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 Will FN sell me a spare barrel for my SPR A1?
m1garand__man  [Member]
3/9/2012 12:02:42 AM
I would love to have a spare factory barrel for my SPR A1 so that I have one 20 or so years down the road for when my current one wears out. Will FN sell me one?
Homeinvader  [Team Member]
3/9/2012 12:41:13 PM
I don't think they would sell you a part that is not user serviceable.

You'd need a barrel vice, action wrench, chamber reamer and headspace gauges in order to change barrels out.
m1garand__man  [Member]
3/11/2012 1:19:36 AM
Originally Posted By Homeinvader:
I don't think they would sell you a part that is not user serviceable.

You'd need a barrel vice, action wrench, chamber reamer and headspace gauges in order to change barrels out.


Well I'm not worried about needing all the tools to do the barrel swap as I would take it to a gunsmith to do that. Some tools are too expensive to justify purchase for a one time use. As far as a chamber reamer goes I'm not sure how one would head space one of these barrels if it needed to be done since they are chrome lined and it is a very bad idea to break the chrome to bore seal on a barrel.
Homeinvader  [Team Member]
3/12/2012 6:56:28 PM
Originally Posted By m1garand__man:
Originally Posted By Homeinvader:
I don't think they would sell you a part that is not user serviceable.

You'd need a barrel vice, action wrench, chamber reamer and headspace gauges in order to change barrels out.


Well I'm not worried about needing all the tools to do the barrel swap as I would take it to a gunsmith to do that. Some tools are too expensive to justify purchase for a one time use. As far as a chamber reamer goes I'm not sure how one would head space one of these barrels if it needed to be done since they are chrome lined and it is a very bad idea to break the chrome to bore seal on a barrel.


If your barrel s chrome lined, then you are correct. And this means you have a chrome-moly barrel. A chrome-moly, chrome lined barrel is decidedly lesser, econo-grade for a precision bolt-action rifle. If you ever need or want to replace the existing barrel, then you are far better served by getting a stainless steel aftermarket barrel from any of several markers: Krieger, Obermeyer, Lilja, etc. Far better barrel for the same or less money than what FN would charge for a factory replacement barrel.
BiggerStick47  [Team Member]
3/12/2012 7:06:32 PM
Originally Posted By Homeinvader:
Originally Posted By m1garand__man:
Originally Posted By Homeinvader:
I don't think they would sell you a part that is not user serviceable.

You'd need a barrel vice, action wrench, chamber reamer and headspace gauges in order to change barrels out.


Well I'm not worried about needing all the tools to do the barrel swap as I would take it to a gunsmith to do that. Some tools are too expensive to justify purchase for a one time use. As far as a chamber reamer goes I'm not sure how one would head space one of these barrels if it needed to be done since they are chrome lined and it is a very bad idea to break the chrome to bore seal on a barrel.


If your barrel s chrome lined, then you are correct. And this means you have a chrome-moly barrel. A chrome-moly, chrome lined barrel is decidedly lesser, econo-grade for a precision bolt-action rifle. If you ever need or want to replace the existing barrel, then you are far better served by getting a stainless steel aftermarket barrel from any of several markers: Krieger, Obermeyer, Lilja, etc. Far better barrel for the same or less money than what FN would charge for a factory replacement barrel.


I disagree, I have had 3 SPRs and all would hold 1/2 moa with a good shooter and ammo. FN CL barrels are NOT econ grade in any way, shape or form.
Homeinvader  [Team Member]
3/12/2012 7:19:51 PM
Originally Posted By BiggerStick47:
Originally Posted By Homeinvader:
Originally Posted By m1garand__man:
Originally Posted By Homeinvader:
I don't think they would sell you a part that is not user serviceable.

You'd need a barrel vice, action wrench, chamber reamer and headspace gauges in order to change barrels out.


Well I'm not worried about needing all the tools to do the barrel swap as I would take it to a gunsmith to do that. Some tools are too expensive to justify purchase for a one time use. As far as a chamber reamer goes I'm not sure how one would head space one of these barrels if it needed to be done since they are chrome lined and it is a very bad idea to break the chrome to bore seal on a barrel.


If your barrel s chrome lined, then you are correct. And this means you have a chrome-moly barrel. A chrome-moly, chrome lined barrel is decidedly lesser, econo-grade for a precision bolt-action rifle. If you ever need or want to replace the existing barrel, then you are far better served by getting a stainless steel aftermarket barrel from any of several markers: Krieger, Obermeyer, Lilja, etc. Far better barrel for the same or less money than what FN would charge for a factory replacement barrel.


I disagree, I have had 3 SPRs and all would hold 1/2 moa with a good shooter and ammo. FN CL barrels are NOT econ grade in any way, shape or form.


Not specifically FN, but CM in general is not as accurate as stainless, all other things being equal. Add CL to the mix and you are drifting even further away. The benefits of CM -and CM CL- are clear, but not on a precision bolt action rifle. Metallurgically speaking, there's a reason the two co-exist.

You may have yourself a 1/4 MOA rifle with a good stainless barrel. The chrome lining is detracting from the accuracy potential of the rifle while providing almost no benefit in this application.

ETA: While there are fine examples of CM precision barrels, I'm also speaking to the likely cost of buying a factory CM barrel direct from FN. These will be far more expensive than even a CM barrel from Krieger.
BiggerStick47  [Team Member]
3/12/2012 7:25:25 PM
Again, I have had THREE 1/2 moa FNs with CL barrels.You can opine all day that they "could have been" 1/4 moa guns, but that doesn't make them "econo grade" as you put it.

FN barrels are not the most accurate barrels available, but they do offer excellent accuracy with incredible barrel life. 1/4 moa rifles are neat and all, but most people can't shoot that well on a good day.
Combat_Jack  [Team Member]
3/12/2012 7:41:55 PM
Last I heard they advertised free replacements installed at their factory when you burned one out after ten thousand rounds.
BiggerStick47  [Team Member]
3/12/2012 7:54:45 PM
Originally Posted By Combat_Jack:
Last I heard they advertised free replacements installed at their factory when you burned one out after ten thousand rounds.


Link?
Homeinvader  [Team Member]
3/12/2012 7:56:26 PM
Originally Posted By BiggerStick47:
Originally Posted By Combat_Jack:
Last I heard they advertised free replacements installed at their factory when you burned one out after ten thousand rounds.


Link?


I just noticed the 10,000 rounds part. How do they measure that I wonder?
BiggerStick47  [Team Member]
3/12/2012 8:08:07 PM
Originally Posted By Homeinvader:
Originally Posted By BiggerStick47:
Originally Posted By Combat_Jack:
Last I heard they advertised free replacements installed at their factory when you burned one out after ten thousand rounds.


Link?


I just noticed the 10,000 rounds part. How do they measure that I wonder?


"I heard" is Combat_Jack's favorite term. Take it with a grain of salt.
Combat_Jack  [Team Member]
3/13/2012 12:31:16 AM
As in, the rumors going around, feel free to call FN.
BiggerStick47  [Team Member]
3/13/2012 12:34:35 AM
Originally Posted By Combat_Jack:
As in, the rumors going around, feel free to call FN.


As in "I really have no idea but needed to boost my post count. Feel free to ask someone who actually knows".

Combat_Jack  [Team Member]
3/13/2012 12:47:13 AM
Email sent to FN.
m1garand__man  [Member]
3/13/2012 1:13:54 AM
I do know about the 10k round count claim. My rifle only has about 600 rounds through it and I have gotten .52 moa 3 shot groups with it at 300 yards using the cheapest federal 308 150gr soft point loads you can get at Wal-Mart. I found this out testing them before a successful deer season with the rifle two years ago with the same load. I feel that this is more of a testament to how far mass produced cheap ammo has come.