1st Custom Barrel

[gilcarleton]

I want to order my first custom barrel for a Model 70 7mm 08 and I live in Foley Alabama. I am considering two different mfg's but am open to other suggestions.

One I am considering is Bartlein Barrels in Jackson, WI. The positive with this company that some customers have set several world records with their barrels. The negatives are that it will take 5-6 months to get a barrel and they will not thread the barrel.

The other company is Lija Barrels in Plains, Montana. The negative is that I don't know how accurate their barrels are. The positives are that they seem to have a good plant from looking at their web site, they will thread the barrel for an additional $40.00, and they can produce the barrel in about a month.

Like I said, this will be my first custom barrel and I may not even be looking for things that I should be. Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[ohiohunter]

Both barrel makers mentioned are good. Depending on your desired contour you can find available barrels ready to ship. Bartlein has a list on their site and I'm sure others do also. There are plenty of other good barrel makers out there, depending on your needs and wants will dictate which direction you go. It sounds like availability is close to the top. There may still be a group buy for benchmark barrels open, I think their turn around is faster than bartleins.

You mentioned having the barrel threaded... Do you have a smith lined up to do the work? Your smith will chamber, thread, head space, and fit the barrel to your action so its best to leave the threading up to your smith.

** I checked bartlein, they only have one 7mm 9.5twisth mtu contour, probably not what you're looking for.

 

[dmj]

Probably can't go wrong with either, and I'm sure people with more experience will have better advise than I will. The only one of the mentioned barrels I have any experience with is the Lija barrels. Have one on a 7mm rum. It is a good shooting rifle when I do my part. Good luck

 

[shortgrass]

Any of the known custom barrel makers can supply you with an excellent barrel. You've got Krieger, Hart, Broughton, and Brux to consider, besides the two you already mentioned. Equally important is the quality of the barrel fitting and chambering. A 'wannabe' gunsmith can mess up the best barrel blank, so choose wisely. It's not all about who makes the best barrel blank, how good the fitting/chambering is needs to be considered too, and is every bit as important. Just because a guy has a lathe doesn't make him a gunsmith. And, there's a difference between a gunsmith and a machinist. A gunsmith is one who is familiar with the machining needed to fit a barrel, among other gun related tasks. He may or may not fit into a machine shop environment, depending on his background. A machinist is one who has knowledge of machining in a machine shop environment, but my not be familiar with the nuances of fitting barrel to action and chambering. Many machinists are not 'comfortable' in a gunsmithing shop as they are used to having machining processes happen faster.

 

[Edd]

I would order a Krieger or a Bartlein and wait as long as it takes to get one. If you know the contour and twist you want, you can maybe find one in stock somewhere.

 

[ultraedge]

Butch's Reloading and Grizzly Industrial have Bartlein in stock and both have quick shipping. I have used several of both brands and they shot equally well. Gary

 

[gilcarleton]

Thanks so much for all of the good information. I made the assumption that it would be better to have the barrel maker thread the barrel but it sounds like a smith can do it just as well. I think I will call my smith and see what he thinks. I could wait 6 months for a barrel if needed but I would like to have the rifle completed by spring so I can get involved in some competition. Right now I am trying to build a rifle that I can compete with and also hunt with. If I like long range competition I am sure I will build another one. I need to learn a lot more before I do that though. A summer with a sporting rifle will teach me a lot. Thanks again for the advice.

 

[mountainman56]

I have a Bartlein and am very happy with it. I think it's hard to go wrong with any of the major brands. Many places have name brand barrels in stock. Check out Sothern Precision Ribles. If they have the calibre and contour you are looking you can have your barrel in a few days.

Also Grizzly stocks Bartlein barrels.

 

[ohiohunter]

Thanks so much for all of the good information. I made the assumption that it would be better to have the barrel maker thread the barrel but it sounds like a smith can do it just as well. I think I will call my smith and see what he thinks. I could wait 6 months for a barrel if needed but I would like to have the rifle completed by spring so I can get involved in some competition. Right now I am trying to build a rifle that I can compete with and also hunt with. If I like long range competition I am sure I will build another one. I need to learn a lot more before I do that though. A summer with a sporting rifle will teach me a lot. Thanks again for the advice.

With competition on the horizon, what lead you to the 7mm-08? Off the top of my head I cannot think of good reason to run this over a 284 or a 6.5 of some sort. I initially took thought this build was a whitetail set up, which is why I didn't question it first.

Reason being I feel as though I made a mistake when I put together my first gun in a 280. I love the round and it shoots great I just wished I had made my way to these boards first or had someone question my choice. If I had to do it all over again no doubt I would have a 284 instead.

 

[dsculley]

gilcarlton,

Send me a pm if you would like so we can swap information as I am in Orange Beach. I am re-barreling a Savage as well with the intention of trying F-Class. I am going to go with either a 6.5 Creedmoor or 6.5 X 47 Lapua.

Dennis

 

[Jerry M]

I ordered a Bartlein barrel about a year and a half ago and it was ready in about six weeks. Order the profile and twist you want and you'll be happier in the long run.

 

[gilcarleton]

The main reason is because the ballistics are so much better than a .308, the caliber the rifle is now. I felt it would be a good deer rifle and would work for an occasional elk hunt. I have decided to take a look at the 6.5 and see what the ballistics are on it but have not had time yet. It is my understanding that there are long range classes that I could shoot competitively in. I ordered the rule book from the NRA and it arrived a couple of days ago and I will learn more about it after doing a little reading.

 

[ohiohunter]

The main reason is because the ballistics are so much better than a .308, the caliber the rifle is now. I felt it would be a good deer rifle and would work for an occasional elk hunt. I have decided to take a look at the 6.5 and see what the ballistics are on it but have not had time yet. It is my understanding that there are long range classes that I could shoot competitively in. I ordered the rule book from the NRA and it arrived a couple of days ago and I will learn more about it after doing a little reading.

I tried to build the same thing, a hunting and occasional fclass gun. I ended up w/ a 9.5lb 280 that kicked the **** out of me during competition and a slightly heavier carry gun than I wanted to hunt with at the time. I quickly bought a dedicated fclass 284. But before I picked up the fclass rig I ordered a choate stock to weigh down my 280 for comp. I worked great, so having an extra stock may be a good plan of action. It worked for me until I got the 284.

Considering the above you may be able to get away with the lighter calibers in both hunting and comp. But you will be in the open class which pits you against plenty of better ballistic calibers such as 284, 284shehane, 260, 280, 6.5x284, 6xc, 300wsm..etc (just off the top of my head on our local line). Before I had my dedicated rig I found myself wanting one very quickly. If I could do it again I would have ordered a lighter contour in 284 and bought my 284 fclass gun leaving me with one set of high end dies instead of 2 and a slew of brass for both. I run same powder and bullets for both. That would be my course of action.

If you have not shot fclass yet borrow a gun or take your 308 (if it has a heavy barrel) and see what you think. A 308 (or 223) will put you in the FTR class as long as it is < 18lbs with attached bipod.

 

[gilcarleton]

That is a lot of good information and I appreciate it. What got me into wanting to participate in Long Range Shooting is that I was elk hunting in Oregon and I had a bull run out across a mountain meadow about 400 yds, stop and look straight at me. I had a .338 and did not take the shot without some kind of quarter to hit. I was afraid that the bullet could pass between his lungs and not hit anything that would kill him instantly and would just go off and die. Anyway, I was going to buy another .338 until someone told me that the competition required me to fire about 50 shots. Forget that! Getting 10, maybe 15 down range is about the best I can do without flinching.

I am going to check out the calibers you mentioned and see which will work best for me. BTW, where do you live; Ohio or Idaho? I was going to congratulate you on Ohio's National Championship this year but I think you live in Idaho. This was a tough year for me. Of course I wanted Alabama to win but half my family lives in Cleveland and my son lives in Oregon.

Oh, one other question. What do you think of Varget powder? It seems like a lot of people on this site like it but from what I can see, it produces a very slow bullet.

Best wishes,

Gil