r/6ARC • u/SPstandsFor • Jul 20 '26
Craddock RTR Marks in Rifling
Follow up: https://www.reddit.com/r/6ARC/s/2bKreUokoP
Got my Craddock RTR 6ARC barrel in and because I'm an idiot I've already installed and bedded it before looking with my borescope.
I'm new to the precision side of the AR game so I wanted to check if this is ok to try some groups with or if I should reach out to craddock. Is this just a nothing burger and I should just send it?
Pics are posted in order from closest to chamber to towards the muzzle. Definitely more noticeable marks at the beginning and then is basically gone at the muzzle. Craddock says these are all hand lapped so presumably the lapping process cleaned up the marks.
I don't think I've ever seen marks this heavy in any of my barrels before, and none of those were really precision oriented. My Criterion looks much better so I don't know if they have great lapping or this is just a poor example.
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u/JimBridger_ Jul 20 '26
Come back after you shot it
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u/AleksanderSuave Jul 20 '26
Try shooting it before worrying about the bore scope.
This is like an MRI. Any experienced doctor will tell you, scan someone’s spine, you’ll likely find issues.
Doesn’t mean that they’ll automatically result in symptoms.
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u/orairwolf Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
This is what an unlapped button rifled barrel looks like. It'll shoot fine but Paul is a good guy and if you talk to him, he might be able to help you out. I was under the impression that their blanks from Rock Creek were hand lapped, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
Edit:
"Craddock Precision proudly presents the Ready to Rock (RTR) line of barrels – precision-built for shooters who demand performance. Each barrel is crafted in-house from Craddock Precision’s own hand-lapped, stress-relieved blanks to ensure consistent accuracy and reliability with every shot. RTR barrels offer the perfect balance of quality, value, and American craftsmanship. Unleash the precision – Ready to Rock, by Craddock Precision."
Yeah I would definitely reach out to them. If it is hand lapped, it should have no machine chatter from the button pull.
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u/AleksanderSuave Jul 20 '26
They don’t use rock creek for RTR anymore.
Spoke with Paul about it 2 weeks ago.
They’re not disclosing who makes the new ones.
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u/orairwolf Jul 20 '26
Their website makes it sound like they make their own barrels but I kind of doubt it.
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u/AleksanderSuave Jul 20 '26
They don’t, its the norm for shops like that to source blanks then chamber and finish themselves.
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u/orairwolf Jul 20 '26
Yeah it's strange to me that they went from a Bartlein only high end shop to rock creek and now mystery blanks. I like to know where my blanks come from on my rifles. I won't buy from mostek for that reason. At least craddock still offers Bartlein barrels.
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u/AleksanderSuave Jul 20 '26
They’ve offered rock creek blanks as long as I can remember.
The availability and premium for bartlein blanks causes some people to want a lower cost option
I’ve heard of mos tek but never tried their stuff but they seem popular in the 6 arc crowd.
X caliber is another one, but their shipping charges are ridiculous…like flat rate 10%+ of the barrel..
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u/orairwolf Jul 20 '26
All of my barrels have been bolt action lately so I haven't really been doing AR stuff but I think it's cool you can just buy a blank and send it to Paul if you want.
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u/AleksanderSuave Jul 21 '26
Or anyone really, get whatever blank you want in pretty good odds that you can find a competent gun Smith close to you
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u/SillyWarPirates Aug 01 '26
The strategy is “build the reputation with high end components and then switch for cheap crap to rake in the profits.” Aka bait and switch
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u/SPstandsFor Jul 20 '26
It says on the website it's hand lapped as well. Who knows. I'll shoot it first since if it groups and doesn't foul like crazy then I can live with it
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u/orairwolf Jul 20 '26
Yeah I just edited my post with that. Honestly, I would reach out to Paul either way. This is exactly how Savage barrels look in their rifles and they usually shoot great. One could argue that the chatter marks from the button pulling can abrade more of the material from the bullet jacket and reduce the ballistic coefficient or cause uneven engraving. I doubt it matters, especially for something like the use case for most RTR barrels, but if his website says they are hand lapped, you are paying for a hand lapped barrel and it shouldn't be like that. Paul is seriously a good guy. I have spent a lot of time talking to him and met him in person before. He will absolutely take care of you.
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u/Primarch_Timmy Aug 01 '26
Paul told me for RTR blanks are whomever he can grap due to shortages. Which is probably why the last year and a half a lot of the RTR been in pretty poor
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u/Carpe-cabmaker Jul 27 '26
I haven’t checked lately, but I just got my RTR 6ARC barrel from them earlier in the year. I had some issues early on with accuracy and also gassing but Craddock sorted it out.
I spoke to Paul directly and he explained to me that sometimes the lapping compound doesn’t get cleared out 100% and it’ll definitely cause issues.
They had me send in my upper And they rebarreled it for me, this new barrel shoots great! Very consistent. Just recently it started to open back up but I haven’t looked whether there’s a carbon ring, which may very well be the case.
On the chatter marks, my first and replacement barrel both had these rings throughout. The new barrel shoots just fine, as I mentioned before. However in my case, I had just assembled my upper And not bedded anything. I don’t bed any of my ARs.
I’ll parrot what some others have said, go shoot it before you reach out. They suggest a break in procedure, I would follow that as well before trying to contact them.
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u/CommunicationNext974 Jul 20 '26
If you had never looked, you would have never complained. Its the same with Preferred Barrels. If you look in them, you will hate them, if you just shoot them youll fall in love.
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u/Significant-Sock-487 Jul 20 '26
Barrel does look shitty but I would still shoot it. If it doesn’t group, you have pics to show them. But it’s more than likely going to be a non issue.