Preferred Barrels formerly MGM
Total garbage, same goes for Oregon Mountain Rifles.
My smith said the last one he received was crooked in two different directions, no wonder I couldn't get it to shoot consistently.
McGowan isn't much better
I could probably 2nd this but Preferred shipped me an empty tube after the barrel broke through the 2 pieces of tape criss-crossed on either end. I filed a claim with UPS, so maybe Preferred got their money back, but after saying they'd replace the barrel in 2 weeks, they won't return emails after 6 more weeks when it took 4 months to get the thing ready after it was promised in 4 - 8 weeks. Forget them answering the phone. There was 1 piece of brown paper inside with the muzzle end imprint where the barrel was pushed up against one side and not centered inside the tube. 1 plastic end cap was pushed inside one end and it had not been stapled. Then again, the UPS label stated the weight as 1 pound, so how was there a barrel in there to start with? Complete fraud? Logan, the dude answering most of the emails and the one phone call I got after I lambasted them for a week seems like a nice, professional guy, on the same plane as Grant from JGS...almost, but he doesn't make nor package the barrels for shipping. Their bore diameter standard is .003" through the entire length. Shilen and even Wilson is .002", and the top brands mentioned by the OP is .001". I'm out $385, and they make you pay in full up front, so the time you have to file fraud charges with the card company has passes by the time you realize something is amiss. This could well be criminal. Can't say for sure, but they took my $$!
Next, Ragged Hole barrels in Sparks, NV that used to get on here quite a bit and drum up business a couple or so years ago uses Wilson barrels for cheap. I ordered a fast twist 6mm Remington and it was done in 2 weeks, except that it went to WA and I'm in MS. They had not responded to multiple questions prior to that, but did respond when I sent a copy of their tracking and begged for any response. He promised another identical barrel and delivered in 13 days. Good fit and finish, but accuracy was very mediocre, at best. I found 2 loads that got to exactly MOA, but no better. If you had to replace a burned out hunting barrel on a sentimental firearm, this might be a good option. Otherwise, meh... This is a prime example of a small upstart company operating with 2 guys that got way more business than they were capable of keeping up with in short order. I noticed Gun Broker feedback has gone down for them steadily over the past couple of years, as well. They don't answer questions on their auction items many times, either. Look them up there at Bookredsox username.
I had a smith that used nothing but Lilja barrels from about 10 years ago to about 7 years ago, and I never got one capable of sub 3/4 MOA, and some of his jobs weren't capable of 2 MOA. I finally bought him a Brux barrel and a Pierce action and had him make me a .22x47L, and never got another Lilja. Brux has done excellent for me, including more recently.
Shilen... meh. 11/16 MOA in a .308 Win Match from Northland OR WORSE. Decent hunting barrels. Not so much for match quality. I am unimpressed by the one Bartlein I have. I replaced a Mullerworks with it, and the Mullerworks was slightly more accurate. No personal experience, but my current smith built his personal gun on a Proof and had all sorts of trouble getting it to group. Therefore, I just ordered from Carbon Six (formerly The Barrel Outlet in Louisiana). I am familiar with their work. They sent me a McGowen in .284 Win Match and it was a solid 1/2 MOA gun. Same for the other McGowen I had from that Lilja smith chambered in .300 Whisper. He touted McGowen, too, just not as high as Lilja.
My 1 Hart barrel and installation job was great. My most accurate shouldered barrel was a Douglas air gaged .30 Caliber that took 40 shots to break in, but turned into a quarter-inch gun. Pretty good for a rented reamer .300 Dakota on a 27" Rem. Mag contour in a Stocky's stock!
My most accurate barrel of all time, and most consistently accurate of all are the Criterion (CBI) Savage pre-fits. These things shoot routinely in the .1s and .2s!! Just wish they would expand their chamber offerings to the size of Shilen's list.
And yes, Krieger is still good! VERY good! I am curious to try Hawk Hill one day, and finally got a Rock Creek a few years back that got sold before it got installed. That was another example of a small company getting more business than they could keep up with.
Finally, Pac-Nor has been ok for me. I haven't used them since they got their fancy lapping machine. Hope it didn't get destroyed in the fire last year this time.
To sum up, in my experience (with the exception of Douglas Premium), you get what you pay for when it comes to barrels. If I had to choose one or two to build a shouldered barrel, I would have a Krieger or Brux. Criterion is still the king of pre-fits until I find out differently.
