Rate these barrels

B

Bnhpr

Guest
Who's the best? Which is a good value?

Stainless or CM?

Krieger
Hart
Douglas
Lothar Walther
Adams and Bennet
Lilja
Shilen
Broughton
Spencer
Lawton
ER Shaw
 
I have a soft spot for William of Occam, so I'll give you an answer.

Some of these makers compete for customers among the best benchrest shooters in the world. If they knew how to eliminate the so-so, the good, and the better-than-average, and offer only "the best," they would do so, advertise & guarantee this, and set a price to match.

While not everyone would want to pay that price, the question as to "best" would be so apparent it would not arise. Since it does, draw the obvious conclusion.

(By the way, you left out Border, Madco & no doubt some others.)
 
Charles E said:
I have a soft spot for William of Occam, so I'll give you an answer.

Some of these makers compete for customers among the best benchrest shooters in the world. If they knew how to eliminate the so-so, the good, and the better-than-average, and offer only "the best," they would do so, advertise & guarantee this, and set a price to match.

While not everyone would want to pay that price, the question as to "best" would be so apparent it would not arise. Since it does, draw the obvious conclusion.

(By the way, you left out Border, Madco & no doubt some others.)
Click to expand...

Plurality should not be posited without necessity... is that better?

There are no real deals any more, I know this to be true. I bought two A&B blanks, thinking that if I screw them up, it's no problem.

It was probably foolish, because I could have just cut back a higher priced barrel also. It's not going to break me by any means.

I should have -reworded my question to "What barrels do you prefer?"

p.s. I did see Border Barrels, but I have a personal grudge against UK machinery,it's my own hang up, so I did not mention them.
 
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#1 Krieger, My all time favorite flavor and, the only barrel I would own on my personal rifles.

The rest range from Good to Ok to fair, like they say #2 is just the first looser.
 
Fords vs. Chevrolets, Again?

After the ruckus over actions I guess I'd better stay out of this one, but...

"I prefer blondes--how could you possibly suggest that redheads are more attractive."

"And by the way--exactly how many beauty contests have you officially judged anyway??"
 
The way I see it, if there was a "Best Barrel" every body else would be run out of business pretty quick. Right?

The "best Barrel" can't make up for a bad chamber, a too long throat or a warped action. It still won't win.
 
vicvanb said:
After the ruckus over actions I guess I'd better stay out of this one, but...

"I prefer blondes--how could you possibly suggest that redheads are more attractive."

"And by the way--exactly how many beauty contests have you officially judged anyway??"
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People should not get offended by other people's opinions. I'm only interested in opinions, since there are no real facts here, just people that believe their opinions are fact.

I'm just interested in what barrels you use on your best shooting rifles, really, your experience is important to me.
 
I see five names on your list that I use and have found all of them to make vary fine barrels. The other names on your list (with the exception of one) I have not used, so I am not in the position to comment.

Most of the barrel makers on your list produce barrels that are better than the average shooter can see the difference, assuming that all the other parts of the puzzle are meant, of course.

If you really want to know which barrels finish first in the hands of top shooters, then look to the match equipment lists for your particular sport.

It all depends on what you will use the barrel for. If you asked which ones are better than factory barrels, most of them on your list, would be better. :D
 
Bnhpr said:
People should not get offended by other people's opinions. I'm only interested in opinions, since there are no real facts here, just people that believe their opinions are fact.

I'm just interested in what barrels you use on your best shooting rifles, really, your experience is important to me.
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My opinion is always fact.:D
 
Barrels

Through the years,I have used several different brands. I guess it was in 1998 I tried Kreigers, and have not used anything since.
I won't give an opinion without giving you my reasons.
From a machinist standpoint, I have always thought that a properly cut rifled barrel is superior to barrels made by other methods. If you order a .237 groove 6mm Krieger, it will be almost identicle in dimensions to one you odered a year ago, or even a year before that.
Most shooters know that I shoot, more or less, the same load in all of my Competition Rifles, with a fair amount of success. I am no "Hall of Fame Shooter", but I have been known to make two bullets touch on occasion. The reason I am able to do this is because all of the different Kriegers I use are so close in their internal dimensions that they all perform almost identicle with that load.
I just recently set back a Unlimited Krieger that is circa 2001. It shoots the same load as the newest ones I have, and does it pretty well. For all general purposes, I could not tell this 7 year old barrel from a new one I just chambered up two weeks ago.
So, you see, it is just not an opinion I am trying to give you. I give you an honest assessment based on what works for me in The Competitive Arena.
Other shooters can give you identicle testimony using another brand of barrels. They have found something that works for them, and see no reason to switch, other than "just wanting to try something different".
I do a lot of that "trying something different" thing, tweeking the combination a tad here, and there, to see if there is something to be gained. But when Match Day comes, I am going to the line with what ever combination I think will give me the best agging capability.
In the past years, part of that combination includes a Krieger Barrel........jackie
 
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The best shooting

barrels that I've ever had have been Shilens so I tend to shoot them mostly. If Mr. Roscoe is so sure about any one type of barrel I assume that he always wins unless there's a better shooting Kreiger where he's competing.

The absolute, only way, to rate a barrel is to shoot it against a bunch of other brands in competition. I've been beaten by most all brands of barrels.

Shelley
 
Barrels by these manufacturers have won recent competitions:
Schneider
Bartlein
Half Moon
Lawrence
Rock
We are fortunate to have so many barrelmakers producing top quality products.
 
Most replies so far have dealt only with the stainless BR quality barrels. The chrome moly are another thing entirely. Where the stainless nearly all come with a .0001" dimensional guarantee, chrome moly is different. The Kieger is the only one that comes with a .0001" dimensional guarantee in chrome moly. Additionally, it is my belief that on the lighter hunting profiles, the cut rifling will result in less stress in the blank than the button process. My experience has been that hunting rifles barrelled with chrome moly Kriegers have an uncanny ability to place the first shot out of a cold, clean barrel right in the same small group as the rest of the shots. I really do like that, as I don't have to hunt with a fouled bore like I've had to do with some other barrels. They ain't cheap, but if I can get the customer to spring for the cost, I do the job with the knowledge I'll have a happy customer.
 
ShelleyDavidson said:
If Mr. Roscoe is so sure about any one type of barrel I assume that he always wins unless there's a better shooting Kreiger where he's competing.
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Easy Shelley, I don’t always win. I've had my ass handed to me on more than one occasion :D. One of the barrels on the list I've had two of. The throat moved .020"+ every 15-20 shots on the first one :mad:. That manufacturer replaced the barrel but now, I'm scared of em. Another barrel on that list, I've seen copper so bad it took over an hour to clean it to the point that the accuracy came back, that barrel would be what some would consider one of the top five.

I've owned several Krieger’s and have them on my rifles. Never had a bad one. Several persons I shoot with at various matches have Krieger Barrels on their Rifles, never seen a bad one. FWIW, a six groove Shilen in 6BRM and a Spencer Barreled 6XC have given me fits. Speedy once told me that the six groove Shilens are what put him in the Hall of Fame, he also said that him and Tony B. had several conversations concerning six groove 6mm Barrels (Shilen). They felt that this particular barrel did have the advantage, especially at 200 yards, but hey, I wasn’t there and never heard the conversation??. I think barrels are like everything else, it boils down to the individual sitting behind them.
 
Bnhpr said:
Who's the best? Which is a good value?

Stainless or CM?

Krieger
Hart
Douglas
Lothar Walther
Adams and Bennet
Lilja
Shilen
Broughton
Spencer
Lawton
ER Shaw
Click to expand...

I would highly rate several barrels on your list but would add Bartlein in or at the top.
 
I'm certainly no expert, but have bought enough barrels to have an opinion. The worst barrel I have owned is a Shilen. Granted, it wasn't a match barrel, but one of their Lone Star line. Fouled something horrible. Shot decent, but had to be cleaned quite often.

Worst company I have ever dealt with in this arena is Hart. If they were the only ones still making barrels, I would quit shooting. That bad.

Dennis
 
I realize that

part of the reason is that they've been in business for many years but the fact remains the more BR records have been broken by Shilen Barrels than any other brand. They keep track of that kind of stuff down at the Shilen factory.

I like other brands of barrels also, I'm just saying that bashing Shilen is unfair when they have held more records than any other barrel company. Repeating rumors about any upstanding company is unfair. Heck, I'm kinda down on rumor mongering anyway, I put it in the same category as soap operas.

No matter what brand you choose it really sucks if you bad mouth a barrel company if they don't produce 100% hummers for you. It just doesn't happen!!!
 
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