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TRUE-FLITE  

PRECISION STAINLESS STEEL RIFLE BARRELS

* Micro-Honed   * Double Stress-Relieved   * Hand-Lapped

Total Dedication to Quality and Customer Satisfaction.

True-Flite rifle barrels are manufactured with custom-built machinery designed to produce the most consistently high quality product possible. Our gundrills, bore reamers and rifling buttons are made in the U.S.A. by companies acknowledged as the best in the business. Combined with our own system of micro- honing, this technology results in extremely straight, round bores and the very smooth finish you will see when you inspect our barrels. All True-Flite rifle barrels are stress-relieved prior to commencement of machining operations and again before final contouring, to ensure dimensional integrity.

Barrel Steel

We almost exclusively use U.S.A.-made special low-sulfur 416 Rifle Barrel Quality Stainless Steel (416R) in the manufacture of True-Flite rifle barrels. 416R machines rather well, allowing superior surface finish and uniform dimensions with the added bonus of reasonable tool life. The 12 ½% Chrome and Nickel content of our 416R improves resistance to gas erosion and corrosion thereby extending working life over traditional carbon steels such as 4140, however we do not recommend the use of  416R as a rifle barrel steel with a combination of light contour barrel, high-pressure cartridge and very low atmospheric temperatures.

Rifling Process

True-Flite rifle barrels are rifled by the pull-button method. This basically involves pulling a Titanium Nitride coated carbide rifling button through the drilled, reamed and honed blank, assisted by our own special formula of extreme-pressure lubricant. During the rifling process the blank is turned at exactly the same rotation rate as the rifling twist to ensure a high rate of twist integrity. The end result of this process is a rifled blank with smooth working surfaces and an extremely consistent twist rate. Independent tests by Photronics Electronic Rifling Twist Measurement System (Ca.) revealed an Ultra-Match twist consistency of less than half of one percent variation using the True-Flite rifling system.

AUSTRALIA:  2002/2003 has been a winning season for Paul Salamon and True-Flite: 2002 National Queen’s, NSW Queen’s, SARA Grand Agg. and 2003 Tasmanian Queen’s. What’s next?

TiN-Coated Rifling

Ultra-Match defined…..

Right from our start back in September 1995 we wanted to make the best quality long-range target barrels

that shooters could obtain on the planet. Through a combination of experience and willingness to experiment we believe we can now offer such a barrel. Our Ultra-Match (UM) barrels are increasingly successful in international competition particularly in the long range disciplines of Palma, Match Rifle and our favorite, F-Class. Ultra-Match means absolute attention to quality control by application of the best tools, machines and processes to the best quality material. Our agents and gunsmiths are selected to provide advice and services which will match our commitment to Ultra-Match standards.

Ultra-Match Processes.

We believe that a true Match-Grade barrel starts with a dead straight stress free blank.. All blanks are cut to length, stress-relieved and turned parallel to 0.001” or less over their length and less than 0.0005”  ovality.

This attention to straightness and concentricity adds up to our primary requirement of a straight hole after drilling and reaming to bore size.

Honing….the difference!

All UM barrels are triple-honed after bore reaming. Early in our barrelmaking production we decided that only honing could deliver the standard we sought for bore quality and finish. Existing honing systems were hugely expensive and unsatisfactory for the extra-long holes of barrelmaking, hence we designed our own constant-pressure long hole honing system which has proved highly successful.

Honing qualifies  the reamed hole and most importantly, we believe, equalizes the surface finish of the bore to allow an absolutely even friction level with the passage of the rifling button. The success of this process is borne out by the excellent finish, twist integrity and accuracy of our Ultra-Match barrels. Our super-fine honed finish requires minimal final lapping and ensures rapid barrel break-in.

New Developments.

NEW CALIBRES AND TWISTS.

7mm x 1-8” twist;  introduced during 2002 to cater for the growing 7mm 1000-yard target/ long-range hunting fraternities. Feed-back indicates extremely high accuracy levels from 7mm Rem Mag and 7mm WSM, particularly with Hornady’s excellent high-BC 162 grain A-Max, which co-incidentally has proven to be an excellent game bullet as well as a top choice for long-range paper groups. Obviously a great all-rounder.

.30 cal x 1-8” twist;  September 2003 was the debut for this new combination, which although spot-on for the big capacity/high BC 1000 yard cannons, was actually introduced for the absolute opposite concept; low-capacity subsonic suppressed (silenced ) cartridges such as .30 Whisper and 7.62 x 39, lobbing x-heavy bullets at the 1050 fps mark. We should point out to our overseas customers that suppressors are entirely legal for any licensed firearm owner in New Zealand.

.338 cal x 1-9” twist;  Every other custom barrelmaker seems to offer 1-10” twist in this calibre, however we decided that the optimum application for .338 calibre was ultra long-range business with the 338 Lapua Magnum.  Really, why bother with anything else? And the only bullet worth considering for the 338 L.M. is the 300gr Sierra and there’s absolutely no point in using these at short ranges, hence the 1-9” twist. Preliminary test groups at 100 yards have been “one-holers” so we’re putting our money on superb all-range accuracy with this one.

SMALLBORE.

We have succumbed to pressure from our agents and introduced Ultra-Match .22 Smallbore barrels, at this stage in 8-groove 1-16” twist only. These will be available made from either 416R stainless steel or 4150X “chrome-moly” steel for those customers who want a barrel that can be blued to match an existing finish.

Price for either steel type will be the same and the same high production standards apply to these barrels as all Ultra-Match series.

.50 Cal (for .50BMG).

Now available on special order only in 8-groove 1-15” twist, up to 34” long for the ultimate long-range target fanatic. At this stage only available in special heat-treated 4150X steel with Ultra-Match honed and lapped quality. Due to the special machine setup required to make these barrels a delivery delay may apply however we assure you that the wait will be worthwhile

The mighty .50 Cal. BMG (top) with its military buddy 7.62 x 51 (a.k.a. 308 Win)

LONG BARRELS AND SHORT TWISTS…..

We can make Ultra-Match barrels in longer contours for shooters involved in the “way out there” target disciplines. Examples are shown in the tables which follow, along with our wide selection of twist rates.

A typical combination might be our new 7mm 1-8” twist barrel which can be supplied up to 32” long, or perhaps a 34” .30 caliber in 1-10” twist, or a combination which is really going well for our F-class customers;  32 inches of 6.5/284Win in 1-8” twist. Another really “hot” combo at the moment is our 32” .30 cal in either 1-10” or 1-12” twist, Special Match contour (really a 2.50kg Heavy Palma contour) which can be used for Palma, Match rifle, F-Class or 1,000-yard Benchrest!

How to order your True-Flite barrel….

True-Flite rifle barrels are sold only through our appointed agents listed below. Custom contours and lengths are no problem but may involve a slight delay in delivery; your agent will readily advise on this.

Calibers, twist rates and lengths are listed below however we are constantly adding to our selection so if we don’t list what you want, PLEASE ASK.. Copying contours may incur a small machine set-up charge.

Please note that we also offer Premium Grade barrels in most common caliber and twist combinations

TEAM BATCHING.

This is a NO EXTRA CHARGE service for  teams who want the ultimate in ‘coach-friendly” batches of barrels e.g. Palma teams. We make Team Batch barrels from the same lot of barrel steel which is Rockwell hardness tested for consistency  then processed using identical tools, methods and quality control. Minimum order is six barrels.

QUALITY STATEMENT.

We operate a  custom barrelmaking shop which focuses on innovation and quality. We have absolutely no interest in producing rifle barrels of inferior quality and low desirability. At the end of the day, making quality rifle barrels is a matter of personal judgment and integrity and no shooter will ever receive a True Flite rifle barrel that we would not be proud to use ourselves.  

1 1/2% of True-Flite sales are donated as prizes to promote the shooting sports.

True-Flite Barrels are available from MT Guns

Click here to contact MT Guns, Inc.

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Last modified: July 01, 2008

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