About BSA hammer forged barrels, Leupy's views

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The reason Leupy does not sell LW is because LW will not sell to him directly from Germany as he has no gunsmith license. He is just a machinist, so he cannot get them at the cheaper price so he he can make more profit. You hear many things about his work good and bad. 
The BSA barrels are very good but i do not think from my own experience that they are more accurate than LW. The only bad thing i can say about BSA barrels is that the metal is softer than the LW and they also need lubrication as they rust pretty easy if they are not looked after.
 
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"DKL"The reason Leupy does not sell LW is because LW will not sell to him directly from Germany as he has no gunsmith license. He is just a machinist, so he cannot get them at the cheaper price so he he can make more profit. You hear many things about his work good and bad. 
The BSA barrels are very good but i do not think from my own experience that they are more accurate than LW. The only bad thing i can say about BSA barrels is that the metal is softer than the LW and they also need lubrication as they rust pretty easy if they are not looked after.
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http://www.airgunnation.com/topic/pcp-3/

Its strange that Weatherby in the post as given in the above link says that BSA are harder barrel and LW are softer.
 
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I also think that the BSA barrels have harder steel. The hammer forging makes the steel pretty tough and from what I've seen a lot harder to machine and straighten.

I use an old .22 BSA barrel, It's extremely accurate at a 100 meters (more than I am) with the right pellets. What I've noticed is that the older BSA barrels prefer a slightly larger head size to properly engage with the rifling. I also polished the inside of the barrel, the hammer forging leaves a certain pattern in the barrel which feels very bumpy when you push a pellet through it. I also noticed the loose spots in the barrel like Weatherby said. Polishing it decreased the fouling of my barrel by approximately 1/2 to 2/3.
 
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"DKL"I have machined a few barrels in my time so take it from a machinist the LW match barrels are harder and the LW polygons are even harder...the lathe does not lie...hahahaha
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Hmmm, let me get this straight.

First thing, LW match barrels do not exist, or you should consider them all "match barrels"
They offer blanks in only 1 grade, and that's the standard grade. Custom barrels can be ordered on special request, but what exactly makes it a match barrel? The name? (Source: LW catalog)

For LW poly barrels being any harder than the regular land/groove barrels.... give me a break.
They are both button rifled barrels made of the exact same C35 steel precision tubing.
How on earth could a LW poly barrel be any harder than a regular one? Please educate me.

Speaking of which, both barrels (BSA and LW) are not hard at all. They can only be a PITA to get a smooth surface when your cutting tools are not perfectly sharp. (I use uncoated carbide dcgt inserts for aluminium)

I can tell from experience that a BSA barrel is WAY more difficult to straighten than a LW barrel.
The BSA barrel almost acts like a spring, where as the LW can almost be "bent like a paperclip" while straightening.

And you are right, a lathe indeed never lies.
However........
Nevermind... ;-)
 
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Hi Umair. Both groups are good! Couple of points that may or may not be significant.
At the bottom of Leupys page he talks about all the issues involved with getting a blank for an FAC rifle. 
I wonder if most of the air gun barrels he prepares
are for sub 12 foot pound customers? This may be why the lead fouling may not be such an issue. I think it does become more of an issue with more power. 
Also the date on the top of his web site page is 2005 and as he doesn't actually mention LW "polygon" barrels maybe they were not an option then. Also I think the polygon barrels are more suited to higher velocities. 
Your rifle is obviously accurate! Is your rifle sub 12 foot pound? 
Michael
 
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I can't speak to hardness but having owned lots of BSA's, I prefer their barrels. As an average shooter, they are just as accurate as LW for me and much less pellet fussy. My Huntsman only shot JSB's really well but my BSA's all shot JSB's, Baracuda's, Crosman HP's, Napiers and a few other pellets really well whether lubed or dry.

Plus, personal opinion but there is something beautiful about a BSA with a full floating barrel vs others that all seem to be shrouded.
 
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