threads that do nothing but improve the gun is absolute silliness.

I prefer rifles without threaded muzzles and only buy rifles so equipped if it isn't an option. For example, my RAR-Ps and RAR-R.

Cutting off the threads and recrowning is a 20 minute job that can be accomplished at home, with simple tools. Simple fix. Because it's such a simple fix, a threaded muzzle shouldn't stop a person from buying a rifle, unless they're worried about the resale value of a cut and crowned rifle....and in this case it might not be too large of an issue, since a number of people seem to prefer the Fieldcraft sans threads.

Yeah, it doesn't take long to recrown a barrel. That said, I dunno why capped threads on a synthetic-stocked rifle would bother anybody's sense of esthetics. Though evidently standards of beauty for rifles changed somewhere between the pre-'64 Model 70 Winchester and the Ruger Precision Rifle. (Maybe that will set off a multi-page debate....)

I just can't get over the look of the things hanging off the muzzle. It's like a big turd. The added weight and length are no bonuses either. The thread cap on the Fieldcraft looks like an afterthought. Much better is the cap Kimber uses on their threads. That's still ugly, but at least somewhat practical as a staging area for electrical tape.

Aesthetically speaking, I find some thread caps more offensive than others, but don't care for any of them as threaded barrels add no value for me.

EDIT: This seems like it is just another variation of the Chevy vs. Dodge vs. Ford argument that is rooted in personal preference. Unless you're the seller and have a vested interest in making a sale, I don't understand why anyone cares what another person chooses to buys, unless it is to warn the buyer about some flaw. For example, I warn people about the plastic trigger housings in Mossberg 800 series rifle if they ask about them.

Ha! Very true. If a person is really worried about owning a nice looking rifle, it seems odd to begin with one that's painted green and coated in a finish which looks similar to spray paint.
Fieldcrafts are made for carrying and shooting, not caressing and display.

Every so often this site shows the majority of curmudgeons are more concerned with jewelry than guns.

Again, there are zero...nada....no benefits to not having a threaded muzzle. Aesthetics are not a benefit, they are a feeling.

[quote=liliysdad]Every so often this site shows the majority of curmudgeons are more concerned with jewelry than guns.

Again, there are zero...nada....no benefits to not having a threaded muzzle. Aesthetics are not a benefit, they are a feeling. [/quote



Happy to be a curmudgeon here, but also happy for you if those things which I find revolting are a benefit to you. That’s another benefit of the ‘fire, everyone seems convinced that what they like would be the best possible thing for everyone else. I’m happy when practicality and aesthetics meet. Other times (Kimber) I suck it up and move on. But I think for most guys things like dongle muzzles and S&W internal locks influence buying decisions. Like most, I’m kind of in it for the “feelings”. Were I not I’d only have like three rifles. Wouldn’t that be boring!

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I bought one of these limited run models. I have been waiting for a Barrett 6.5 with the long action barrel contour, as I like a little weight-forward feel, especially in an ultralight rifle. So far, the rifle has been great and I do find it more user friendly than the standard model. A 21" barrel that goes .550" at the muzzle is pretty darned light. Getting free Cerakote was a nice bonus as well.

So far, I have tried three different factory loads and one preliminary hand load and the worst group has been .800" with the best in the .200" range.

The hunting load I settled on uses 47 grains of R26 and a 140 Partition at 2800 fps. Accuracy was right at .600", which will probably improve with a little adjustment to the seating depth.

I did not particularly want the threaded barrel, but it does not hurt anything and does give me some flexibility down the road. A plastic stocked, stainless rifle is not exactly beautiful anyway, so I am not sure I lost anything in aesthetics. A Humvee without a roof rack is still not as pretty as a Ferrari.

I like the way Barrett uses standard 5/8x24 threads.

I am thinking of trying one of these brakes with the blast deflector:

https://shop.grizzlygunworks.com/Mu...ise-Redirector-REDIRECTORMUZZLEBRAKE.htm

BTW, Tennessee, did you talk the brass into making me the same rifle in 30-06??

Sorry Chet, they are too busy working on my 280 AI