FAQ

We can turn just about any contour. Most manufacturers’ contours are pre-programmed into our CNC lathe. Standard contours from Douglas, Shilen, Krieger, Bartlein and many others are also available. Contact us if you have something special in mind. You can also send us a barrel to copy or even a sketch of your idea!

Button rifling is a barrel-making process in which a carbide button is pushed through a rifle barrel, under pressure, displacing metal to the twist in a barrel. We believe that this rifling method is superior to other methods as it maintains a more uniform twist rate and groove depth. Once you have a good button, every barrel is the same as the last. Other methods of rifling require many passes to make one barrel, making it more difficult to produce uniform results.

For rifles that we rebarrel, we offer a polished stainless finish, bead blast (dull gray matte finish), and Cerakote coatings (several colors to choose from: visit cerakoteguncoatings.com). Barrel blanks are turned and rough-polished only; your gunsmith will do the final barrel finish.

The rate of twist is determined by a number of factors, but the most important is the weight of the bullets you plan to shoot in the given caliber. You will need to twist your barrel for the heaviest bullets you plan to shoot in that given rifle.

Although fluting can reduce the weight by up to a half pound, it is not a necessary step to make your barrel more accurate. Most shooters decide to flute their barrel simply for the look. Fluting allows you to use a larger diameter barrel and have the same weight as a smaller barrel. If you would like to flute your barrel, we recommend that you allow us to do it, as fluting is done before the final lapping, thus allowing us to maintain our guaranteed specifications.

We do not offer pre-threading on barrels because we believe that a good barrel is only part of the process of building a high-quality custom rifle. When we rebarrel your rifle, we true-up the action as part of the job. If you do not properly headspace, throat or prepare the action, the rifle still may not shoot up to its full potential.

That said, we have recently begun to offer finished barrels for a limited list of rifle types ( AR-10, AR-15, Savage Rifles, Ruger 10-22, and Ruger 77-22). Please call (315) 677-9841 for more information on finished barrels.

We do not believe that a break-in procedure is required with our barrels. If you follow our normal cleaning procedure, you should not have any problems with your new rifle. You should clean your rifle as often as your course of fire will allow. If you have time to shoot one and clean, that would be fine, but we personally do not feel it is necessary. Please be sure to only use the cleaning solvents listed in our cleaning instructions.

Yes, it is possible to get your barrel too clean or to actually dry out the stainless steel. After brushing your barrel with a brass brush soaked with Hoppe’s #9, Shooter’s Choice, or Butch’s Bore Shine & Oil several times and letting it soak for a few minutes, run a couple of dry patches in your barrel, then shoot a few more rounds. If there is a considerable amount of copper fouling, then you may need to repeat the procedure. The key is that if your rifle is performing well, then you are probably getting it clean enough.

We do not recommend the use of molybdenum-disulfide (moly) bullets, as we have not seen an increase in accuracy or barrel life from using them. We have measured moly buildup up to .0005 for the first 2-3 inches in a barrel. We have not found a cleaning method that adequately removes the moly without potential damage to the barrel. If you elect to use moly bullets, we recommend that you contact the bullet manufacturer for details on the cleaning method they recommend.

You should ship your action or rifle in a sturdy cardboard box or gun case, to avoid possible damage. You may remove the scope, rings, and trigger from your rifle before shipping. Currently, you can ship via US Postal Service, UPS, or FedEx. Insure the rifle for at least $1,000.00, and request “Adult Signature Required.” If shipping USPS, please send to P.O. Box 182, LaFayette, NY 13084. If shipping UPS/FedEx, please send to Hart Rifle Barrels, Inc., 1690 Apulia Road, LaFayette, NY 13084. Under current laws, the owner of a firearm is allowed to ship their firearm to an FFL for repairs, without going through any additional requirements. If you need a copy of our FFL, please call 1-315-677-9841. Please note: we only accept rebarreling work from the United States.

We prefer to contour your barrel to your specifications plus a few additional thousandths to allow for polishing the barrel. The barrel is final lapped, after it is contoured, to meet our guaranteed tolerance. Contouring a barrel after the hand lapping will cause the barrel to fall outside of our specifications, since contouring a blank increases the interior dimension. Most contours are included in our regular barrel price; some custom jobs that require additional programming time, such as barrel bands or counter-balance knobs, may incur additional cost.

We recommend using a brass brush with Hoppe’s #9 or Shooter’s Choice, as often as possible. In sighting-in a rifle or shooting benchrest groups, you should thoroughly brush after every 10-20 shots, using a well-coated cleaning rod and rod guide. Always leave cleaner in bore after you are through shooting for the day. This will dissolve copper fouling left in the barrel. The barrel should then be thoroughly dried out before further shooting.

Warning: Do not clean with stainless steel brushes or use abrasive cleaners in the barrel.

If Sweet’s is used, DO NOT leave in barrel for more than 5 minutes. DO NOT mix Sweet’s with any other cleaner.

Sometimes—if you want the throat longer than what our reamer is setup for. For special jobs, you would have to buy the reamer for your project.

Yes, we can import/export foreign orders, except for rebarreling. For more information, please call 1-315-677-9841.

You should avoid abrasive cleaners of any kind in your barrel. If used improperly, they may damage your barrel and reduce its life-expectancy.