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Posted: 11/5/2009 2:59:03 PM EDT
I see they offer a cold hammer forged barrel option that is an additional $100 just wondering what the opinions are on this and is it worth it or not really nessesary ? Thank's 
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The advantages are that cold hammer forging produces a very good interior finish in the bore compared to a buttoned rifled barrel (close to the finish of a cut rifled barrel) and the surface of the bore is work hardened and is extremely durable with a potential increase in barrel life.
The downsides are controversial. A buttton rifled barrel is substantially stressed when the button is pulled through the barrel and consequently has to be stress relieved. The same is true for a hammer forged barrel, but in spades, and many target shooters feel the a hammer forged barrel can never be adequately stressed relieved. They instead prefer a cut rifled barrel that is both smooth surfaced and easily stress relieved as minimal stress occurs as the rifling is cut. I have an excellent shooting custom mauser built on an Interarms barrelled action and the barrel is hammer forged. It is a very common process in Europe where the process was developed during WWII. Given the accuracy and stability as it heats and cools in what is a lightweight barrel profile, I tend to disagree with the idea that a hammer forged barrel cannot be adequately stress relieved and I think that the smooth and consistent bore contributes to excellent accuracy - at least by anything other than perhpas bench rest standards. So...the pluses are that you get a very smooth surface in the bore that is less prone to copper fouling and you get a harder surface in the bore that should improve accuracy without having a barrel that is overly brittle. In an AR, I can't see that there would be any real downside in terms of practical accuracy. It probably isn't neccesary and whether it is worth an extra $100 is probably a personal decision. |
| They are both chromelined (info from BCM website) I would think that would make the difference between the BHF less than if they were just bare steel. I just bought a upper from BCM and opted to save $100. I don't think that I'd be able to tell the difference or shoot-out either barrel anyway. (unless I won the lotto) YMMV |
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