What’s Thermal Fitting & Why Does it Matter
There has been an age-old debate about AR rifles and bolt action rifles when it comes to which is more accurate. Ok maybe the debate is if ARs are as accurate as bolt actions. The clear answer to that debate has always been no because ARs have held to the standard on 4 MOA accuracy and a good bolt rifle is going for ½ MOA. This is just because they have a very different purpose in use. Bolt rifles have been the leaders in the precision shooting world, and ARs are more tactical rifles for closer range. What does this have to do with a thermal fit upper receiver? Just keep reading.
Why Are Bolt Action Rifles Accurate
What makes a bolt rifle so accurate. Well, the way the barrels connect is kind of the big one. The barrels have a long screw connection to the receiver. With proper machining this makes the rifle have a rock-solid connection with the receiver. It also keeps the barrel perfectly inline with the actions. What this does is make sure the bolt has a balanced connection to base of the round when seated. That gives it an even push from all sides when fired. Thats always been the main differentiator when it comes to bolt rifles. There is a lot more to making a gun shoot ½ MOA but the rest is easily duplicated in an AR.
Thermal Fitting Because Accuracy Matters
So now I’ve described that little part of accuracy let me explain why we have thermal fit upper receivers. We machine the part of the upper receiver that barrel seats into a little smaller than the barrel extensions. This means you cannot take a barrel and just push it into the upper receiver like mostly all AR manufacturers do. We must heat up the upper receiver to the right temperature to expand the aluminum wide enough to allow us to insert the barrel extension. Seconds after the barrel is inserted the metal begins to cool locking that barrel into place. This gives the barrel that rock solid connection like what you see in bolt rifles.
If you read the billet and forged rant, you will know about this already. Our billet upper has a perfectly flat face to them. This ensures the barrel will be perfectly in line with the upper. Just like in bolt rifles, this makes sure the bolt has equal pressure around the base of the round. So, boom we solved all the problems.
Modern Manufacturing
We use modern manufacturing techniques to improve these rifles in every way. I get asked a lot why all the other AR companies aren’t doing this. Most of them just don’t care about accuracy in their rifles. That and it takes a lot longer to assemble a thermal fit upper receiver than a regular one. While I’m over here caring about quality, the others are more concerned about output and making more money. I mean, if you never knew this technique existed, you would have never thought to ask for it in your weapon system. I think it’s our job to innovate and provide the best quality firearm that is possible. Not just the one we can get out the door the fastest. But hey we are the weird ones in this industry.
