Best Custom Match Grade Barrels

[Mossy49]

Been extremely happy with my Broughton barrel for the 300 match, my father inlaw is gunsmith and uses any barrel a customer wants. He just finished a 308 with a Bartlein barrel 5r and it shoot extremely well. Guess getting a barrel is one thing and having a good gunsmith do the rest is another thing!!!!

 

[J E Custom]

Wanted To add to my earlier post to help explain why I prefer certain barrels over other ones.

In my first life as a shooter, I had quite a few great shooting rifles and also some poor ones so naturally I though the great ones were the best and the other ones were junk. so I would only consider one or two barrels. (Not very objective).

But when I started being responsible for other peoples rifle quality, I had to re-evaluate my thinking
and take a different approach to which barrel I would use If it was left up to me to chose. So I decided to do lots of research and find out as much as I could about each barrel maker.

I started with a Punch list or things that were important to me. First I looked at the companies
quality requirements (What they excepted and what they rejected in bore diameter tolerances,
end to end straightness, total run out from one end to the other, heat treatment procedures, bore
finish, tool marks, if they were lapped and the procedure used, also the quality and finish required,
There break-in ability, next was there customer relations, and last but not least was there consistency in producing great barrels and meeting there schedules. Schedules were not as important as the quality but it is important to maintain schedule delivery dates.

That may seam like a lot of things to consider but they are not all of the considerations.

I inspect EVERY Barrel I get, even the ones I prefer to use to verify it's quality as best as I can.
My number one choice, is one that I have never found anything less than near perfect and all have performed at less than 1/2 moa with almost any ammo.

Note: the best group I have ever fired was in a barrel that Is my #4 choice in barrels because it was marginal in other areas.
and left some doubt that the brand could perform at this level every time.

Some barrels that I like have been around for many years and get many votes because there a lots of them being used with good results. Numbers will always help the popularity of a good product
(Like the Remington 700).

There are many reasons that I have a "Black List" of barrels that I refuse to build on because I cant guaranty the accuracy based on experience.

I will not let Time of delivery, customer service or possible discounts dictate which barrel I chose.
only the performance in all areas mentioned is important to get the best In my opinion.

Enough said.

J E CUSTOM

 

[milo-2]

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

+1
My favorite is the one Bugholes has in stock of the contour I need at the moment.
And I agree with the guy who questioned smith's being the only ones capable of voting, too many variables there
One up and coming barrel maker you failed to mention is Mullerworks, I seen 3 in action, whew!
And I have a Mark Chanlyn 7mm tube downstairs which I've never heard a cross remark about.

 

[morcey2]

There needs to be an "I-don't-have-a-clue-because-I-haven't-used-any-of-them-yet-but-I-don't-want-to-have-to-keep-clicking-the-View_Poll_Results-link-to-see-whats-going-on-but-I-don't-want-to-vote-and-throw-things-off-either" option.

It could be labeled "A&B/Green Mountain"

Which I do have, but I'd hardly consider it a match barrel although it does shoot well enough for what it is.

Matt

 

[etisll40]

If it is a match grade barrel from any of these companies, it could be the best. They all are capable of turning out the same quality, there is still a luck factor on the one shipped to you that day. Lots more has to be done to get under a 1/4" MOA, that's where the benchrest shooters know the gun is ready. Hunters with a 1/4" barrel can take any animal if they make the shot. Lots of 1/4 - 1/2" barrels in the lot I'd guess.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

I will not let Time of delivery, customer service or possible discounts dictate which barrel I chose.
only the performance in all areas mentioned is important to get the best In my opinion.

J E CUSTOM

JE, just to be clear, I was not implying that smiths who do develop a business relationship with a particular barrel maker compromise quality for discounts, schedules, etc. In fact, the ones I'm thinking of, both the barrels makers and smiths have excellent reputations for quality and to the best of my knowledge, stand behind their products.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

There needs to be an "I-don't-have-a-clue-because-I-haven't-used-any-of-them-yet-but-I-don't-want-to-have-to-keep-clicking-the-View_Poll_Results-link-to-see-whats-going-on-but-I-don't-want-to-vote-and-throw-things-off-either" option.

It could be labeled "A&B/Green Mountain"

Which I do have, but I'd hardly consider it a match barrel although it does shoot well enough for what it is.

Matt

I don't have much more of a clue than you if any. If you were going to order a barrel tomorrow, which one on the list would you choose? If you want to "write in" " A&B/Green Mountian, that works too.

I choose Broughton because I had read and heard a lot of good reports on them and I like their 5R rifling. Lilja was high on my list but since he doesn't offer 5R rifling I decided to go with Broughton.

 

[J E Custom]

JE, just to be clear, I was not implying that smiths who do develop a business relationship with a particular barrel maker compromise quality for discounts, schedules, etc. In fact, the ones I'm thinking of, both the barrels makers and smiths have excellent reputations for quality and to the best of my knowledge, stand behind their products.

I did not take it that way at all I just meant that I don't let those kind of things sway me.

It is however nice to get the barrel when promised and If he gives me a discount it helps the owner
of the rifle because I don't mark up the barrels. The rifle owner pays my cost and if he wants to he can order it himself.(Some times it will cost him more because he may not get the/a discount).

J E CUSTOM

 

[steeltraps]

Last 3 rifles i have had built last year were all bartleins. I have been very happy with them ! The 260 shoots 1/4 moa .

 

[MontanaRifleman]

I did not take it that way at all I just meant that I don't let those kind of things sway me.

It is however nice to get the barrel when promised and If he gives me a discount it helps the owner
of the rifle because I don't mark up the barrels. The rifle owner pays my cost and if he wants to he can order it himself.(Some times it will cost him more because he may not get the/a discount).

J E CUSTOM

OK thanks. Wasn't sure so I just wanted to clarify.

 

[benchracer]

I agree with the comments to the effect that an experienced gunsmith is likely to have a better idea of the average quality of barrel produced by a given maker. I would expect an experienced smith to have seen a broader cross section of barrels from different makers than the average rifle crank. Moreover, I would expect that an experienced smith would be more likely to have a feel for how consistent the barrel quality is from a given maker.

My first thought when I saw the poll was that I only have experience with aftermarket barrels from three makers. I would only consider two of those to be legitimate match quality barrel makers. My experience in this realm is neither broad nor deep, so I don't consider my experience to be definitive. Neither can I evaluate any of my barrels with a machinist's eye. The only thing I can really contribute to the discussion is anecdotal in nature.

I have two rifles with Krieger barrels. Both are very good shooters. Both broke in easily and quickly, foul minimally, clean up easily, and shoot accurately. I voted for Krieger because I consider their barrels to be at or near the top in terms of quality. I prefer cut rifling and like the fact they offer the 5R design. However, I only use Krieger barrels when my goals for a given project justify the expense and wait time. I consider Krieger to be a top quality barrel, but not necessary for most of what I do.

I have two rifles that wear Shilen barrels, with two more in work. None of my Shilen barrels are their top grade product. I have had a very good smith tell me that Shilen barrels are about the lowest quality barrel he is willing to work with. I would not presume to argue with him. He knows far more than I do about such things.

The only way I have to evaluate my Shilen barrels is cost vs performance. So far, I have had very good results with my Shilens. My second most accurate rifle is a 6.5x55 with a Shilen barrel (Incidentally, my MOST accurate rifle is a factory Remington in .308. Go figure...). I consider my Shilens to be comparable in accuracy to my Kriegers. My round count on any of them is not high enough to evaluate them for accurate barrel life.

Where the Shilen barrels win out is cost and availability. I consider them to be a product that offers very good value for the money. That is why more of my rifles wear Shilen barrels.

Since the question is BEST Custom Match Grade Barrels, however, Krieger gets my vote. If I have a need to reach for the best, Krieger gets the nod.

 

[Sargesniper]

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.

I think Don Geraci prefers Kreiger at the moment according to what he told me the last rebarrel job he did for me. .......... SARGESNIPER

 

[thekyrifleman]

Have 5 Douglas, and had one Shaw, that a Douglas replaced. Smith I used insisted on Douglas, I didn't know any better, and he was a hard headed West Virginian!! did great work... I guess to be fair to the Shaw, that barrel was probably done in their early days,....about 1975, 76'. Parent company was/is Federal Firearms? At any rate, they are all better shooters than I am!!!

 

[etisll40]

My smith swears by Douglas too. They nust be good, he's been building nice stuff for 30+ years. Maybe I should get one done from him.