What is everyone's opinion of Hammer Forged Barrels? Are they worth the premium that people seem to ask for them? I didn't want to hijack the BCM sale thread but I was looking and it looks like they're asking a premium for hammer forged barrels (as are other makers). I can understand the cost being higher for the added equipment investment, but I'm curious if anyone thinks they are actually worth the added expense?

 

Thanks, Jeff

No! Cut, button, hammer forged, in that order.

Thanks GreyDaddy, I appreciate the feedback. You seem to feel pretty strongly about the whole thing, any particular reasons why, or just personal preference? Anyone else want to weigh in?

 

Thanks again.

I've admittedly not done a whole lot of research on cold hammer forged barrels, so take this with a grain of salt, but, my general understanding is that hammer forged barrels have a longer service life and some people think they're a bit more accurate. I have no experience with them, so can't say one way or another, but, realistically, the chances of you shooting out a non-hammer forged barrel are pretty slim unless you're doing 15k+ rounds a year, and even then it would take a few years.

 

I think the higher price is in part do to the process of hammer forging being more expensive and part because it's one of the new hot things right now. I personally wouldn't go out of my way to find a cold hammer forged barrel, but I wouldn't automatically discount one just because it's 70-80 bux more. Just MHO.

I haven't actually done any comparison testing myself, so I'm going by written testimony. It may be because of the high cost of equipment needed to produce a hammer forged barrel, but the better barrel makers use cut, button or broach rifled barrels. Cut stresses the metal the least. The hammer forged barrels are used in mass production, but that's not to say they couldn't or wouldn't be accurate. JMO.