New barrel bore appearance

[Mikecr]

It definitely pays to inspect new barrels before getting them finished.
I once sent barrels back to a maker 3 times. He just could not get the order right,, wrong twist,, wrong length & contour,, wrong cal!
The 3rd time, I demanded refund, and in the end it only cost time and stress for lessons about that barrel maker.

Where it gets way worse is when your barrel finisher screws up your barrels.
THAT is a bad situation

 

[speedgun]

Please all. It is not my intention to post pictures or try to assuage my dissatisfaction. I got what I got and am perfectly capable of dealing with the manufacturer. My intent is to sample the experience of those who have purchased several barrels over time and have a better understanding of industry standards. Thanks

 

[Mike Matteson]

I have had trouble with manufacturer too. Sent out wrong twist, different barrel length. I guess that's the new nor.

 

[med358-boise]

1) I would do everything in writing
2) Shame is a powerful human emotion
3) Consider the following communication sent to the owner:

XYZ company you have acknowledge the deficiency of the product you have delivered which has rendered the serviced you delivered worthless. You had complete control of the process, including the selection of the barrel prior to chambering and installation. Nothing prevented from inspecting the barrel before the work started.

Your proposed solution of shipping me a new barrel is not only unacceptable it is unreasonable. If I were a cabinet maker and installed cabinets in your home and the cabinets I built were out-of-square or otherwise defective, would it be appropriate for me to say I will build you new cabinets and drop them off but you will need to pay someone else for the removal of the old cabinets an re-installation? I paid X amount for the product and service. XYZ did not meet its own standards. The only equitable solution is that you re-perform the work at no charge.

 

[FEENIX]

Please all. It is not my intention to post pictures or try to assuage my dissatisfaction. I got what I got and am perfectly capable of dealing with the manufacturer. My intent is to sample the experience of those who have purchased several barrels over time and have a better understanding of industry standards. Thanks

Kudos to you for handling the situation with great stride. I have been fortunate with my dealings with barrel manufacturers; so far, there have been no issues.

 

[Horse1]

I haven't had a bad one yet. Lilja x4, Brux x2, Bartlein, Rock Creek, McGowen, and Krieger off the top of my head. They've all been easy to load for and low-fouling of both copper and carbon.

 

[Dean2]

I haven't had a bad one yet. Lilja x4, Brux x2, Bartlein, Rock Creek, McGowen, and Krieger off the top of my head. They've all been easy to load for and low-fouling of both copper and carbon.

That is my experience. Different makers, mine where Shilen, Douglas, KS Arms and Jury, but never had a bad barrel out of any of them, and never had any issues with the chambering and finishing either.

To the OP, you know the barrel you got is deficient, the maker agrees with you but only wants to replace the barrel, not redo the whole job you paid them for. Then when you get feedback, you post #16. If you know the chambered and mounted barrel is defective, and you are perfectly capable of dealing with the inadequate resolution offered by the barrel maker, what is it you are asking of the forum members? No idea how we can help since you say you have this handled and know exactly what the problems are.

 

[med358-boise]

Please all. It is not my intention to post pictures or try to assuage my dissatisfaction. I got what I got and am perfectly capable of dealing with the manufacturer. My intent is to sample the experience of those who have purchased several barrels over time and have a better understanding of industry standards. Thanks

My apologies, I did not notice Post # 16 before I made Post # 18. But I am a little curious, you mention better understanding of "industry standards" but industry standards for what? barrel quality or failing to deliver on a company's own standards and then not standing behind their work? Having spent 20+ years in purchasing, there is no standard for failing to live up to your own standards; that is just poor customer service and a poor quality company in any industry.

 

[ShtrRdy]

Please all. It is not my intention to post pictures or try to assuage my dissatisfaction. I got what I got and am perfectly capable of dealing with the manufacturer. My intent is to sample the experience of those who have purchased several barrels over time and have a better understanding of industry standards. Thanks

when I read the original post I got the impression that you had not looked at similar new barrels in the past. A new barrel from one of the top barrel manufactures does not look like a mirror finish. It looks like there are scratches all the way down the bore. Then when you have one of the best gunsmiths chamber the barrel there are what looks like scratches on the chamber and throat area.

 

[speedgun]

Disclaimer: I'm not a professional
I sent a barreled action off to a reputable barrel manufacturer to have it rebarreled and bolt faced. I've never had a custom barrel before so perhaps my opinion of the resulting product is off base. I am very disappointed in the way the bore and rifling turned out. Now, I have lots of rifles, different calibers and am of the group that likes to keep their barrels clean of copper and powder fouling. I've had a borescope for a long to and absolutely use it to regularly inspect my barrels. My point is that I'm used to looking at what a barrel looks like. My new barrel just looks terrible. The rifling is far from crisp, it very inconsistent in it's width and depth. The tool chatter and scratching goes end to end. As far as shooting goes, it's nothing special. I've talked to the manufacturer, sent them videos of the bore, they acknowledged my concerns but were only offering to send me a barrel that I would then have to send to someone to be chambered and refitted to my action. That's probably another 500.00 bucks. You guys that regularly replace barrels, what do your barrels look like down the bore, are my expectations off base?

when I read the original post I got the impression that you had not looked at similar new barrels in the past. A new barrel from one of the top barrel manufactures does not look like a mirror finish. It looks like there are scratches all the way down the bore. Then when you have one of the best gunsmiths chamber the barrel there are what looks like scratches on the chamber and throat area.

Thank you for that information. This barrel has all those imperfections. It has 5r rifling. My concern with the rifling is that it doesn't seem consistent. If you follow the rifling from chamber to muzzle, you will clearly see the inconsistency of the cutting, in width and depth. Again, perhaps with this rifling, that's normal. If the rifle shot better groups, it's all a non issue. Thanks again.

 

[Mike Matteson]

Following

 

[VinceMule]

Speedgun, I have been through a lot of barrels, more Hart barrels than anything. We were shooting out barrels in a hurry on large colony varmints, and replacing 4-6 per year was normal. My hunting partner was a distributor for Hart barrels and we ordered them ten at a time. We had a bore scope in 1987, a retired medical device, and I never saw a bad Hart barrel. We played with several other inexpensive barrel makers to try and save money, it was a fool's errand. Cheapest money you can spend is on a good quality barrel...lesson hard learned and I will spare you the details. Think of the number of trips to the rifle range, wasting very expensive components trying to get a barrel to the accuracy level you want, and cleaning time and supplies.

Today top barrels of mine are:
ABC
Brux
Krieger
Meuller
Hart
Lilja
Rock Creek

Rifle barrels are production items, so service after the sale is critical if or when a bad one is found, perhaps 4x in your life time but is more prevalent with some barrel makers.

A hard lesson learned is to have a gunsmith that examine a barrel with a bore scope before chambering. This is only the very start of what he should be doing to evaluate a barrel blank.

 

[ShtrRdy]

@VinceMule -- no Bartlein?

 

[speedgun]

Thank you, unfortunately, having a relationship with a gunsmith is not easily acquired. As a youth I was able to stand and oogle in amazement at the goings on in the shop of a gunsmith. Today, they are hard to find and short on interest to do anything but tell you to go to their website. If you have a good one local, call yourself fortunate. I was in gunsmith/store in Dallas this past weekend, all they were interested in doing was selling their own products. At my age, 4-6 month lead times is not a path for me.