cone comp or bull barrel comp

[tomjerry1]

Are there any advantages/disadvantages to using either one? I am going to build another open gun, my current is using a cone comp, and want to consider all options. Will probably stick with KKM, both my open and limited guns have them, I like the quality. Staying with 38 SC and probably no popple holes? 

[zzt]

Going with a cone comp saves 2 oz. of barrel weight.  Since the barrel is part of the reciprocating mass, that counts.  I have both styles and guns with custom Trubore barrels.  The Trubors are the heaviest by a tad.  The bull/steel comp is next, the the cone comp.    The cone comp gun is the softest of the four and will handle minor loads without problems.  It's bull barrel mate won't run anything under 160PF.

[11MM]

Cone comp allows for 360-degree lockup verses the top and bottom wedging of the bull barrels.

[teros135]

18 minutes ago, 11MM said:

Cone comp allows for 360-degree lockup verses the top and bottom wedging of the bull barrels.

 

And what does that get you?

[11MM]

Better, moore consistent accuracy and lockup.

Edited August 8, 2019 by 11MM

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello: The lockup for both is the same. There is an opening at the slide where the hole for the barrel goes through and the reverse plug goes through. Unless you use a special reverse plug setup. I say go with a bull barrel; and lighten the slide. If you want the barrel lighter you can remove material from the sides and bottom. My bull barrel setups will run minor power factor loads all day long and are very accurate as well. Thanks, Eric

[zzt]

Reliability shooting minor loads is a function of how the gun is built, not whether it has a cone comp or bull barrel.  My latest 2011 9mm build shoots 135PF and 168PF with the same 8 lb. spring.  Going to a 7 lb. I can shoot sub-minor.

 

Any way you slice it a bushing barrel with a cone comp is going to shoot softer and require less slide lightening than a bull barrel/comp.

 

Personally, I was going to go with a bushing barrel/cone comp for my last two builds.  I like the way they shoot.  However, I got tired of comps coming loose after monster matches, so I went for one-piece barrel/comps for both.

 

If you lean towards a cone comp, but want more choices, EGW makes a good conversion cone.  With that you can use any comp designed for a bull barrel.

[igofast85]

Why do the cone comps shoot softer?

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[TONY BARONE]

They don't.

[echotango]

4 hours ago, 11MM said:

Cone comp allows for 360-degree lockup verses the top and bottom wedging of the bull barrels.

 

Better, moore consistent accuracy and lockup.

Please explain your reasoning.  

 

 

Edited August 8, 2019 by echotango

[11MM]

When properly fitted, a coned comp will make 360 degree around the barrel and on the inside of the slide. A bull barrel locks in the front by making contact at a point on top and at another point at the bottom of the barrel. It is wedged in place between those two points at the muzzle. Think of how an upside down orange traffic cone would fit if stuck in a hole. It would go down as far as the taper would allow and the be able to be tilted while still having 360 degree contact. A bull barrel is more like a long 2x4 being held out between two rungs of a ladder.

[igofast85]

Is that better?

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[zzt]

13 hours ago, 11MM said:

When properly fitted, a coned comp will make 360 degree around the barrel and on the inside of the slide. A bull barrel locks in the front by making contact at a point on top and at another point at the bottom of the barrel. It is wedged in place between those two points at the muzzle. Think of how an upside down orange traffic cone would fit if stuck in a hole. It would go down as far as the taper would allow and the be able to be tilted while still having 360 degree contact. A bull barrel is more like a long 2x4 being held out between two rungs of a ladder.

 

That is simply incorrect, as an examination of any properly fit bull barrel will show.  The wear marks go all the way around, except for the part that sits above the spring tunnel.

 

14 hours ago, TONY BARONE said:

They don't.

 

In otherwise identical guns (I had two such guns)  the cone comp shoots softer because it hits your hand less hard.  A two oz. difference in reciprocating mass is a big, big difference.  There is simply less to move.

[echotango]

[tomjerry1]

I never considered the contact area of one compared to the other, so I checked my open cone comp and compared it to my limited bull barrel, and there is a different wear pattern on the contacting surfaces. I have been leaning towards a one piece barrel/comp because of the comp clocking when hot. 

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello: You can drill and tap a hole in the bottom of a comp for a set screw and that will stop it from indexing if you countersink slightly into the barrel. Like I said you can lighten a bull barrel on the sides and bottom. Cone comp having 360 degree contact surface is not true in a 1911. Thanks, Eric

[11MM]

Buy it or not, it doesn't change things. a cone will fit 360, a bull barrel will fit top and bottom. Ask around some of the serious builders. A good source of info on coned barrels is Bunker. Give him a shout. I am but the poor messenger...

[zzt]

Believe the myth if you must. Hopefully others will not.

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello: Just saying. Thanks, Eric

[TONY BARONE]

A properly fit cone or bull will lock up tight if done correctly. Which one is your preference.

[TONY BARONE]

Acai and Limcat use Tungsten sleeved barrels for a reason.

[bigboy69]

I'm confused. The barrel just dips down, I would think the reciprocating mass is the slide. Isn't the "lock up" when you talk about the lugs?  I thought the cone comp and the bull barrel were designed to "be the same", (the dia of the cone and the dia of the bull barrel.)

[MikeBurgess]

41 minutes ago, bigboy69 said:

I'm confused. The barrel just dips down, I would think the reciprocating mass is the slide. Isn't the "lock up" when you talk about the lugs?  I thought the cone comp and the bull barrel were designed to "be the same", (the dia of the cone and the dia of the bull barrel.)

I don't buy his logic necessarily but the barrel is moving the same speed as the slide when it unlocks and comes to an abrupt stop on the frame impact surface. 

 

 

 

[zzt]

On 8/11/2019 at 3:53 PM, TONY BARONE said:

Acai and Limcat use Tungsten sleeved barrels for a reason.

 

Yes, and that reason is to add weigh up front.  Everything is a trade off.  You gain something but give up something else.  At the last match I handles a friend's new Limcat with a Ti sleeved barrel.  We both though it nearly identical in feel to my custom with a Trubore barerl 

 

49 minutes ago, bigboy69 said:

I'm confused. The barrel just dips down, I would think the reciprocating mass is the slide. Isn't the "lock up" when you talk about the lugs?  I thought the cone comp and the bull barrel were designed to "be the same", (the dia of the cone and the dia of the bull barrel.)

 

The barrel must travel to the rear to unlock.  That makes it part of the reciprocating weight while it is moving. The front of the cone and the front of a bull barrel are the same diameter.  The cone comp barrel weights 2 oz less than a bull/comp.

Edited August 22, 2019 by zzt

[MikeBurgess]

On 8/9/2019 at 2:33 PM, 11MM said:

Buy it or not, it doesn't change things. a cone will fit 360, a bull barrel will fit top and bottom. Ask around some of the serious builders. A good source of info on coned barrels is Bunker. Give him a shout. I am but the poor messenger...

The funny thing is how accurate all the bull barrel open guns seem to be, even the island barrel guns seem to shoot great.

I will say for a home hobby builder a cone barrel is way easier to fit as you can fit the hood and lockup before you fit the cone so you don't get barrel bind confused with needing to remove more hood material.