Just finished a 280AI with a Preferred. Loaded a couple grains short of max I have had five shots on a quarter at 300yds. Criterion, McGowen, Preferred, Douglas and Lilja so far for me. All have shot excellent.
Barrels 2020
- Thread starter Jud96
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I had a rifle built this year with a McGowan and I can say I have factory Savages that have better barrels. It was the hardest rifle I have ever loaded for and I will not be buying another. Maybe I was spoiled but I had another rifle with a Shilen barrel that consistently shot under 1/4 moa.
kduffy
Member
I have a Douglas XX .308 Rem 700 that shoots good. A few Green Mountain .223 on AR (built of the cheapest of parts mixed together) that shoot sub MOA. An X-Caliber in 243 Win on PSA AR-10 mixed bag of cheap parts that shoots sub MOA with factory ammo and I haven't got to the point of working a load with the 115 gr bullets I built it for. It shows great promise.
Barrels are still a little black magic. Years ago, out west, HART rules the roost in Across the Course NRA. This year I had a 6.5-284 I couldn't get to shoot. Not BAD, just not benchrest quality. But my 22-250 9 twist Hart is a good shooter. My Obermeyer 308 was good, not great. Had a great Kreiger, and couple decent ones. My Brux looks like its gonna be a good shooter, but its on a SHTF gun, not a BR gun.
Had a LONG conversation with John Kreiger at the Atlanta NRA meeting a few years back, and they were doing metalurgical research on what made a barrel a hummer vs a tomato stake. Because they still can't tell you why one will shoot lights out, and the NEXT barrel will be just "good".
So rest assured, you're gonna be dissapointed in a barrel at some point, and thrilled at another. Just NEVER SELL OR TRADE A HUMMER!
PS... One of our local BR gunsmiths has expressed a preference for Bartlein, so that's going on the 6.5 in place of the Hart...
Had a LONG conversation with John Kreiger at the Atlanta NRA meeting a few years back, and they were doing metalurgical research on what made a barrel a hummer vs a tomato stake. Because they still can't tell you why one will shoot lights out, and the NEXT barrel will be just "good".
So rest assured, you're gonna be dissapointed in a barrel at some point, and thrilled at another. Just NEVER SELL OR TRADE A HUMMER!
PS... One of our local BR gunsmiths has expressed a preference for Bartlein, so that's going on the 6.5 in place of the Hart...
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PV uses Rock Creek mostly. I have a PVA Rockcreek and shoots lights out
These are the barrels I had or currently have in service and would use any again in a hearbeat: Brux, Broughton, Bartlien, Krieger and Proof (light weight hunting rigs). When Kirby was building my 338 he really wanted to use them as he normally goes that route and prefers to stay local, after a LONG wait then an issue with it I changed to a broughton. I have not personally used one but have heard great things about rock creeks. I don't feel any of the manufacturer's have allowed their quality to regress, I'm sure some times there are some flaws that slip pass but their quality and customer service had kept my business.
That Sir is one crappy shooting barrel.
To start i can only say that I have bought 3 barrels to put on my self.
The first was criterion, and I was so happy how easy to load for it was and how well it shoots still to this day. Then I bought an Oregon Mountain Rifle company barrel.
With nothing to say but good about the criterion, the oregon mountain rifle barrel is better!
Brass grows very little due to a great chamber.
When breaking it in I fired 40 rounds of 8 different factory ammo types, into a 3/4 inch group at 100, and got an extreme spread of 27fps across 8 different types of ammo?
I didn't know this could be possible!
From first round to current the speed has not changed more than 10fps.
And when finding a load for it, I had to take it out, do a 10 round satterlee method, and fire 6, 5 round groups of different seating depths and I ended up with basically a linear change in speed with very small ledges in the 10 round powder check and the seating depth test produced 1/2" or one hole groups. Im not that good of a shooter usually. So I listened to lab radar and picked a load for a 6.5 creedmore, going 2827 with an extreme spread of 2fps and on a lucky day the group is a bug hole.
Very very happy!
The first was criterion, and I was so happy how easy to load for it was and how well it shoots still to this day. Then I bought an Oregon Mountain Rifle company barrel.
With nothing to say but good about the criterion, the oregon mountain rifle barrel is better!
Brass grows very little due to a great chamber.
When breaking it in I fired 40 rounds of 8 different factory ammo types, into a 3/4 inch group at 100, and got an extreme spread of 27fps across 8 different types of ammo?
I didn't know this could be possible!
From first round to current the speed has not changed more than 10fps.
And when finding a load for it, I had to take it out, do a 10 round satterlee method, and fire 6, 5 round groups of different seating depths and I ended up with basically a linear change in speed with very small ledges in the 10 round powder check and the seating depth test produced 1/2" or one hole groups. Im not that good of a shooter usually. So I listened to lab radar and picked a load for a 6.5 creedmore, going 2827 with an extreme spread of 2fps and on a lucky day the group is a bug hole.
Very very happy!
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baldhunter
Well-Known Member
I like PacNor
General RE LEE
Well-Known Member
If my Tikka T3x 6.5 CM shoots sub 1" groups at 100 yards with factory ammo, is an aftermarket barrel unnecessary?
ntsqd
Well-Known Member
Tagging in with a meager contribution.
Is Pac-Nor back up and running full strength? My first custom barrel is a 6BE from them. I lost interest shortly after getting that rifle together, so no comment on how it shoots but I can say that they were really great to work with.
My second ever custom barrel project's action arrived there at Pac-Nor for fitting literally the day of the fire. Ended up going with Satern for that barrel. I've only shot 20 thru it and it clearly did not like the 60gr. .224 Valkyrie factory loads as it shot about 1 MOA. It is twisted for heavier, so that wasn't a huge surprise. I had hoped that it would shoot the 52/3's decently enough to satisfy my occasional need for speed, but that may not be realistic.
Waiting on my third custom barrel, a Shilen from NSS, that should be arriving any day now. The previous comment made about them has me a little nervous. Hope this one is right and it shoots.
Is Pac-Nor back up and running full strength? My first custom barrel is a 6BE from them. I lost interest shortly after getting that rifle together, so no comment on how it shoots but I can say that they were really great to work with.
My second ever custom barrel project's action arrived there at Pac-Nor for fitting literally the day of the fire. Ended up going with Satern for that barrel. I've only shot 20 thru it and it clearly did not like the 60gr. .224 Valkyrie factory loads as it shot about 1 MOA. It is twisted for heavier, so that wasn't a huge surprise. I had hoped that it would shoot the 52/3's decently enough to satisfy my occasional need for speed, but that may not be realistic.
Waiting on my third custom barrel, a Shilen from NSS, that should be arriving any day now. The previous comment made about them has me a little nervous. Hope this one is right and it shoots.
CNY Yote Hunter
Well-Known Member
Hart is still making great barrels!
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2006
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The couple smaller shops we've worked with seemed to be able to send out consistent products, just not enough volume. There is something to that one at a time attention to detail an owner operator puts out. As a shop grows, I THINK that they can get sophisticated enough to control quality with high volume, but I understand those challenges.
We've started breaking up and vertically integrating our supply chain steps, to try to control the quality along the way.
I have had several different barrels over the years. Bartlein, Brux, Rock Creek, Krieger, Pac Nor, Proof, and Hart. All have shot very good. I currently have a HS Precisions blank on order that I am looking forward to trying. On my current rifles, I have 2- Brux, 1- Hart, 1-Bartlein, 1-Proof.
