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er shaw barrels question

harleybug

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2014
Messages
196
Has anyone used these barrels before and how is the accuracy. Im looking at buying one but want some feedback. They are priced very well but its a little concerning. Im also looking at shilin i know they are night and day but this is my first build so i have no preference. Also does anyone hunt with a sendaro contour barrel, if so is the weight that bad or hardly noticable.
 
if you are asking a 'smith to put his hands on your rifle and paying for it, you ought to be buying a rather good barrel. I'm a tightwad but I just bought a 28" 8" twist #5 7mm Shilen match grade ss blank to replace toe gun plumbed pipe that was on my 7stw. I wouldn't think of a lesser barrel unless it was me or a buddy (read: free labor) going at my rifle. Even then I'd balk.
I've heard E.R. makes a decent pipe, but the $$ you have to throw at it makes any possibility of a bad or average shooter a no go for me.
 
I have an ER Shaw 6mmBR on my Savage 11 short action. It is an 8 twist 26" Savage Prefit that came threaded/chambered. I bought it new for $200.

It shoots Berger 105 Hunting VLD's in the .2's all day and Hornady 75g VMax in the low .3's ... this is from an unmodified factory/bolt though I do have it in a relatively inexpensive Choate Ultimate Varmint stock ...

Oh - I am am using Varget in Lapua cases with Remington BenchRest primers ... I get about 2850fps with the Bergers using a just below max load.

Very cost effective setup and with the Bergers, I am confident to hit a milk jug to 1000 yards ...

I like my ER Shaw even though some may not respect them as much as some more expensive names. All that being said, if I was going to pay a smith to chamber/thread/etc ... I'd probably move upmarket a little bit.

Happy shooting!

'
 
I own two Shaw barrels, a 6.5=284 sporter and a 7mag varmint.
Spend the extra for an upgrade! The two Shaw's shoot and clean alright but appear to be not much better than the factory barrels they replaced.
 
I have two Shaws on Savage actions and have been satisfied and surprised by their performance. I have also used Shilen for a wildcat build. The greatest difference that I see is ease of cleaning. The Shilen seems to have fewer flaws in the bore. That being said, there is no appreciable difference in accuracy among the three barrels; all are sub-MOA. I would not hesitate to use Shaw again.
GOOD LUCK and GOOD SHOOTING!!!
 
In My Opinion The ER Shaw barrels are on par with most factory barrels and even though the chance of getting a good one is better than a good factory barrel it is still not the quality that
you can expect from the premium barrels.

I have not personally seen what I call a good one, but that could be bad luck. I have a list of barrel makers that I wont build on and ER Shaw is one of them based on my experiences with them. I am
glad that some have been satisfied with them.

As said, After spending all the money to have a custom rifle built, don't scrimp on the barrel, It is the heart of an accurate rifle.

Just an opinion

J E CUSTOM
 
I have an ER Shaw rifle. One that they offer on their web site to build for you. They use a savage action. Guess I should clarify that I haven't been on their web site for several years so not sure what they offer at this time. My rifle is a 300 wm with 26 in. plus muzzle break. It's is mainly used as a hunting rifle and does shoot in the 1/2 moa range, if I do my part. I didn't order the rifle from them, as they would not commit to what kind of groups I could reasonable expect from the rifle. I purchased it on Gun Broker at approx 1/2 the price as it would have been from them and the rifle was new never fired. You can never own to many rifles and I guess at that price I was willing to take the chance. If I was building a rifle I would use a quality barrel, I wouldn't take a chance and they did leave me with the feeling that I would be taking a chance.
 
harleybug,

As with all questions soliciting opinions about products, there will be a wide range in those opinions. Some shooters need or desire to have barrels which are known for a high degree of accuracy when chambered and attached to an action. For generic hunting type rifle they might be fine for some shooters. Some shooters don't have the necessity for that same degree and are satisfied with less. As some say, 'minute of deer' is acceptable for them.

E.R. Shaw barrels are simply third tier barrels. This doesn't make them bad, they just aren't at the top of the heap for quality, accuracy and consistency. But for some that claim benchrest groups from these barrels, they have truly found that one needle in the haystack, a true rarity. Treasure that barrel since you won't find one again.

Professional gunsmiths who grow their name and reputation by consistency of quality and accuracy will not, cannot take a chance on E.R. Shaw barrels. They have to go with the barrel makers who demonstrate those best qualities on every barrel and stand behind each one.

Regards.
 
I've used 13 shaw barrels. From midway sales(not the best) to 3 rifles sent to them for clambering and fluting. 2 mausers that I had them do work on while installing a barrel. I've also had shilen and mcgregor. I won't use something other than a shaw. Seems to me most that have bad to say about them got them from midway or back in the 90s. I've been buying from them since 2007 and love the quality and their CS
 
I've used 13 shaw barrels. From midway sales(not the best) to 3 rifles sent to them for clambering and fluting. 2 mausers that I had them do work on while installing a barrel. I've also had shilen and mcgregor. I won't use something other than a shaw. Seems to me most that have bad to say about them got them from midway or back in the 90s. I've been buying from them since 2007 and love the quality and their CS

As has been stated before, you are entitled to your opinions and beliefs regarding any product. Someone has to be supporting them since they are still in business. If their level of quality meets your needs, terrific! My guess is that thousands of average shooters/hunters use this product because of cost. If the barrels meets their needs, that's also great.

He's the rub.

Professional gunsmiths who build for clients that demand excellence cannot afford to use third tier barrel makers like E.R. Shaw. The clients won't stand for it because they will see the difference. They have the abilities to shoot high scores at long ranges and in tactical competitions, consistently. So Shaw barrels will never be on my client's rifles no matter when they were made.

I use somewhere between 1,500 to 1,700 barrels a year, the vast majority being from Bartlein but a few from Kreiger, Brux, Gary Schneider, Proof Research, a couple from Hart and a couple from Lilja as supplied by some clients. After several years of these numbers, I've rejected exactly 3 barrels. Now that's a stand up record in anybody's book and it speaks volumes about the quality of the Bartlein barrels. Bartlein guarantees their barrels and we guarantee our work so using lesser quality barrels never enters into our thinking.

If E.R. Shaw makes your day, that's as good as it gets. We aren't here to quibble about that.

Regards.
 
Old thread, want to share, for the budget minded.
This was today, ER Shaw $200 barrel kit 243 on a 110 action.
100 grain generic bullets, midway branded, using 38 grains H414. 100 yards.
Five shots, two close and three touching...
This barrel works pretty well.
 

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I'll jump on this I had them put a barrel on a howa action in 6x45.
Usually I stay at the high end mainly proof.
But this was a fun project.
This was 400 yards with a 7mph wind.
These were the first two and after seeing that I sent the last one into water to try and catch the 70gr hammer. Didn't work went through all three 2 gallon jugs spaced 2" apart. But that was the distance I set for hunting and that should work for a deer.
I was happy enough to order a rifle from them for my dad in 6.5 creed. He loved it and it shoots very good. So for a budget build these are great.
 

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All I can speak for is my own experience, witch is limited. I only have two rifles that do not have factory barrels. One is a .400 Whelen, Winchester 70 action with a Shilen barrel, it shoots very well and cleans easy too. This rifle had been built for the person I bought it from, he had not shot it.
The other rifle is a Savage 111 action that I installed a E.R. Shaw 35 Whelen barrel on, it is a prefit barrel kit. I got it on sale for $163. At the time I was looking for a 35 Whelen bolt rifle but did not have a lot of money at the time. I also wanted a faster twist than the 1-16 that Remington's and most Ruger's have. The E. R. Shaw has a 1-14 twist, 24" and listed as a medium magnum contour, with scope the rifle weighs about 8.5 pounds, I don't mind the weight. As for accuracy it puts my hand loads with Speer 220gr and Nosler 225gr. bullets at 1/4" or less at 100 yards as long as I do my part. I love it and I was able to do it all my self.
My conclusion is if I was to do another rifle and wanting or needing to stay on a small budget I'd use a Savage action and an E. R. Shaw barrel prefit kit. If I was going to have a gunsmith build me a rifle I would use a different barrel, probably a Shilen. The reason for this is there are different grades of quality of every thing and if I'm going to pay a gunsmith to fit a barrel for me I may as well go for a higher quality barrel. When you look at the price by the time you the barrel and pay some one to fit it for you it's not really that much different. If you need to stay on a very tight budget and can do it your self I don't think you can go wrong with a Savage action and an E. R. Shaw barrel kit. It's going to come down to can and are you willing or wonting to do it your self, what you really wont, how much you want to or can spend, or how long you are willing to save for what you want. For a rifle build take your time look at the options and make shore your going to like what you go with, ether way it's a fair amount of money to be forking out, so make shore it is what your going to like.
 
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