The BEST Barrel for Your BUCK
- Thread starter adamthebad
- Start date
I have used barrels from a large number of sources: Hart, Shilen, Krieger, Lilja, Bartlein, Pac-Nor, McGowen, Jury, Gaillard, Ron Smith, Benchmark, King, etc, etc.
All make/made good barrels, although I disagree with the gain twist being better than the others. Benchmark has eked out a place in the "great" barrels
category, and I have 4 of these on rifles at the moment. All are stellar performers. I have 2 McGowens...one is a "very good" barrel, the other is a fantastic barrel.
I believe that the market is quite competitive, and the 'smith may well have more to do with what you end up with than does the barrel source. Dave.
All make/made good barrels, although I disagree with the gain twist being better than the others. Benchmark has eked out a place in the "great" barrels
category, and I have 4 of these on rifles at the moment. All are stellar performers. I have 2 McGowens...one is a "very good" barrel, the other is a fantastic barrel.
I believe that the market is quite competitive, and the 'smith may well have more to do with what you end up with than does the barrel source. Dave.
I've used Krieger and Douglas. I want to try a Bartlein next. I am not sure trying to save a little bit of money makes sense when looking at the big picture. How much will the gunsmith charge for his work? Add that to the price of the barrel and will $100 or $200 either way really make a difference?
Mystic Precision
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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Thanks for the referal guys... today, we have so many excellent barrel makers in Canada and imported. I have some sporter contour barrels in 30cal, 7mm, 6.5 and 6mm on sale right now if interested. Please forward PM or email.
From CM, SS to CF wrapped... all sorts of contours, cals, twists, features.... the range of options is pretty much endless.
How about a prefit with an octagonal and fluted barrel?
If you can dream it up, likely can supply so let me know if I can help.
Jerry
From CM, SS to CF wrapped... all sorts of contours, cals, twists, features.... the range of options is pretty much endless.
How about a prefit with an octagonal and fluted barrel?
If you can dream it up, likely can supply so let me know if I can help.
Jerry
Thank You for the input and question...a GS is like finding a great Doctor, one that You trust...wont steer You wrong and when something is f###ed up he/she will let you know...same goes for a GS IMO....still on the build for a 223 and Barrel eating speed demon 22-250. I have been holding off due to a Family Gun collection inheritance (FEDS are so slow and i dont want to do anything to mess up the transfer) and the farming thing in Alberta (messed up). I was told a few to look into like this Trochu Alberta GS (Ron Smith) and everyone has been helpful with pointers.
very interesting!! thanks
unknown for myself at this point...have had a lot of guns over the years, never an aftermarket one. Always one that came with one of the shelf or used from people i know. A new direction if you will.
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thanks
from understanding it does wear barrels faster then most....and upwards of
3000 to 4000fps
"40 gr. (2.6g)-- BT4,224ft/s (1,287m/s)--1,585ftâ‹…lbf (2,149J) " quoted from a ballistics book i have ... yes??? no???
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and i do get what is said by fast twist ...i am wondering about aftermarket barrels since factory is limited to choice and most have crap QC standards that are next to non-existant
All bbls wear out. How much shooting do you do? Maybe a 22lr is a better choice for bbl longevity.
Ever shoot a Tikka or seen one shot?
So, as we can see, there are a LOT of opinions out there
most I think give an opinion to the best barrels
and only a couple offer a suggestion of the "Best bang for the buck"
as the old saying goes "It's YOUR money"
in that light, IF I were going to be dropping $ on a barrel blank, I'd consider spending what is needed to get quality. And you can suss that out by the referals on this site!
I would think the GunSmith costs will far outweigh the barrel costs regardless, so either get a "take off" or get one from a "known quality" provider.
now, IF you do your own work, then it would make sense to look at the budget minded suppliers. As you could tweek any issues at no cost.
But to pay a GS to fix issues.... I think it would make more sense to get them a good start and let them do their magic.
most I think give an opinion to the best barrels
and only a couple offer a suggestion of the "Best bang for the buck"
as the old saying goes "It's YOUR money"
in that light, IF I were going to be dropping $ on a barrel blank, I'd consider spending what is needed to get quality. And you can suss that out by the referals on this site!
I would think the GunSmith costs will far outweigh the barrel costs regardless, so either get a "take off" or get one from a "known quality" provider.
now, IF you do your own work, then it would make sense to look at the budget minded suppliers. As you could tweek any issues at no cost.
But to pay a GS to fix issues.... I think it would make more sense to get them a good start and let them do their magic.
I recently paid $630 for my barrel, and that's only the start of the cost for a custom rifle. Then, the barrel has to be threaded, chambered and crowned, followed by bedding and free floating. Extra cost may include: fluting, cerakote and lapping. Therefore, add another $1,000.
In Canada, thanks in part to American export regulations, all barrels are expensive and there are few bargains to be had. Long gone are the days when one could by a barrel for an hours pay (Dennis probably remembers the Star Diamond lapped blanks. I think they came from Numrich). In the mid-seventies, a Douglas premium barrel cost about four hours in union sawmill wages. Today, in Canada, it takes about two days (closer to three, after taxes) to buy the same barrel. Barrels are spendy enough, for the last few years, I prefer to let the customer buy the barrel himself. That way, he wouldn't blame me for the expense. The prices are high enough that there is simply no room for the gunsmith to make a profit on the barrel unless he is more ruthless than I.
From a performance standpoint, I don't have a real preference but, I must say, I have seen more poor barrels in the last six years than in the previous thirty-five.
From a performance standpoint, I don't have a real preference but, I must say, I have seen more poor barrels in the last six years than in the previous thirty-five.
yes the town i live near is a tikka dealer
and i have/had many 22lr..cooey jager mossberg winchester....limited range with a 22LR
thanks....as far as tweaking a ballistic device there is little i would do besides a great cleaning and stock/trigger change...the rest is left to a cert GS
