Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 5R rifling verses regular rifling in a REMINGTON 700 LTR 308 FLUTED THREADED

Is it really more accurate or just easier to clean?

Just a marketing gimmick.

Didn`t find it to be either. I shot Boots Obermeyers 5Rs` when shooting HP years ago, cause I`d thought the original Rem barrel on my 308 chambered 40-x was gone. And that was the hot number, the 5R. Had him do the re-barrel. I was classified as Expert at the time. Shooting it here at home, 200 yrd range, testing loads with a scope mounted, then in compitition, thought it didn`t shoot any better than what I`d had..so told him so at the next match. Boots is a pretty direct guy..he looked at me and said"If you can`t hold the 8 ring, how do you expect to shoot 10`s and X`s? Damned if he was`t right. As I got better, I was able to hold the 10 ring, and shot much better scores, but that was not with his barrel.

Sorry, that was a long answer...but still, no I don`t. Haven`t had another.

YMMV

I have one by Benchmark on my rebarreled 270 Winchester, I don't know about easier to clean but its deadly accurate & one of the fastest 25" barrels on the block. I'd put my group size & velocitys up against any sporter weight hunting 270 out there.

41

Harder to slug?

One of my sons had a Remington (SP Police maybe?) .308. Didn't keep it long, but somewhere I still have two groups he fired with it at 200 yards that I'd be very happy with from 100.

Still, I'm convinced there's a lot of ways to make good barrels, and has been that way for a very long time. Give an old quality rifle some good modern bullets and they can surprise you.

If your velocity is significantly higher with your new barrel then your pressures, compared to the older barrel, are very likely higher as well.

How about Shilen's ratchet rifling?

I have only shot two 5R barreled rifles, and can't say they are easier to clean or shoot any better. The first rifle was a Remington target model 308 with a heavy 20" barrel. On the barrel it said the twist was 11-1/4", or something like that. It shot 168 grain Sierras like crazy, but the throat was so long shorter bullets didn't shoot well. The other rifle is a Savage Model 110 Hunter in 280 Ackley, It's a good shooter, but doesn't clean any easier than my other button-rifled Savage rifles.

This is an interesting topic, first off it was Boots Obermeyer that developed the 5R rifling(5 standing for #of grooves and R standing for Russian). It is a cut rifled barrel, other companies also make the 5R barrel such as Krieger and Bartlein they are also cut rifled as Boots would have done it. Other companies that make the barrel only button rifle them call them a 5C such as Broughton.
To me the Remington 5R is a counterfeit, guaranteed not cut rifled.

I own two 5 groove barrels one an R and one a C, biggest advantage I can tell is that they don't blow up bullets like the 3 groove barrels they replaced.
they are accurate but don't clean any easier than any other custom barrel.

I have had 3 Bartlien 5r barrels in different calibers. None have been any better/worse accuracy wise vs a normal 4 groove barrel. And they didn’t foul any less, nor were they any faster. Gimmick is an accurate description, IMO.

I think there are stories for both sides.

I have a 23" SS 5C Broughton on a Kimber Classic. It's a tack driver.

Check out this Cutting Edge Bullets link. This group shot by that rifle.

Read the second review. https://cuttingedgebullets.com/308-135gr-er-extended-range-raptor

Expensive, but impressive. How many do we actually shoot at game?

DF

That was a nice review you gave. Thanks Robert.

Thanks to all for the information. I didn't know the R stood for Russian and not for rifling.

Appreciate those kind words.

I’ve heard some PH’s in Africa like CEB’s. If they hit brush, reportedly they can come apart prematurely. No first hand experience, just what I’ve read.

They have great terminal performance as you can see; accuracy is stellar.

Just expensive.

DF

I thought the R stood for Radiused. I don't see any down side to them. The only thing that I think can be demonstrated is that with thin jacketed bullets pushed hard the bullets are more likely to withstand it with the 5R. All of mine have produced good velocity, clean easily, and have been accurate. Hard to say if a conventional barrel done to the same standards would be any different.

They’re not. I have great 4 groove barrels that have shot every bit as well and cleaned up as easily. No magic in the 5r barrels.

The R is for radius as mentioned.Dirtfarmer, Broughton is closed out. The Shilen ratchet barrel is a good barrel. A good barrel is a good barrel. I had an excellent 8 groove one time and was sold on them. The next 4 were"OK". I think the maker is important, but you may get a hummer from any of them.

RONG eeeeerrrrrr Wrong again Butchy, R stands for Russian as I stated earlier not radius.
Boots was contracted by the US military to study the Russian AKS-74 rifle and cartridge and the rifling he developed was a variation of that hence R for Russian.........furthermore if you read what Boots says his design has angular sides, nowhere does he state radiused because they are not.

I've got several 5R Bartleins. They shoot well but I can't tell that they shoot any better than my 4 groove barrels. They copper foul very little so there might be something to the easier to clean claim.

All in all they're no better or no worse as far as I can tell, I wouldn't make a pick one way or the other based upon a barrel being a 5R.

I think the remington barrels are hammer forged which means they're not really 5R. They do seem to have a reputation for shooting better than their standard barrels but that's probably due to remington spending an extra $10 to manufacture them vs. their usual $5 tomato stake they put on standard production rifles. I doubt it's got anything to do with the rifling profile.