With 35 years experience behind us, and fully aware of the high standards of accuracy required of our customers ( who all seek to put five shots through the same hole down range ), there is no room for error. Make no mistake about it, these are custom barrels, of the finest quality available anywhere.
The first step is to bore and rifle the barrel. We have chosen to offer both button, and broach cut rifling. This allows us two grades of barrels to offer our customers. Buttoning is a process that creates the rifling by displacing the metal in the bore. The broach-cutting process is just what the name implies- the rifling, or grooves, are created by actually cutting and removing the metal in the bore.
We do not lap our barrels. We do not engage in this practice for several reasons. First and foremost, lapping microscopically erodes the bore of the rifle. Essentially you are prematurely wearing out the barrel. Our barrel bores are cut to the tightest of tolerances to allow you the best accuracy right out of the box. Another reason is that lapping reduces the surface tension of the barrel steel within the bore itself. This is one of the biggest contributing factors in barrel wear. If the surface tension of the steel is weakened, the barrel is prone to premature wear, as well as infiltration of the caustic particulates ( carbon, lead deposits, cleaning solvents, etc.) which can cause corrosion. Most of all, lapping does little or nothing to increase the inherent accuracy of the barrel. Now, don't get me wrong, many people practice barrel lapping, and you may want to do this yourself, but because of the downsides of this practice, we have left that decision up to you.
Chrome lining is also an industry practice that, admittedly, increases barrel life. However, because chrome lining is still mostly a guessing game as far as uniformity of application is concerned, it is very difficult to insure consistent coating of the bore. The testing that we have done clearly shows that chrome-line barrels are consistently less accurate than those that are not chrome lined. Air gauge tests confirm the fact of inconsistent bore dimension in the chrome-lined barrels. Because this process has shown inconsistent accuracy, we do not chrome-line our barrels. We feel that the benefit of improved accuracy far outweighs the minor increase in barrel life. Just ask yourself, would you rather have a barrel than can easily give you ½ to ¼ MOA accuracy, or a barrel that may give you a thousand rounds longer life?
We are the only company in the U.S. to truly broach cut a .224 caliber rifle length barrels. All of our Ultramatch® barrels are broach cut. They are then air gauged to insure that only the best barrels make the Ultramatch® grade. There are other companies which single point cut barrels, but this is not a true broach-cutting process where all the surfaces are cut at the same time. Please be careful to get all the information about the barrel you intend to purchase, before you buy it. Our high tech broach cutting process allows us to cut all four lands and grooves simultaneously, thereby ensuring that the tolerances throughout the bore are as consistent as possible. When you only cut one groove at a time, it allows room for error, or possible inconsistencies in the tolerances between the grove diameters. Don't settle for anything less than the real thing.
Are our barrels guaranteed? You'd better believe it! Not only are our barrels covered by the standard Olympic Arms Warranty (that all of our products are warranted against all manufacturers defects for the lifetime of the item to the original owner), but it goes far beyond that. Since there are so many variables in the world of precision shooting, its hard to guarantee accuracy, So we do the best that can be done. Our guarantee to you is; If you are dissatisfied with the accuracy or performance of any or our barrels for any reason, we will replace the barrel, or refund your money. Your choice! Its that simple.
I could go on and on about barrels. There are a lot of aftermarket processes that can be performed to help increase a rifles accuracy. You will find some work, and some are nothing more than fads. The bottom line is this- if you start with the best barrel, you will finish with the best rifle!
If you have any questions or comments about out barrels, or any of our products, please feel free to email at any time. We are always here to help. Remember, we work for you.