Barrel Cooler « Daily Bulletin

teslong borescope digital camera barrel monitor

As an Amazon Associate, this site earns a commission from Amazon sales.

June 23rd, 2025

BargainFinder 509: AccurateShooter’s Deals of the Week

At the request of our readers, we provide select “Deals of the Week”. Every Sunday afternoon or Monday morning we offer our Best Bargain selections. Here are some of the best deals on firearms, hardware, reloading components, optics, and shooting accessories. Be aware that sale prices are subject to change, and once clearance inventory is sold, it’s gone for good. You snooze you lose.

NOTE: All listed products are for sale to persons 18 years of age or older. No products are intended for use by minors.

1. Midsouth — Athlon Rangecraft Vel Pro Chronograph, $399.99

⏺️ » impressive new compact radar chrono — competition for Garmin

The new Athlon Rangecraft Velocity Pro Radar Chronograph is an impressive and very affordable compact chrono, now $399.99 at Midsouth. This employs Doppler radar allowing ultra-accurate velocity readings. Since the unit isn’t triggered by a muzzle blast, it can work with suppressors, muzzle brakes, and other muzzle devices. The Rangecraft Vel Pro reads velocities between 65 FPS and 5000 FPS. So far field tests have shown that the Athlon Rangecraft chrono is very reliable and picks up all shots fired with all types of rifles and pistols (even airguns). However the listed velocities may be a few FPS different than a Magnetospeed or Labradar. Athlon also has a good Ballistics Lite App that works with this chrono — see video at 21:45 time-mark. The unit includes a compact tripod.

2. Natchez — Truglo Optics Sale, Save up to 34%

⏺️ » Major savings on Truglo scopes — good for hunters and AR shooters

Truglo optics (scopes, red dots), offer notable features and great value. Right now Truglo optics products are on sale at Natchez at crazy low prices. For example the Truglo 4-16x44m EMINUS16 scope with illuminated reticle and scope mount is now just $209.99 — $111.00 off the regular $321.00 price. And for AR shooters the 1-4x24mm OMNIA4 Tactical scope is discounted to $159.99 complete with rugged Aptus-M1 scope mount (with rings) — a $75 savings.

3. Creedmoor Sports — Peterson Brass Sale

⏺️ » Save on good, American-made cartridge brass

Quality loads demand quality brass. We’ve been impressed with American-made Peterson brass that has performed great for popular cartridge types including 6mm Dasher, 6XC, 6×47 Lapua, 6mm Creedmoor, 6.5 Creedmoor, .308 Win, .300 Norma Mag, .300 WinMag, .338 Lapua, .376 CheyTac and others. Peterson brass is very consistent and holds up well for multiple reload cycles. With the current Peterson sale, there are substantial discounts for: 6.5 Creedmoor, .260 Rem, 6.5 PRC, 7mm-08, 7mm RUM, 30 Nosler, .300 RUM, 33 Nosler, and .338 Lapua.

4. Amazon — VEVOR 50″ Rifle TSA-Compliant Hard Case, $96.38

⏺️ » Good waterproof hard case with wheels — great value

Protecting your firearms requires a good, tough transport case. The VEVOR 50″ Rifle Case (#ad) features three layers of protective foam, solid locking points, wheels, and a IP67 waterproof case. This VEVOR gun case meets TSA gun case requirements, making it a good choice for marksmen and hunters who travel by air. At just $96.38 (29% off) this is a great deal — much cheaper than other sturdy, wheeled rifle cases of similar size. This case is Amazon’s #1 Best Seller among rifle hard cases.

5. MidwayUSA — Umarex Air Rifle Sale

⏺️ » Air rifles offer affordable shooting for many disciplines

With centerfire and rimfire ammunition costs rising, more people are giving airguns a try. Air rifle shoppers should consider Umarex airguns. These start at well under $200 with the current Umarex Sale at MidwayUSA. For example, the Umarex Synergis Elite Air Rifle just $179.39 on sale, including 3-9x40mm scope. And the impressive Umarex Gauntlet SL22 PCP Air Rifle is now just $389.89, $60 off the regular price. The Umarex lineup includes a wide variety of airguns from $55 to $1100 — for fun shooting or high-level competition. NOTE: For air rifles no FFL is required for transfer in most states.

6. Midsouth — Rifle Basix Trigger Sale, Save 10%

⏺️ » Excellent Triggers for Remington, Howa, CZ, Savage — 10% OFF

Do you want to upgrade your rifle’s trigger but have a limited budget for the trigger replacement? Consider Rifle Basix Triggers. Offered for many rifle brands including Remington, Savage, Howa, and CZ, Rifle Basix triggers feature crisp breaks and lighter trigger pull weight. Enhanced triggers can translate to better accuracy (and shot consistency) at the range and in the field.

7. Amazon — Frankford Arsenal Universal Seating Die, $67.83

⏺️ » Great, versatile system for seating multiple caliber bullets

Are you tired of buying another expensive seating die every time you try a new cartridge type? With the unique Frankford Arsenal Universal Bullet Seating Die (#ad) you can have one die that loads multiple cartridge types. This clever bullet-seating system includes 3 different stems and 9 sleeves allowing you to seat .224 to .338-caliber bullets with this one multi-caliber tool. Forum members using this system have praised it. NOTE: the universal seating die comes with the .308-caliber sleeve pre-installed.

8. Amazon — Chuckwalla Competition Barrel Cooler, $58.95

⏺️ » Good product — extend barrel life, multiple charging options

Barrel heat can shorten life and cause erratic testing results. One very good barrel-cooling system is Chuckwalla’s Competition barrel cooler (#ad). This low-profile cooler has a flow tube that fits right-hand bolt-action rifles from .223 REM to .300 WSM. (It can also run in even larger chambers but with a looser fit.) The Chuckwalla’s shape and orange color allows this cooler to serve as a chamber flag. This cooling fan includes a AA battery pack with 8-hour run time and a USB charging connection. NOTE: As the AA batteries are NOT included, we suggest using rechargeable AA batteries.

9. Amazon — Acoway Roll-up Shooting Mat, $17.99

⏺️ » Handy roll-up mat at super-low price — black or green

Most rifle shooters can use a good, simple shooting mat that can be easily rolled up and stored. The ACOWAY Roll-Up Shooting Mat (#ad) measures 76″ x 29″ and has a durable, double-layered Nylon outer fabric in Black or Green. This mat provides a protective barrier between you and the ground. The black mat is just $17.99 while the green version is $19.99, both great deals. The mat folds into a handy smaller size, held with attached straps and clips.

As an Amazon affiliate, this site can earn revenues through sales commissions.

Permalink Gear Review, Hot Deals, Reloading No Comments »

June 17th, 2023

Saturday at the Movies — Barrel Coolers in Review

Summer Solstice is just four days away. That means shooters nationwide will soon be dealing with peak summer ambient temperatures. When it’s hot outside your barrels will heat up even faster during use — and that’s not good for barrel longevity or consistency during long strings of fire. If you want a barrel to have maximum useful life you need to keep it from getting very hot. That’s why you should have a barrel cooler. There are many variations, but the most popular models blow cooling air through the bore. This can reduce barrel temps significantly in a relatively short period of time.

For this Saturday Movies feature, we’ve found 7 videos that review commercial barrel coolers or show how to build your own cooler with a hose, small electric fan, and modified case. There are a variety of barrel coolers on the market currently. Three of the most popular coolers are the yellow BarrelCool, $39.99 at MidwayUSA, the red Magnetospeed RifleKuhl, $56.89 on Amazon ($59.99 MSRP), and the black/yellow Chamber Chiller BA PRO, $80.40 on Amazon.

barreling cooler fan riflekuhl DIY barrel cooler saturday movies heat summer

Barrel Coolers — Why You Should Use Them

This video explains why it’s vitally important to keep your barrel cool, particularly when running a suppressor. The host, a long-range shooting instructor, explains: “The best way to extend your barrel life [is using] barrel coolers. We have learned through decades of shooting that keeping the barrel cool and cooling it as fast as possible between relays and strings of fire will return meaningful results in the longevity of your rifle barrel. If you shoot suppressed like we do, this brings the level of importance up to a whole new level. Keeping it cool will keep it running at its best longer than you ever thought possible.” The barrel cooler featured in this video is $65.00 on the Wolf Precision website.

Barrel Cooler Comparison Tests — Four Options

Barrel coolers are vital accessories that let you get more shots downrange with less time waiting. In this excellent, comparison test video LongRangeOnly’s Ryan Furman shows which barrel coolers will remove the most heat with the rate of air flow comparison. Ryan also covers some basic differences and attributes of each unit tested and tests the units with temp gauges. Units tested are the BarrelCool, Magnetospeed RifleKuhl, the blue-bodied Original Barrel Cooler (6:48 time-mark), and a large Coleman rechargeable Quick-Pump (8:12 time-mark). The latter two units provided the most airflow when fitted with an appropriate hose.

Build Your Own Barrel Cooler — New and Improved

air pump barrel cooler f-class john battery powered

Popular YouTube host F-Class John was one of the pioneers in building very affordable, yet very effective do-it-yourself barrel coolers. John initially used a hose fitted to a battery-powered black Rechargeable Mini Air Pump. John then tapered a hose to fit a cartridge case for a perfect fit in the chamber. The case-head was cut off to better fit the hose for maximum airflow.

F-Class John later created an upgraded barrel cooling system using smaller, more compact pumps. He would charge these with a high-capacity battery pack (see above) and a USB charging cord. As shown in the video above, this Gen 2 system proved to be very effective. John notes: “Make sure you watch how long you the pump runs and don’t let it overheat”. One of these USB-port Mini Air Pumps is currently available on Amazon for $29.98, and there are similar compact pumps for a bit less.

Chamber Chiller BA Pro vs. Magnetospeed RifleKuhl

This video compares two compact barrel coolers, the red Magnetospeed RifleKuhl, $56.89 on Amazon and the yellow Chamber Chiller BA PRO, $80.40 on Amazon. Hear the tester’s conclusions starting at the 2:40 time-mark. The tester reports that both the RifleKuhl and the Chamber Chiller fit well in the chambers. The two units cooled down barrels pretty much identically in the field. Measured with a Kestrel, the RifleKuhl had a 12 mph flow vs. 11 mph flow for the Chamber Chiller (3:03 time-mark). The deciding factors for the tester (1:32 time-mark) were the superior battery life of the Chamber Chiller (with an extra USB battery attached) and the quietness of the Chamber Chiller.

Riflekühl Barrel Cooler by MagnetoSpeed

The MagnetoSpeed Riflekühl barrel cooler is designed to get barrel temperatures down to intended operating levels quickly. The turbocharger-inspired impeller is engineered to produce great airflow in a small package. Powered by a single CR123A Lithium battery (included), ambient air is forced through the extendable nozzle down the bore of the rifle. This is pretty efficient and can typically cool a barrel in under 8 minutes. The Riflekühl doubles as a chamber flag and features an exclusive built-in air filter to prevent dust and dirt from being blown into your rifle.

DIY Barrel Cooler Made with Mattress Inflator and Hose

An average gun-owner can build a good barrel cooler relatively easily with low-cost components. In this GunMart.TV video from the UK, the host showcases a very effective barrel cooler he crafted with an electric mattress inflator and a hose. The unit has good flow and can cool a barrel in a couple of minutes (3:10 time-mark). These components can be purchased for under $30.00. The tester purchased his cooler fan for $14.99 on Amazon (3:40 time-mark).

Thanks to Boyd Allen for help finding these videos.

Permalink - Videos, Gear Review, Tech Tip No Comments »

September 22nd, 2021

Build a Better Barrel Cooler for under $15 — DIY Project

In this article we cover a better barrel cooler you can build yourself for under $15. This uses a high-speed inflator fan sold on Amazon, along with a piece of temp-stable tubing. Forum member (and popular YouTube host) F-Class John devised this system. He found it cools his barrels in less than half the time of some other products. And the system can also serve as an Empty Chamber Indicator (ECI).

Barrel coolers perform an important function — reducing barrel operating temperatures. This can definitely help preserve barrel life and help maintain good accuracy in competition. In addition, keeping barrels cool can reduce the chances of excess chamber pressure, an important safety concern.

There are a variety of commercially-available barrel cooling systems. There are external fans, as well as internal, slip-in systems than can do double duty as an Empty Chamber Indicator (ECI). You can get the original yellow $39.99 BarrelCool or the red $59.99 RifleKuhl from Magnetospeeed. Both are good products. But F-Class John came up with a system that works even better — one you can build for a fraction of the cost of those yellow or red fans.

Build Your Own Barrel Cooler for Under $15
This system is easy to put together. Order a $11.99 YIVAR pump from Amazon. This is a small, high-output pump designed to inflate air mattresses. Then get some high-temp-rated tubing from a local supply shop. Then trim the case-head off an old piece of brass. Taper the end of the tube a bit and fit it in the case. NOTE: Use of the fitted case is optional. Having the case provides a nice fit in your chamber. But the system works pretty well just with the tubing and Yivar air pump.

In his .284 Win barrel, the Yivar pump system blows air at 10+ mph out the muzzle. F-Class John says that is “about three times the velocity of other systems”. The Yivar pump “holds about 45 minutes of charge” so he can use it for 15 minutes after each of three strings in a match. And then it can be recharged from a USB-compatible battery pack at the range. John notes the fan continues to blow about the same speed for the full 45-minute charge duration.

F-Class John Yivar barrel cooler cooling fan Yivar hose empty chamber indicator ECI Key Benefits of this system

1. Faster Cooling
2. Low Cost (under $15)
3. Longer run time on battery
4. Fan battery is USB rechargeable
5. Finally a use for that worn-out brass

John confirmed the effectiveness of his barrel cooler using a stick-on temperature tape placed on the barrel. This showed that his fan system cooled the barreled in less than HALF the time as the plastic commercial fan systems. In addition, his run time was excellent, and the Yivar’s built-in Lithium-Ion battery is fully rechargeable so he never has to buy expensive batteries.

What are the downsides? Not many. The fan IS somewhat noisy — watch video at 4:04-4:28 time mark to hear the fan. F-Class John notes, however, that the Yivar fan is about 4 decibels (dB) quieter than a Magnetospeed RifleKuhl, so the Yivar’s noise is not that bad.

Here are comments from YouTube viewers who like F-Class John’s invention:

Finally something affordable! It’s compact and can be recharged at the range. I have room for this but not all the other gadgets you show. And a poor pensioner like my self can afford it! Thanks for the tip.

Ingenious and awesome idea! I bought one as soon as I saw this. I’ve been thinking about getting a cooler when I’m testing my loads. Thanks!

Brilliant… Brilliant… Brilliant! I have been deferring buying a barrel cooler for years now on account of wanting to spend my toy fund budget on other things. Considering how cheap it is to build, there is no excuse to not make one now.

Fan with Plain Hose Also Works Well (No Brass Case Cutting/Fitting Required)
F-Class John likes the custom fit he achieves with the hose inserted into a piece of modified brass. However he notes that the system also works well with no brass at all — i.e. just hose and fan. If you have a small diameter chamber, this may actually work better. Simply put the hose on the fan, trim/taper the forward hose end to fit and you are good to go.

F-Class John explains: “The heavy duty tubing and the motor works just fine without a brass case. The hose can sit in the chamber by itself. Obviously not every brass case will easily allow for you to put it on the end of the tube. For many people simply using the tube (without brass) may be the simpler option.”

Permalink - Articles, - Videos, Gear Review, Tech Tip 3 Comments »

Choose a Topic

Find Posts by Day

Older Posts by Month

Featured Advertisers