Rock Creek vs. Hart vs. lilja

[Warren Wallace]

What do you guys think? i'am getting ready to start having one built ordered a neww rem 700. I'am thinking nightforce, mcmillan a-5, jewell, and rock creek. barrels are the only only thing i'am not sure of! I have seen both hart and lilja shoot very well, but read a article on Rock creek and am very interested

 

[Jammer1]

All are very good barrels. The Hart and Lilja are button rifled and Rock Creek barrels are cut rifled. I have two Rock Creek barrels and they are excellent barrels. My 300 WSM long range rifle will consistently shoot sub 1/2 MOA. Not to say that the others wont.

 

[James Jones]

any of the topendmakers make barrels that are just as accurate as any other , I have had , Hart , Rock , Obermeyer , Kreiger , Lilja , Pac-Nor and Douglas barrels on several guns in several calibers and all shot very well , some were softer than others and thats noticed when you chamber them.

You may also want to check out Bartlein , Brux and McGowan barrels the first two have been making a big up comming and winning alot of shoots the McGowan barrels are supposed to be very well made also but they are fighting alot of damage to the name of the former owner.

Currently I think Brux is having the best turn around time being right at 4-6 weeks

 

[Fiftydriver]

If you get a top end barrel from any of the makers already listed, on average, the machining to fit the barrel, the chamber quality, the receiver trueness and the bedding quality will make a bigger difference in accuracy then the brand of barrel on the rifle.

Simply put, get a good barrel and then its on your smith to make a rifle that shoots. The barrels most often will. That said, I have seen samples from nearly every maker listed that had problems but they are pretty rare with the top makers.

Take your pick to be honest.

I use Lilja barrels nearly 90% of the time on my customers and personal rifles. I am not saying they are that much better then the other top end barrels, I am only saying that they are as good as any barrel out there and they get you what you order in a consistant timeframe which is kind of refreshing in this day and age.

 

[Ernie]

You may also want to check out Bartlein , Brux and McGowan barrels the first two have been making a big up comming and winning alot of shoots the McGowan barrels are supposed to be very well made also but they are fighting alot of damage to the name of the former owner.

I used my first SS McGowen barrel (1-7 twist) chambered in one of my specialty pistols at 500 yards yesterday. This was the first for me to use this barrel beyond 200 yards. MOA Maximum handgun chambered in 6mm-6.5x47 Lapua, 105 Bergers, H-4350:
3-shot group at 500 yards-no sighters-shooting off of a bipod= 1.25 inches. McGowen has quite a fast turn around time as well.
Shot as good as my Lilja, Kreiger, and SHilen barrels

 

[LostInSpace278]

I am having this same dilemma. Which top end barrel maker does a better job at prefit or drop in barrels?

The reason I ask is, I want try my hand at building a custom rifle, but lack access to certain machinery to do this from scratch. Who knows I may get started on it and decide I'm in way over my head and let a gunsmith finish the build, but I won't know until I try.

 

[RJ338]

Lostinspace,
If you must try to do a prefit so you can DIY By all means start with a Savage action. Other than that, refer to FiftyDriver's response. The chambering, fitting, trueing and bedding all have orders of magnitude difference compared to barrel brands. That's where the real money is spent and noticed.
Randy

 

[James Jones]

I have a 308 cal 1-10 twist barrel getting installed on a custom action thats going to see use as a police sniper rifle and I ordered a barrel from Rock Creek today same twist and caliber and both barrels have 5R rifleing , this go to will be a working tactical rig , I'm sure that the smith doing the work will have a great chamber cut and I'm sure that both rigs will serve their community and shooter well

 

[Derek M.]

Depending on who you ask you'll get various opinions. If the tube has a straight hole drilled through it, is rifled properly, and the final .001 or so is stoned, then the barrel itself is probably a good one.

While I have never had a problem whatsoever with any of my button rifled barrels, I still lean ever so slightly towards cut rifled tubes.

I also like the 5R barrels. My 308 is already shooting far better than I can ever do. I has a D-3 Obermeyer SS barrel on a Sako action.

But the word is, you cannot go wrong with a Rock.

 

[LostInSpace278]

Just so happens I was thinking of getting a Savage action. My problem is the only credible smiths I know are on this forum and they seem to be all booked up. That and the fact that I'm somewhat impatient.

 

[James Jones]

You will be hard pressed to find a good smith with any reputation thats not at least a few months in the waiting. I use Nathan Dagley out of North Dakota he runs Strait Shot Gunsmithing and his lead times are very respectible in my oppinion and his work is some of the best I've seen.
He goes by "308nate" here

 

[Derek M.]

Just so happens I was thinking of getting a Savage action. My problem is the only credible smiths I know are on this forum and they seem to be all booked up. That and the fact that I'm somewhat impatient.

I'm sending you a PM that will resolve your concerns.

 

[goodgrouper]

I'm not so sure about Rock barrels anymore. I have had three good ones and three stinkers. In the future, I'm sticking with better known, more established barrel manufacturers. Krieger, Lilja, Shilen, and Pac Nor top my list. Krieger is still the top of the top for me.

 

[Freebore]

If your going with a Savge action I can say that Pac-Nor has provided me with a shooter in 243AI. Just make sure you talk about about what you plan on shooting for bullets and OAL so they can cut the throat correctly. Providing them a 'dummy round' is the best way. Good folks to deal with and turn around is pretty good. There is alot of talk about the McGowen pre-fits now too.