Best Custom Match Grade Barrels

[bamadawg2009]

1 Douglas, and 3 shilens all shoot under .50 inch groups. My vote goes to shilen just for the cost side I can buy 3 shilens for the cost of 1 or 2 of the others.

 

[Deleted member 48126]

I have used broughton and benchmark. Haven't shot the benchmark yet (rifle is about to be built) but I got it based on customer service from the forum member dead lift on here. He saw one of my threads about barrel suggestions and he pm'd with advice. It wasn't a sales pitch but a list of different barrel makers and how benchmark makes their barrels. The broughtons I have used shot .5 and under MOA.

 

[runshort]

We currently have hunting rifles with Shilen, Benchmark, Douglas, and Hart barrels on them.
I cant truthfully say that one is better than the other. Just happy there are so many quality barrels available today.

 

[J E Custom]

this is funny, 9 votes and 8 different answers !
just goes to show that most barrels available today are good ones .

+1

There are "No best" barrels, only good ones and poor to bad ones.

A lot goes into a great rifle, And a good barrel is just one of the components needed. with out it,
the rifle will at best be just good not great.

I judge barrels by there performance barrel to barrel (Consistency) Not based on one or two good ones.

There are only a few brands that have been Consistent performers after many builds and these are my favorites. There have been many barrels that performed great but were not always the same.

I realize that I have a lot of control on performance and don't just write a barrel brand off because it would not shoot sub 1/4 MOA.

So I have a list of which barrels I prefer, which I will use if the person wants that brand of barrel,
and the black list of barrels that I won't use Period.

My list is based own "MY" experiences and others are based on there experiences. So the brands
listed will be large I am sure.

So I would recommend buying one of the top brands and finding a top smith if you want a top performer.

J E CUSTOM

 

[MontanaRifleman]

+1

There are "No best" barrels, only good ones and poor to bad ones.

A lot goes into a great rifle, And a good barrel is just one of the components needed. with out it,
the rifle will at best be just good not great.

I judge barrels by there performance barrel to barrel (Consistency) Not based on one or two good ones.

There are only a few brands that have been Consistent performers after many builds and these are my favorites. There have been many barrels that performed great but were not always the same.

I realize that I have a lot of control on performance and don't just write a barrel brand off because it would not shoot sub 1/4 MOA.

So I have a list of which barrels I prefer, which I will use if the person wants that brand of barrel,
and the black list of barrels that I won't use Period.

My list is based own "MY" experiences and others are based on there experiences. So the brands
listed will be large I am sure.

So I would recommend buying one of the top brands and finding a top smith if you want a top performer.

J E CUSTOM

Care to share which brands you do prefer?

 

[tikkat3270wsm]

I vote Brux also. When I contacted them, Len answered the phone and we had a great conversation. Any company that has the customer service and the respect that they have will have a customer for life. Len understood the direction I was going and answered any question I had. I am new to the long range /build game and he really helped out. My barrel was done 4 mnth early!

 

[MontanaRifleman]

We currently have hunting rifles with Shilen, Benchmark, Douglas, and Hart barrels on them.
I cant truthfully say that one is better than the other. Just happy there are so many quality barrels available today.

I completely agree. I have very little personal experience with only 3 Broughton's recently and my experience was good with them. I know of at least one good smith that prefers them and I know other good smiths that prefer other brands, so it seems to me there is a very good availability factor for quality barrels. Very hard to say which is "The Best"

That said, I think the poll is very interesting to see which are currently most popular. Also interesting to read others experiences.

 

[Pdvdh]

Would be interesting to have a poll where only gunsmiths in business for the prior 5 years would be able to vote. I don't think hunters, by and large, have enough personal experience to compare the different barrels. So the poll turns into a popularity contest based on brand of ownership loyalties and Forum-based word of mouth. I'd take J E's recommendations over the top of all non-gunsmith votes - combined.

Simply from what I read, and not personal experiences - because I don't own that many different custom barrels - there is a continuing consensus that there are quite a few "best" custom barrel brands available for purchase. And there's certainly more competition coming, IMO, since it took 9 months to receive the last custom barrel I ordered - from the date of order. That's longer than it takes to receive a custom automobile. IF I owned a barrel manufacturing company and it was taking me 9 months to provide a barrel, I'd either ramp up production or retire wealthy and contentedly. The demand is obviously there, even during a relatively poor economy.

 

[Jud96]

Would be interesting to have a poll where only gunsmiths in business for the prior 5 years would be able to vote. I don't think hunters, by and large, have enough personal experience to compare the different barrels. So the poll turns into a popularity contest based on brand of ownership loyalties and Forum-based word of mouth. I'd take J E's recommendations over the top of all non-gunsmith votes - combined.

Simply from what I read, and not personal experiences - because I don't own that many different custom barrels - there is a continuing consensus that there are quite a few "best" custom barrel brands available for purchase. And there's certainly more competition coming, IMO, since it took 9 months to receive the last custom barrel I ordered - from the date of order. That's longer than it takes to receive a custom automobile. IF I owned a barrel manufacturing company and it was taking me 9 months to provide a barrel, I'd either ramp up production or retire wealthy and contentedly. The demand is obviously there, even during a relatively poor economy.

There are many guys here who have been hunting for years and years with custom barrels. What makes their experiences any different than a gunsmith's. I can see that a gunsmith knows which one are manufactured the most accurate but if a gunsmith and a hunter both shoot excellent groups with different barrels, what makes the gunsmith's preferred brand better. I understand what you're saying about guys trying new stuff and saying its the best, but like my Dad who has been shooting Harts for 25+ years, I'm pretty sure he knows they work. My Uncle who has been a gunsmith for forty years uses Shilen. Both Hart and Shilens shoot great, I have personally never fired a rifle that had a Shilen on it but have shot a few of my Dad's rifles with Harts on them and they shoot incredibly well making me a fan of them. I don't see how a hunter who has extensive experience with a given barrel can not have his opinion considered because he is not a gunsmith. I have nothing at all against anyone I'm just saying a guy will years of great success shouldn't be ignored because he isn't a smith.

 

[Pdvdh]

If a hunter or shooter has recent experience with as many barrels as a gunsmith, then I would value that experience similar to a currently practicing gunsmith.

I don't value a gunsmith's vote in a poll that practiced 10 to 20 years ago equally as a gunsmith currently practicing. And I don't value the quality of a barrel produced by a manufacturer 10 to 20 years ago equally to the same manufacturer of a barrel today. Careers and businesses often times don't even last for 20 years, let alone maintain the same quality over such a long period of time. And technology continues to evolve.

Never said anyone had to agree with me. Anyone who has a barrel that shoot's well will likely praise that brand of barrel. And anyone that receives a turd likely won't. Many will never own or shoot more than one custom barrel. What's most important for me is to improve my odds of receiving a barrel that's a shooter, rather than a lemon. And that solely forms the basis for my post, comments, and opinion. That's all my Post consists of - my personal thoughts and conclusions. And now I've explained the basis for it. The fact that my experience includes more than 40 years shooting scoped rifles, and listening to more stories about rifles, cartridges, and barrels than could possibly be remembered adds confidence to my conclusions. Those stories include many from a close relative who's been a practicing gunsmith for 35 years, and the cumulative effect of many of the customers' statements that frequent that gunsmith's business. It makes perfect sense to me. If it's nonsense to others, I'm still perfectly content with my conclusions. If I desire the most credible information, I seek it from those who have the most - current - experience in that information area.

 

[Hunter2678]

krieger & bartlein get my vote ..no direct experience with the others.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

There are many guys here who have been hunting for years and years with custom barrels. What makes their experiences any different than a gunsmith's. I can see that a gunsmith knows which one are manufactured the most accurate but if a gunsmith and a hunter both shoot excellent groups with different barrels, what makes the gunsmith's preferred brand better. I understand what you're saying about guys trying new stuff and saying its the best, but like my Dad who has been shooting Harts for 25+ years, I'm pretty sure he knows they work. My Uncle who has been a gunsmith for forty years uses Shilen. Both Hart and Shilens shoot great, I have personally never fired a rifle that had a Shilen on it but have shot a few of my Dad's rifles with Harts on them and they shoot incredibly well making me a fan of them. I don't see how a hunter who has extensive experience with a given barrel can not have his opinion considered because he is not a gunsmith. I have nothing at all against anyone I'm just saying a guy will years of great success shouldn't be ignored because he isn't a smith.

Have to agree with Paul on this. As the end users, very few if any of us have the experience that precision rifle smiths do with various barrels. Not even close. Not to say that as end users we have nothing to say on the subject... we do, just not the experience as smiths. It's good to get the experience of a lot of shooters to get a bigger picture. But smiths just have so much more experience.

That said, a lot of smiths have their favorites for whatever reasons and a lot of that has to do with business relationships, i.e., better prices for lot orders, consistent deliverers, loyalty, etc.

I know 2 smiths here in Montana that have completely opposite views of a particular barrel maker not to be named. One will not use his barrels and the other has a business relationship with him and produces many fine shooting rifles with those barrels. So, you have to weigh all that as well. You will find varying opinions among smiths just like the rest of us, but in the big picture they do have a whole lot more experience.

 

[HARPERC]

I judge barrels by there performance barrel to barrel (Consistency) Not based on one or two good ones.

There are only a few brands that have been Consistent performers after many builds and these are my favorites. There have been many barrels that performed great but were not always the same.

I realize that I have a lot of control on performance and don't just write a barrel brand off because it would not shoot sub 1/4 MOA.

So I have a list of which barrels I prefer, which I will use if the person wants that brand of barrel, and the black list of barrels that I won't use Period.

J E CUSTOM

The reason I have had good barrels from multiple sources is my general rule of letting the person whose name goes on it select the barrel. I have only had one bad experience with a custom rifle not shooting well. It had nothing to do with the barrel, but rather the fact there were no bullets at the time that were adequate at the velocities we were driving them.

 

[FEENIX]

Have to agree with Paul on this. As the end users, very few if any of us have the experience that precision rifle smiths do with various barrels. Not even close. Not to say that as end users we have nothing to say on the subject... we do, just not the experience as smiths. It's good to get the experience of a lot of shooters to get a bigger picture. But smiths just have so much more experience.

That said, a lot of smiths have their favorites for whatever reasons and a lot of that has to do with business relationships, i.e., better prices for lot orders, consistent deliverers, loyalty, etc.

I know 2 smiths here in Montana that have completely opposite views of a particular barrel maker not to be named. One will not use his barrels and the other has a business relationship with him and produces many fine shooting rifles with those barrels. So, you have to weigh all that as well. You will find varying opinions among smiths just like the rest of us, but in the big picture they do have a whole lot more experience.

Well said Mark! I think I know those 2 smiths you're referring.

BTW, my vote was based on my smith's recommendation.