My original impression was good number of air gunner are serious CF/PBers but by some of the posts it doesn't appear to be the case. Like you said good PB barrel starts at 3-400 for a blank and can go over 1000 pretty quick by the time all said and done. Everyone here all go gaga over hammer forged barrels but in PB world those are cheapest barrel one can by or on all the entry level $500 rifles. As you mentioned Mike N's bench rest setup is ridiculously good but it certain isn't 2000-3000 dollar range, he probably spent more than $2000 on just finding that barrel. Not many knows this but he custom order those barrels with his specifications/twist rates and then pick the best few and then hand lap, polish and finished for his guns. Are they better than FX soda straws? Hell yes! But they are a tad more expensive and a tad longer wait to get one.
Pellets are opposite of slugs or bullets in ballistics or barrel requirements, original airguns have smooth bore. FX found a good happy twist rate that shoots both pretty darn well but still a compromise and they know that, that's why they are going to slow twist rate for better pellet accuracy but that means adding yet another barrel to the line up. who can do that at scale? Every gun manufactures knows this, this is no secret nor patten on twist rate. Only reason they are NOT "copying" is simply they are not willing to buy the barrels. To be fair it's not as easy as buy FX like barrel, they need to order a bunch of barrels to test and find the right one then order them in bulk. It's a time consuming and expensive process. FX is the only manufacture invested and keep investing heavily in R&D on barrels. BSA makes their own barrel but it's Gamo now and they refuse to do anything different besides sell a ton of Walmart Gamos, that said the BSA Gamos are damn fine entry pellet rifles.
It looks like over the years FX has brought the Impact to a better place than the G1 I had so good on them and the people that enjoy them. I like the fact that they addressed the twist rate thing which was a good move. Not that I can't still see things that I don't prefer about the Impact, like the liner system, but I can see things I don't prefer about any airgun or for that matter pretty much any man made thing. One example is I don't prefer electronic guns..... and recently found out I don't prefer walnut stocks except for the pretty looks. I could go on and on too. But nothing is perfect, aye.
I think with some development a medium weight Hammer Forged barrel could be a great option for airguns and slugs because the barrel isn't getting hot. With (fire)arms HF barrels tend to change due to stress in the HF process, then has a reaction to heat(this is the theory anyway), so heat wouldn't be an issue with AG's and I think these would be cheaper to mass produce?? Doesn't Steyr use HF barrels? The one in my old LG100 was awesome. So is the one in my friends 10-22 probably because it isn't easy to get a 22rf barrel hot. Maybe not Bartlein quality but can still be very good.
Eh, I've had expensive barrels that didn't shoot great so just because one pays $300+ for a barrel doesn't mean it'll perform as expected.
I do know that the top BR shooters in the firearms world often buy 5 or more barrels, try them out, then pick the best for comps. Ha, not unlike like FX, Daystate, etc, do for their top shooters or the shooters do themselves with barrels.
Mike N is a Pitbull, once latched on he isn't letting go, he'll just stay the course bringing his platform to as close to perfection as can be. Few people exist that have this mind set and the ability to make it happen. Part of that is experimenting with barrels, regardless of cost. One can't help but admire this tenacity about him.
I'm all for advancement in the AG industry regardless of brand and its fun to watch it all pan out as the years go by.
It'll be interesting to see how the EPOCH turns out, right?!! Especially concerning POI shifts.
