The Best Barrel Temperature Gauge for Precision Rifle

Our barrel temperature gauges read from 50 F – 150 F in 10 degree increments.  Oriented to be read by the shooter while shooting to help monitor barrel temperatures.  These temperature indicators are designed to be used by Precision Rifle field shooters.

Ours come with no Celsius measurements since most of our shooters are USA based, and it makes the gauges much easier to read.

Background

Overheating your barrel can lead to less accuracy and to shorter barrel life.  There is very little current science that show how much.  I have read old studies like this one that shows temperatures inside the barrel for a 7.62mm rifle can easily reach 1155 F, and the surface of the barrel after 50 shots was calculated to be 181 F.  This is great information, but its not very applicable since it doesn’t replicate the way Precision Rifle shooters behave.  However we do know that bad things happen when we get our rifles too hot.

Application Instructions

The barrel temperature gauge is applied as near as possible to the chamber around the shoulder of the barrel.  First wipe down the barrel with the provided alcohol pad to remove any oil or grease, then remove the backing for the adhesive side and apply the sticker once the alcohol has evaporated.  **NOTE:  These work best on thicker barrels where the Outer Diameter of the barrel is larger.  If you have a very thin contour barrel (for example a mountain hunting rifle) these may not work.  The reason is the gauge wants to be flat so the closer to flat we have for our surface the better the long term adhesion of the gauge. The more curved the surface the less likely it will adhere.

May not adhere to all barrel surfaces – particularly coated barrels (for example Teflon coated barrels may pose a problem).

Usage Instructions

Keep an eye on the temperature from behind your scope by tilting your head to the side and checking the reading.

If a particular value is GREEN, then that is the current barrel exterior temperature.  BLUE indicates that the temperature is slightly lower than the blue value, while BROWN indicates that the actual temperature is slightly higher than that value.

Our Recommendation

Based on my personal experience I try to keep barrel temperatures under 120 F when possible.  If they reach 130 or higher I pause my shooting and take a break to let the barrel cool.  This can be particularly useful when fire forming brass, doing load development or when your practicing.

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