The folks at PROOF Research have a good thing going. Their barrels are some of the most accurate you can get for everything from a Ruger 10/22 to a Remington 700. The way they make their carbon fiber-wrapped barrels improves accuracy, reduces point of impact shift, and dissipates heat quicker than anything else out there. Not content with staying in the bolt action and direct blowback world, PROOF has just released an interesting new system designed to allow semi-auto AR-10 shooters to enjoy the same benefits as their slower-firing brethren.
According to the presser below, it sunds like not only are they producing semi-auto barrels but they’ve re-located the gas port to make cycling the action more reliable and easier on some of the newer .308 Winchester-based loadings such as .260 and 6.5 Creedmoor. The barrels come with the appropriate gas system from the factory for easy installation.
With the release of its new patent-pending Caliber Matched Gas System (CAMGAS) barrels, PROOF Research has eliminated the issues traditionally associated with building 6.5mm and .260 rifles on 308AR/AR-10 platforms. Until now, AR-variant shooters looking for ballistic advantages from either of these calibers were faced with excessive bore pressures that necessitated makeshift solutions such as clipping buffer springs, adjusting buffer weights, and/or relying on adjustable gas blocks, to keep their rifles functioning properly.proof-camgas-logo
PROOF’s R&D team has solved the overpressure issue with gas systems tuned specifically to the cartridge/barrel-length combination. “By moving the gas port, the pressure in the bore is given time to reduce to that comparable of a .308 Winchester with a rifle-length gas system, which is what the 308AR/AR-10 system was designed around,” said Greg Hamilton, PROOF’s research-and-development weapons specialist who’s also a 3-Gun and PRS competitive shooter. “The recoil impulse is noticeably smoother, which helps keep you on target while taking advantage of a more efficient projectile. Case extraction is also easier, with less case-head smearing, so the brass is in much better condition for reloading.”
In recent years, 6.5mm Creedmoor and .260 Remington have become increasingly popular in long-range shooting competitions. The .260 in particular represents an outstanding caliber for a military counter-sniper role—out to roughly 1,000 meters—in smaller- to mid-sized weapon systems. It offers exceptional accuracy and superior ballistics over the ubiquitous .308 while dishing out substantially less recoil and enough energy to make it a legitimate contender for military and law enforcement applications.
Proof Carbon Fiber Barrel“I’ve been using prototype CAMGAS barrels, in both .260 and 6.5 Creedmoor, in competition for almost a year with excellent results,” Hamilton explained. “Both rifles ran flawlessly through high-round, fast-cadence stages, firing hundreds of rounds with 100 percent reliability and zero maintenance or cleaning. From recoil to reliability, every aspect of performance was improved compared to the typical un-tuned barrel.”
PROOF Research currently offers Caliber Matched Gas System barrels chambered for 6.5mm Creedmoor and .260 Remington in three separate lengths: 20, 22, and 24 inches (See more here http://tinyurl.com/jlshxd5). Every CAMGAS barrel comes standard with an easy to install custom-length gas tube.
The barrels sound great but the $940 price tag is out of my league. (Champagne tastes, beer budget.)
Ohhhh yeaaahhh.
Ewok chant on 3, 2, 1,
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM . . .MWAHHHH
I thought they already made them? Seems like BP Outfitters, Tulsa, OK http://bpoutfitters.net/ have been talking about them (~ maybe only about them going to happen???) for a while.
As those are carbon-wrapped, do they have a rate-of-fire limitation?
I can imagine what might happen to that carbon fiber after someone bump-fires 30 rounds in 3 seconds or so through it.
Bubbling, de-laminating, etc…
I would wager that the overlap between the bump fire crowd and the customer base for this product is fairly limited.
Bump fire and accuracy don’t really go together.
Rumor has it there is a group that hangs out at Dam Neck that rather like their products.
Proof Research is the only carbon fiber barrel approved by DoD as of a few months ago, maybe Christian Arms has been approved. They are the only 2 that I know of making CF barrels.
I have an adjustable gas system AR-10 from Armalite (it feels amazingly nice imo). Couldn’t I just swap barrels from 308 to 243, 260, or whatever and adjust the stock gas system accordingly?
If they developed a sub moa barrel for my tavor even at $999 I would still buy it especially if it can reduce the weight of my rifle by at least 0.5 lbs. Well one can dream I guess. Or maybe develop sub-moa barrels for the MDR when it comes to market in 2099 but we hope for a quicker release.
P.S. Desert tech I have a lot of love for your company but the wait for the mdr is a little much but if you deliver sub-moa accuracy, 7.62×39 ak reliability, and a softer recoil and flatter shooting impulse than that of a kel-tec RDB. I will publicly apologize and send you an amazing thank you letter.
“Carbon fiber wrapped…”
Ahh, so it’s stuff I can’t afford. That explains my initial confusion.
For the price of one of these carbon-fibre wrapped barrels, I could have two Bartlein or Krieger stainless steel barrels – the sorts of single-point-cut barrels that have a long track record for pulling high scores in benchrest and F-class competition.
If you’re shooting lots of rounds in an overbored cartridge (such as the 6.5’s), you’re going to need a new barrel after a few thousand rounds – especially with these carbon fiber wrapped lovelies where you won’t have much material forward of the existing tenon with which to set the barrel back.
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