Montana barrels

Barks

Barks

CGN Regular
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Location
Petawawa,Ont
I think my favorite rifle may have to become my new favorite rifle. I have a.243 winchester that may just be a bit worn out. I know where I can pick up an aftermarket barrel that "MAY" be a Montana in 6.5mm 1/9 twist. It won't be sold "guarenteed since the seller cannot confirm if it's a Montana or a Lilja. They also can't guarentee that it's of match quality. The price is a steal in my opinion, but I have never heard of Montana barrels. (the seller thinks this is probably what it is). Anybody have any experience with these.

My idea was to turn my .243 into a .260. I'll just neck up my .243 Lapua brass and I should be good to go. Any other thoughts would be appreciated. At worse I would hope it would be a better replacement for my worn out tube.
 
The seller is "quite" sure its a Montana. There is a stamp on the end of the barrel blank that says 6.5mm 1/9. He thinks that Douglas and Shillen use a computer print that is very distinguishable. Lilja and Montana use just a stamp. He had no other barrels to compare to at the time. He made mention of one project rifle that he put together for a pencil barreled .270 that just wouldn't shoot. The barrel was a Montana. The company completely replaced the barrel and payed for all gunsmithing charges for a second install. I like that kind of service, but since he isn't positive its a montana, no guarentees. The barrel is selling for $155.00 taxes in. How much could I expect to pay for it installed?? Smith fees and such??
 
If you are thinking about longer range shooting and have a 6.5mm barrel, why not go 6.5-284.
Calibre has been great in F class out to 1000 yards.
 
First off; A barrel that actually has rifling is probably a bargain at 155 dollars!
Shilen and Douglas are stamped with the maker's name. The MRC's I have had were stamped only with the groove dia and twist.
I have installed a few MRC barrels and can speak only of those barrels I have used.
Every one has shot very well. The bores have been smooth and the barrels showed little tendency to foul. All have been properly stress relieved and shown no tendency to move during the profiling operation.
The only downside is that not a single one has been straight. In fact, most have had enough of a curvature to the bore to make setup for chambering difficult. I finally ended up installing the barrel into my action truing fixture so I could get the chamber section to run true enough to get a round chamber.
During manufacture, the barrels are drilled and reamed then straightened. The problem seems to be (a) the drill runs out excessively, and (b) the guy doing the straightening doesn't have a particularily good eye. After straightening (?) the barrels are stress relieved. I've looked through the blanks prior to rifleing and they are invariably visibly crooked. After straightening, they are still visibly crooked. They should not be all that crooked after drilling and reaming so I suspect there is a problem with the drilling setup.
I have spoken to others who have used them and they didn't seem bothered by the lack of straightness. One fellow simply explained to me how they couldn't be crooked and how one could set up to turn them so they had to end up straight. I felt I was seeing a level of ignorance which would be impossible to correct so I just thanked him for the info.
As I said, curvature notwithstanding, they have been very good shooting barrels and I wouldn't feel too bad about owning one. They are just a little more difficult to handle if one wants to try for perfection in a chambering job. The other thing is, I really like the manufacturer. These are great guys who are doing their best to produce a decent product at a decent price. Regards, Bill
 
Lilja Barrels

It won't be sold "guarenteed since the seller cannot confirm if it's a Montana or a Lilja. They also can't guarentee that it's of match quality.

Barks,
I've used Lilja barrels and it says Lilja on the chamber end along with the caliber and twist.
Tom.
 
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