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Lothar Walther barrels?
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AbitNutz View Drop Down
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    Posted: July 19 2021 at 8:59pm
I've heard about the Criterion barrels but I wasn't aware that Lothar Walther were offering barrels for the No 4 MK1. Has anyone tried one or know anything about them? At $369.00 they sound reasonably riced unless there is a ton of work to do to them. 
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I’d buy one or two.  If they are actually available.  Seems to only require a chamber finish ream.  I sent them an inquiry.  
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Lothar Walther responded to my query.  That was fast!  

They said the barrels are short chambered, require finish reaming.  That’s it.  I’m going to order one. 

I also have a new Criterion barrel I’ve not installed yet.  

 
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Originally posted by britrifles britrifles wrote:

Lothar Walther responded to my query.  That was fast!  

They said the barrels are short chambered, require finish reaming.  That’s it.  I’m going to order one. 

I also have a new Criterion barrel I’ve not installed yet.  

 

I was shocked how fast they responded as well and that they said the barrels were in stock. The delivery time she said was 48 hours so I pulled the trigger on one, so to speak. I've never owned a Lothar-Walther barrel but it has to be better than to shot-out rusted tube I have on my No 4 now. 
Here are the specs off the web page. Nothing in super detail. It just says Chrome-moly for the steel. She confirmed it was short chambered, as you stated. 

Caliber:.303British
Twist:10"
Material:chrome-moly steel
Largest diameter [LD]:1.25"
Length :25.23"
Muzzle diameter [MuD]:.596"
Bore diameter:.303"
Groove diameter:.314"
Grooves:4
Weight:2.579 lbs
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I also ordered one.  Very fast service.  

I’m curious on what the width of the lands are.  I think the .314 groove depth works on Enfield rifling because the lands and grooves are equal width.  Narrow lands would give a larger mean diameter of bore and groove.
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 Good to see these are available.
One question! Where do you get a reamer for the chamber?
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I'm pretty sure they can be readily rented at several places.
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I bought one from Manson Precision.  I had them shorten the position of the shoulder slightly, no need for so much space between case and chamber at the shoulder. Very reasonable price too, I think I paid $125. But I had to get them to turn down the reamer handle so it would fit into the receiver.  
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That's great; so you are set up to do the barrel change yourself.
I believe you are free of "proof" certification in the USA, is that correct?
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Yes, no restrictions of replacing barrels.  I’ve done two M1 barrel changes and removed/reinstalled the barrel on one of my No. 4’s so I could refinish the metal work. That barrel was on there very tight! Had to heat the receiver. 
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They are shipping my No. 4 barrel tomorrow.  Outstanding service.  

I asked them if they keep No. 4 barrels in stock, and Rebecah told me they usually do and she is putting another order in from the Germany facility tomorrow.  I don’t think they will export outside the US, but presumably those in the EU should be able to get a barrel direct from the German distributor.  Not sure what is available in the AU, NZ and SA. 

I’m not taking any chances here, I want to be able to shoot competitively for at least another 10 years and not have to worry about not finding a barrel. 
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I haven't received an email with the tracking number yet. I just ordered a NOS #0 bolt head. It's an early BSA marked with a 0 and a B. I want to start out as tight as I can. I have bolt heads all the way out to #3. It doesn't help that the chamber is shaped like a goose egg.
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Once you get the headspace set, I doubt you will see any change, even after shooting thousands of rounds.  I know this because I’ve monitored the headspace on my No. 4, from after the barrel was first installed (with a #1 bolt head), I’ve not been able to detect any change even after 8,000 to 10,000 rounds fired.  I’ve seen the same with my No. 4 Mk 2 7.62 DCRA conversion which I’ve shot several thousand rounds thru it. 

I think we worry too much about headspace at times.  The only real advantage with having a relatively tight headspace is to maximize the number of reloads of the cartridge case.  Some claim accuracy is better with a tight headspace, but I can’t confirm that claim.

Now, if you push your reloads to the limits, you might expect headspace to increase after a few thousand rounds.   This is best avoided by using mild reloads. 
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I just received an email from Lothar-Walther with my invoice and UPS tracking number. It should be here in the next couple of days. Once I receive it and the new bolt head it's off to the gunsmith! 
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Lothar-Walther makes excellent barrels, although I haven't tried their No4 ones yet. They won't sell the No1 barrels in the US though, I think I've only asked about it 3 or 4 times.... at this point I'm about ready to pay the import fees to buy a batch from a foreign distributor.
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Barrel is arriving today by UPS. 
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