Barrel opinions.

kc

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Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
970
Location
Swartz creek Mi
As we all know there are many companys that make great Barrels.
But I would like an opinion on Lilja and Shilen Barrels.
Accuracy and how it has held up.
You can give opinions of other Barrels also.

Thanks guys.
 
As we all know there are many companys that make great Barrels.
But I would like an opinion on Lilja and Shilen Barrels.
Accuracy and how it has held up.
You can give opinions of other Barrels also.

Thanks guys.

Hello Kieth

I personally like and use Lilja barrels.

Even though the wait is 12 weeks that is my number one choice for precision barrels.

They break in fast, are very accurate and are allways strait(Center to center).

If someone is in a hurry there are allways other barrel makers that have a quicker
delivery.

As to the shillens, you can get them in most cases in less than 30 days. I do however
recomend spending a little more and getting the "Select Match" grade when buying
a Shillen.(Top of the line).

I have had good luck with Hart, Kriger and Shillen.

I have used other barrels and have had mixed results.

J E CUSTOM
 
Ive had good shilens,harts,kriegers,and bartleins. So far cross my fingers i havent gotten one that wont do sub. 5 moa and most doing much better than that
 
Dan Lilja also is one of the few makers that actually verifies the consistency of his twist rates on the finished barrels. I have several and they all shoot well. Nothing wrong with Shilen though they in the recent past have lost some of their luster and are trying to get it back. For a LongRange Rig between the two my choice hands down Lilja! The last two rifles I have had built are sporting Brux Tubes. The one I'm working with shows alot of promise. Most of the custom tube makers will put out a barrel of superb quality, it's usually the GS that makes or breaks a true match rifle build though.
 
I've used Lilja, Bartlein and Krieger and they have all shot well. I think any good barrel maker will be quite comparable but more important is who is doing the gunsmithing. If the action is square and the chambering job is good, any quality barrel should shoot sub moa. My most accurate rifle to date has a Krieger on it, but It is also the only one with a BAT action.......Rich
 
Between the two choices you have given us: Lilja - hands down. If you want to open up the list, then Hart, Krieger, Brux, Broughton, Bartlein, Rock Creek, Benchmark, and many others all turn out a fine product. However, with any of them there is always the small chance that a non-shooter will sneak through. It often comes down to personal preference. Since many gunsmiths now offer a sub MOA guaranty on the rifles they build, I would stay with their recommendations.
 
I have had some great Bartlein, Kreiger, and Shilen barrels. Like someone else said, Shilen may have lost some of their lustre as of late. But, I have no problem using a Shilen for a long range hunting rifle. I haven't had enough competition experience to be able to distinguish between the top names.

I think they can all turn out a hummer or a lemon every now and then.

A lot of folks praise Lilja. So, I'm certain they're near the top. But, there was a long running thread here about a guy (Broz/Jeff perhaps?) that had a custom rifle built with a Lilja that flat out wouldn't shoot. A lot has to do with the smith putting it all together. A good smith may run into problems. But, he'll stand behind his work and make it right.

-- richard
 
I have had 4 Shilens, all them were fitted by Shilen and were chambered in 22-250. All of them shot better than .5moa.
I recently had H.S. Precision rebarrel my rifle again in 22-250 but this time with a fast 1 in 8 twist. All I can say is wow-------- it's looking like a bonfied .25moa barrel pushing 69grain HPBT. I have also had 1 Kreiger on an M-1 Garand. It too was great barrel.
 
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