which bbl mfg?

Old Coach

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I have decided to build a L/R hunting rifle in 7mm Mag.
I have a Rem 700 action in a Mc millan stock.
It is now a 7STW so the conversion should be easy enough.
What brand bbl will be the best? Hart, Schilen, Douglas, Rock, or others.
All help appreciated.

THANKS
Coach
 
That's like asking chevy or ford ?

There is no way to determine the best barrel ,myself i chose a broughton w/5-c rifling for my 280ai ,a douglas for my 22-250 -and just bought a rockcreek -and i don't think one will be better than the other.

Flip a coin b/c a guy shooting under field conditions will be happy w/the performance of most any popular rifle barrel these days.
Not going back w/ the 7 stw ?
 
I use Krieger barrels. Over at 6mmbr.com they did a reader poll on who made the best 6mmbr barrel. 1577 total voters, 525 votes for Krieger. I have a Winchester M70 with a Krieger 28" MTU contour stainless barrel with 1 in 9" twist bedded in a H-S Precision tactical stock. It's a very good rifle. All my rebarrels will be Kriegers.
 
This is just a personal decision, which I have not made, yet, but, I will steer away from Broughton simply for ethical reasons due to a bit if intel I've heard that seemed a bit shady. I have no idea if it is true, so this is my personal choice, but I believe it.

This is unfortunate b/c I have a Broughton bbl on a rifle that is a real shooter, but it was made by Greg Richards, the owner of Broughton barrels prior to North.

FWIW, I have had a few lengthy talks with a few smiths that have been doing this for almost as long as I've been alive and the short answer is it doesn't matter where you get the barrel. Either it will shoot or it won't. I've been in AZ and watched a few guys nail some fantasy groups with hunting rifles that sport Douglas bbls. at 500 meters.

I have had success with Lilja, Shilen, Hart, Broughton-Richards, PacNor. I have 3 Kriegers that will be at my doorstep Monday, tomorrow as well as 2 Obermeyers. I will be placing an order with Bartlein before 10am.

I spoke with a smith that has been to both Krieger and Bartlein facilities. He stated that he was most impressed with Bartlein's new CNC set up and the finish in the bore, even though there is no denying Krieger's reputation. This is a man who's been doing this for a lot of years and his new favorite barrels are from Bartlein. A top smith in PA who also makes actions only uses to barrel makers now: Hart and Bartlein.

I would bet money that if you went with Obermeyer, Krieger, Bartlein, Hart, Lilja, Broughton, or even PacNor, you would never know the difference. Just be sure to use a reputable smith who makes every rifle as though it is his own, and is the last one he'll ever shoot.
 
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This is just a personal decision, which I have not made, yet, but, I will steer away from Broughton simply for ethical reasons due to a bit if intel I've heard that seemed a bit shady. I have no idea if it is true, so this is my personal choice, but I believe it.

This is unfortunate b/c I have a Broughton bbl on a rifle that is a real shooter, but it was made by Greg Richards, the owner of Broughton barrels prior to North.

FWIW, I have had a few lengthy talks with a few smiths that have been doing this for almost as long as I've been alive and the short answer is it doesn't matter where you get the barrel. Either it will shoot or it won't. I've been in AZ and watched a few guys nail some fantasy groups with hunting rifles that sport Douglas bbls. at 500 meters.

I have had success with Lilja, Shilen, Hart, Broughton-Richards, PacNor. I have 3 Kriegers that will be at my doorstep Monday, tomorrow as well as 2 Obermeyers. I will be placing an order with Bartlein before 10am.

I spoke with a smith that has been to both Krieger and Bartlein facilities. He stated that he was most impressed with Bartlein's new CNC set up and the finish in the bore, even though there is no denying Krieger's reputation. This is a man who's been doing this for a lot of years and his new favorite barrels are from Bartlein. A top smith in PA who also makes actions only uses to barrel makers now: Hart and Bartlein.

I would bet money that if you went with Obermeyer, Krieger, Bartlein, Hart, Lilja, Broughton, or even PacNor, you would never know the difference. Just be sure to use a reputable smith who makes every rifle as though it is his own, and is the last one he'll ever shoot.


Go with Krieger----I would not give any of my money to Bartlien---got a couple of tubes that were not good and they are abusive people to make it even worse. The thread is out there for all to see.

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f19/best-barrels-made-29969/
 
COACH

I think there are many good barrel makers and most have been mentioned.

J E CUSTOM
 
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Go with Krieger----I would not give any of my money to Bartlien---got a couple of tubes that were not good and they are abusive people to make it even worse. The thread is out there for all to see.

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f19/best-barrels-made-29969/

I read the thread when it started. I realize you and Frank have disagreements on the barrels. Anytime anyone reads or hears anything negative, it is only natural that we all tend to shy away from the product.

On the flip side, if you talk with Borden, he highly recommends Bartlein. So does GA Precision. So, we can only speculate that you had a dud or two? I don't know. But I am willing to give a Bartlein a try. As I mentioned, I have several Kriegers due for delivery at any time.
 
I read the thread when it started. I realize you and Frank have disagreements on the barrels. Anytime anyone reads or hears anything negative, it is only natural that we all tend to shy away from the product.

On the flip side, if you talk with Borden, he highly recommends Bartlein. So does GA Precision. So, we can only speculate that you had a dud or two? I don't know. But I am willing to give a Bartlein a try. As I mentioned, I have several Kriegers due for delivery at any time.


I understand completely.. Just so you will know my Smith is a HOF shooter and knows what he is doing. As the saying goes "pay your money and take your chances".. Good luck--I have seen Bartliens on many equipment lists at matches... When I spend between 4 and 10k to build a rifle each component is the best of breed and my 2 Smiths, Speedy and Chuck Grace who is the VP of the ACGC know what is required and I go with their recommendations almost all of the time. My current rifle that Chuck is building will be at the Guild Show this winter and will be sporting a half round half octagon tube (416 Krieger) with integral rib and barrel band turned and chambered in a match version of the 416 Rigby (Kiff will be doing the reamers for the dies and chamber) by Speedy for Chuck to build. Even if it is a monster it will have to shoot .3 if it lives in my safe lol!!
 
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I did speak with a smith that has visited both Krieger and Bartlein facilities. The story was that (despite Kriegers excellent reputation), they are still drilling and rifling with an older Pratt and Whitney (I say who gives a hoot so long as the finished product performs), and that Bartlein is using the latest CNC technology. Now, I cannot regurgitate all the lingo, but it did sound impressive.

My take on it is this: There may have been a remote chance, as with any bbl maker, that the CNC machinery needed calibrating or fine tuning, or for whatever reason, when your two tubes were produced, there was simply a glitch. Maybe not. Maybe it was that particular lot of steel. Some things cannot be explained to our satisfaction. I am not one to throw in the towel on a product until it is given what I would consider to be a fair chance. On the other hand when we have an expensive project, I agree with you, it better **** well shoot the first time. But what does that mean? How many loads must we try before the rifle has been given a reasonable trial? I do not have the answer, but I will say that I have a Hart #1 featherweight 25.5" on my Ruger in 270 Win. The barrel was a bitch to break in and stop copper fouling, which goes against all recommendations on their website, and I had quite a number of rounds through it before it would shoot well.

Today, I can go to the range, bipod the rifle and secure it in my shoulder, put 130 ABs, 110 TSX, 110 TTSX, 130 TSX, 130 TTSX, 130 Sciroccos, 150 Speer spitzers, and 130 Partitions into 5/8" or less three shot strings at 100 yards when it is 85 degrees or 20 degrees. But it took an estimated 100 rounds before it would do this.

The factual way to play this bbl choice business out is to have 3-4 barrels installed on the same action, (if one chose to spend the time and money on such a test), and thoroughly test each one. Even then, we are at the mercy of that particular barrel.
 
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Hello everyone,
I am new here, But not to gun building.
I follow right along with the rest of you as to the barrel make, it may not be as important as the man behind the machine.
That's the main reason I believe in the cut rifled barrel for the best for all around as well as accuracy,"The man".
All of the tools that go into cutting the rifling are made by the man behind the machine. He makes the tools, they can't be bought, and they don't last forever. So if his reputation is good, he makes good tools and thus good barrels.
Our world is continuously changing, and the craftsmen are being lost. Quicker and faster are not better. They are just different.
Barrel making and Gunsmithing are Crafts, Trades if you will. I would rather pay for the "craftsman" behind the machine than pay the machine.
So in my opinion my picks are
Krieger, Chanlynn, Obermeyer and Bartlein
So as I said in my opinion
Oppenheimer
 
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