Practical notes on rifle barrel life, precision gunsmithing, and when to rebarrel. From the RPA Defence rebarreling workshop in Warwickshire.
Flip locks are cams, twist locks are threads, and each fails differently. What actually breaks, what over-torquing does, and which lock suits sand, cold and gloves.
Standing eye height minus the rifle drop is your platform height. The sizing arithmetic, the cube-law problem with centre columns, and the two measurements to take before you buy.
The head is the softest joint in the stack, not the legs. How ball heads drift under lock, why a balanced gimbal removes that error, and a checklist that finds the play in five minutes.
Offset torque, loading pressure and recoil shock eat headroom fast. Why a 10 kg rating is not enough for a 7 kg rifle, and the double-the-load rule that keeps the platform honest.
Rod choice, bore guides, solvent discipline and crown inspection. The three ways cleaning damages precision barrels, and the cadence that leaves them alone.
Load ratings are ceilings not working figures, drag adjustment is the feature that matters, and the QR plate is where hidden wobble lives. Field tests that prove a head before you trust it.
Why suppressor point-of-impact shift is usually a threading problem: concentricity, shoulder squaring, thread timing, and the tolerances that keep a can running true.
What standard deviation and extreme spread really mean, what numbers are good on a chrono string, and why an ES of 40 fps is a four-inch window at distance.
Loading the legs, damping resonance, rear bag work in the saddle, and the drills that prove your position before you trust it on a shot.
What headspace measures, why a few thousandths change brass life and accuracy, and why a rebarrel should always be chambered tight to the go gauge.
What cold-bore shift actually is, how to measure it over three mornings, and what a worn throat or a fresh rebarrel changes about first-round accuracy.
Sporter, Palma or heavy varmint: what contour actually changes for stiffness, heat strings and point-of-impact consistency, and the honest truth about fluting.
The fouling science behind barrel break-in, the two defensible procedures, and when you can skip the ritual entirely.
Round count data by cartridge, what throat erosion actually is, how to tell when a barrel is shot out, and when to book a rebarrel before accuracy drops off a cliff.
The real differences in accuracy, fouling, throat erosion, and barrel life between carbon and stainless steel rifle barrels, and which material to choose for your next rebarrel.
6 October 2026
How to set tripod height from your natural eye line, why the centre column is the enemy, and what changes between the prone and standing positions.
9 August 2026
Practical barrel life data by cartridge, what throat erosion actually is, how to tell when a barrel is shot out, and when to book a rebarrel before accuracy drops off a cliff.
7 August 2026
Carbon steel and stainless steel rifle barrels are not interchangeable. This guide covers the real differences in accuracy, fouling, throat erosion, and barrel life.