• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The Loadout Room

The Loadout Room

Professional Gear Reviews

Hardcore Gear and Adventure

Menu
  • Shooting
        • Pistol
        • Pistol Accessories
        • Rifle
        • Rifle Accessories
        • Shotgun
        • Machine Guns
        • Air Guns
        • Ammunition
        • Optics and Sights
        • Weapon Lights
        • Tips & How-To
        • Concealed Carry
        • Holsters
        • Suppressors
        • Precision Rifle Shooting
        • Firearms Training
        • m243The M24: America’s Headhunter
        • skorpFull-Auto Fun — Shooting the full-Auto vz. 61 Škorpion
        • p320-full-leftSIG Sauer M17/M18/P320 Pistol Just Can’t Seem to Escape Safety Controversies
        • TISAS_10100520_1__98179Tisas 1911A1 U.S. Army Review: Best Budget .45 ACP WW2 1911 Clone?
    • Close
  • Gear Reviews
      • Mission Gear
      • Camping Gear
      • Survival Gear
      • Medical Gear
      • Adventure & Travel
      • Knives & Tools
      • Overland
      • Disaster Preparedness
      • Footwear
      • Womens Gear & Clothing
        • Hunting in TexasThese 5 ATV Dealers Will Get You Ready For Hunting Season in Texas
        • ac65a540-2ef3-4598-8d11-afdf53f46e94.__CR0,0,970,600_PT0_SX970_V1___Streamlight ProTac Rail Mount HL-X: A Thoroughly Bright Review
        • Bluetti 2 handsfree power backpackBluetti Handsfree 2 Review: The Ultimate Power Backpack for Off-Grid Adventurers
        • The Gallagator 10 day pack on the shoreline next to a hiking trail.Day Pack – Mystery Ranch Gallagator 10 – The Best Yet?
    • Close
  • Men’s Lifestyle
      • Fitness
      • EDC
      • Eyewear
      • Watches
      • Electronics & Technology
      • Downtime
      • Mens Clothing & Accessories
      • Manly Skills
      • Style & Grooming
      • Gentleman Drinks
      • Crate Club
        • Tom and Blake Sell TeaHow Sasquatch Tea Is Revitalizing a Stagnant Tea Market With Veterans and Outdoorsmen in Mind
        • redcat-blackwidow-articleheaderWar of Words: In the Ultra-Competitive Defense Tech Industry, Storytelling is a Secret Weapon
        • Photoroom_20250525_074933Juggernaut Tactical Frame Review: The Best Upgrade for Your 365
        • craft holstersCraft Holsters Makarov Tuckable IWB Holster Report
    • Close
  • News
  • Video Demo
  • Buying Guides
  • Shop
  • Advertise
Rifle

PROOF Research: Possibly the Best Rifle Barrel Ever Made

May 31, 2015 by Mark Miller 3 Comments

PROOF Research: Possibly the Best Rifle Barrel Ever Made

PROOF Research makes carbon fiber-wrapped rifle barrels. The obvious attraction is that they are much lighter than steel barrels. Dig a little deeper and it turns out they have better accuracy and increased barrel life. Possibly one day soon, every factory precision rifle is going to have a PROOF barrel.

What makes these barrels so special?  Well, PROOF says:

  • They are up to 64% lighter than steel barrels
  • Have Match-grade accuracy
  • Improved heat dissipation for cooler and longer lasting barrels
  • No point-of-impact shift during high-volume fire
  • Reduced harmonic barrel vibration
  • Unprecedented durability

How can that possibly be true?

PROOF Research is an American company on the leading edge of several technologies. The Montana firearms facility produces composite barrels, stocks, and complete rifles. The Ohio aerospace division works on high-temperature aerospace and defense projects – including the F-35 Strike Fighter and B2 Stealth Bomber. Their products include next-generation prepreg, resins, adhesives and composite materials with service temperatures up to 1500° F.

PROOF Research brings all this together to make a barrel no one else in the world can make. Their manufacturing process combines advanced composite materials and sophisticated thermo-mechanical design principles. They have solved the problems of heat resistance and durability with science producing barrels superior in every way to steel. They are also stiffer, creating greater accuracy potential.

PROOF Research: Possibly the Best Rifle Barrel Ever Made

The first cannon in history was used in 1282 in Manchuria. The barrel was made of iron. As the use of cannon later spread to Europe and the Americas, they were mostly made of bronze. Bronze is more expensive but it is more flexible than iron.  Iron cannon tended to blow up unexpectedly which made them less popular with artillerymen. The last major material improvement in barrel making was 1856, when Krupp A.G. in Germany produced a 9 cm rifled gun of cast steel. In the 21st century, we are overdue for new material development. The PROOF carbon fiber wrapped barrels are the next major barrel improvement, every bit as revolutionary as the adoption of steel.

PROOF Research: Possibly the Best Rifle Barrel Ever Made

PROOF’s claims have been documented and verified in competition. I want to be part of this great transformation myself. I decided that an AR in .308 would benefit most from the 64% weight savings. I got a PROOF Research 18 inch barrel with a 1 x 10 twist and rifle length gas system for reliability.  I took my new barrel to  Tridentis Tactical and asked them to build one of their match-grade ARs around this barrel. It will include their new muzzle break, new .308 rail system and patent pending revolutionary buffer technology.

PROOF Research: Possibly the Best Rifle Barrel Ever Made

Once I get my new gun back, it should look something like the picture above with a much cooler barrel. I am looking forward to checking the durability and heat dissipation.  Proof claims that  they get no point-of-impact shift during high-volume fire, that in itself is enough to justify the barrel.  Combined with reduced harmonic barrel vibration, this is going to be a great gun.
PROOF Research: Possibly the Best Rifle Barrel Ever MadeHow do they make these barrels?  They start with match grade 416R stainless steel barrel blanks that are made in-house and turn them down to reduced profile. This thin barrel is wrapped with high-strength, aerospace-grade carbon fibers impregnated with a high-thermal conductivity matrix resin using very sophisticated weaving techniques.

The aerospace-grade carbon fibers are 10 times stronger than the steel Krupp used in his barrels and has a specific stiffness nearly 6 times greater. The helical wrapping pattern dissipates the heat along the length of the barrel.  The bonding agent contains a high-thermal pitch fiber.

This construction  allows them to dissipate heat from the steel liner reducing the heat mirage effect which interferes with optics on heavy steel barrels. After assembly, the barrels are cured and hardened then ground to their final contour.

What you end up with is an aerospace-grade, high-fiber volume fraction composite barrel with less than 1% porosity. With the heat resistance and dissipation and the improved materials strength, Proof Research barrels are suitable for rugged environments, even military crew-served weapons.

PROOF Research’s match-grade carbon fiber barrels are stronger, lighter, as accurate as the finest precision steel barrels and will maintain their performance in the harshest conditions. Get your Proof Research Barrels HERE.

(Featured Image Courtesy: proofresearch.com)

Share This

About the Author

Mark Miller is a Green Beret who served in Afghanistan and a number of other live fire locations. He's a poet-warrior in the classic sense, a casual hero and a student of science.

See All Mark Miller Articles

More From The Loadout Room

Comments

Primary Sidebar

Most Read

  • Mossberg 930: the affordable 12 gauge auto-loader
    Mossberg 930: the affordable 12 gauge auto-loader
  • Mossberg Shockwave Versus Remington Tac 14
    Mossberg Shockwave Versus Remington Tac 14
  • SIG Sauer M17/M18/P320 Pistol Just Can't Seem to Escape Safety Controversies
    SIG Sauer M17/M18/P320 Pistol Just Can't Seem to Escape Safety Controversies
  • Breek Arms Sledgehammer: The AR-15 Charging Handle That Gas Can’t Touch
    Breek Arms Sledgehammer: The AR-15 Charging Handle That Gas Can’t Touch
  • War of Words: In the Ultra-Competitive Defense Tech Industry, Storytelling is a Secret Weapon
    War of Words: In the Ultra-Competitive Defense Tech Industry, Storytelling is a Secret Weapon

Find Us on Facebook

Recent Comments

  • Winston Smiths on Mossberg 930: the affordable 12 gauge auto-loader
  • Jared Mize on The Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife: A Commando Blade That Changed Special Forces Forever
  • GomeznSA on MAC-10: The Wild History of America’s Most Iconic (and Overrated) Submachine Gun

Latest From SOFREP

News

Evening Brief: US, Turkey Broker Truce as Syria Pulls Troops from Sweida; France Completes Military Withdrawal from Senegal

History

How CIA Predecessors Were Assessed and Selected

News

Texas Ends Taxpayer-Funded Gun Buybacks

History

Hitler’s Last Walther

Military Content Group

© Copyright 2025 Military Content Group · All Rights Reserved.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Advertisers
 

Loading Comments...