Barrel Rankings
- Thread starter Baddog 0302
- Start date
Thread 'What is happening at McGowan' https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/what-is-happening-at-mcgowan.7156818/
This is an interesting thread
This is an interesting thread
Nothing new. McGowens QC is almost as bad as their CS. Everything about McGowen is garbage
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This topic is rather subjective but I'll chime in. I've had great luck with Proof prefits. Proof prefits have given me .5 MOA or better. It is a great value off the shelf. Two barrels from X-Caliber and both have shot very well also. Just as good as the Proof Prefits. I also had a Bartlein and accuracy was as good as the others. IMO the gunsmith chambering the barrel will dictate the performance. A Tier 1 barrel can shoot like shit if the chambering job is shit. I'll keep shooting Proof prefits unless I need a custom chambering.
I have 1 mcgowen prefit in 30 nosler. It was very hard to communicate with them but ended up with it and the chamber was terrible I ended up sending it back to get polished. Brass had lines all over it. They did fix the problem and actually the barrel shoots very good. I wouldn't buy again from them just because it's hard to communicate and the chamber was a no go. I know things happen but hate dealing with stuff.
This little gun sports a Shilen. I cant even guess how many rounds have been though it. But since in my day, I shot over 5000 rounds per year, a good many of those practicing with this handgun, I would hazard a guess that this handgun has at least 10,000 rounds through it.
Since i broke my hand in 2018 and my back in 2017 and turned 74 a couple months ago, I simply can’t shoot IHMSA competitively anymore, so it does not get shot often anymore. Still, in 2021, it put three shots into an inch at 200 meters shooting Creedmoor style
I got a pva prefit on my trg 22, not to bash them too badly. Took like 15 weeks to get with kinda meh communication. I could not get it to shoot for the life of me. Tried like 6 ladder test with different bullets and powders. Shot 3 different factory loads. The thing will not shoot consistent to save it’s ass. Had my smith open up my free bore as I had about zero to start with, but no help. Im In over a grand into a paper weight. I’ve been loading and shooting a long time and plenty of other sub half minute guns that I can shoot well. My factory 308 barrel shot lights out. Rifle is since back to smith to have a bartlien spun on it. And a shilen select on another rifle. The whole experience kinda turned me off prefits.
I was diddy boppin through this thread liking posts and realized it was 21' thread, wondered how it got back up 
My Criterion is insane precision so far. Only 50rnds on it, but good lawrt its a sweet shooter. Never had a Savage not shoot great. Just found two new factory take offs for $200! Got some Benchmarks enroute too.
My Criterion is insane precision so far. Only 50rnds on it, but good lawrt its a sweet shooter. Never had a Savage not shoot great. Just found two new factory take offs for $200! Got some Benchmarks enroute too.
I’ve had Krieger, Bartlein, Criterion, IBI, Benchmark ... they all shot better than 1/2 moa. Maybe I just lucked out
I’d give a slight edge to Krieger then Bartlein... but not even to make a real difference
I’d give a slight edge to Krieger then Bartlein... but not even to make a real difference
Negative on that one. I don’t know if they make different grades or what but I bought a AR with a 20” Saturn and it is insanely accurate. Even with mk262, 73 SuperPerformance, AE tipped Varmint. I should try some FGMM see what it can really do
My Criterion is picking up a little more copper than I'd like to see from a double hand lapped premium, but I am not gonna whine too much with it shooting 1/8" MOA! LOL I also have a few more enroute!
Lol let’s see some 5x5s or just a few 5 shot groupsMy Criterion is picking up a little more copper than I'd like to see from a double hand lapped premium, but I am not gonna whine too much with it shooting 1/8" MOA! LOL I also have a few more enroute!
Oh now you gong get it! Here is load development so far: My bad 1/8th is .125" I was thinking 1/4 at .250" I do believe there is an eighth in there though.
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Impressive. Not a 1/8” barrel though lol
Also I had somehow equates critter barrels with semi auto only
Also I had somehow equates critter barrels with semi auto only
I have found that when shooting copper jacketed bullets, barrels with lands and grooves work best.
Why do you not measure all of the groups with the software app?
The improvement in accurately measuring groups compared to manual/edge to edge/ calibers is substantial.
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My dumb friend never heard of this software app. Can you remind him what it is?
The one we use to document test targets is from OnTarget.
I'm sure there are others out there but some of the phone "apps" are pretty rough.
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mine was a 223. shot to 1k. it did just fine
i pay no atention to 4, 5, 6 groove. i have hawk hill, proof, bartlein, kreiger, benchmark. couldn't tell you which has what they all shoot
I just get what's in stock. Krieger or Bartlein. Currently have two bartleins, one is a regular steel 6dasher and the other is a mod400 22GT. Both shoot awesome. Have a carbon six for my 6.5prc. Just need to get some rounds through it.
Number one on my list of criteria is skill, my own; and whether it's good enough to require only the very best equipment. It is not. If I did insist on tier 1, I'd be wasting a lot of very good money on very good equipment that I personally lack the skills to use to its full potential. I'd be surprised if I was completely alone in that on this site.
When my AR Stoner (Liberty?), PSA (???), and Savage (no guesses needed) factory barrels shoot a flyer, I am perfectly content to accept that the culprit is either my skills, or my barrel, or my load development. A miss is a miss, and anything that's not inside the X is a miss by my judgement. Obviously, I have a lot of misses, and wasting much time attempting to winnow out the error is no more effective then simply absorbing the blame fully on my own, and letting it go at that. OTOH, I pretty much know that a miss with my Lothar-Walther Barrel is my fault, period. Did anyone mention them above?
Do I compete? Sure I did, and may yet. Does all that built-in error discourage me? Absolutely not. I'm not in it for the bragging rights, there being nothing for me to be bragging about in the first case. I shoot for fun, comradery, and to find some use for my aging few guns remaining.
None of this is heresy. There is no sin to any of it. It's all about choices, and budgets, and about keeping a Wife happy for 52 years.
If you have a need to win, the above posts have what you need to read. Life's a lot easier when there's so much less to prove.
Greg
When my AR Stoner (Liberty?), PSA (???), and Savage (no guesses needed) factory barrels shoot a flyer, I am perfectly content to accept that the culprit is either my skills, or my barrel, or my load development. A miss is a miss, and anything that's not inside the X is a miss by my judgement. Obviously, I have a lot of misses, and wasting much time attempting to winnow out the error is no more effective then simply absorbing the blame fully on my own, and letting it go at that. OTOH, I pretty much know that a miss with my Lothar-Walther Barrel is my fault, period. Did anyone mention them above?
Do I compete? Sure I did, and may yet. Does all that built-in error discourage me? Absolutely not. I'm not in it for the bragging rights, there being nothing for me to be bragging about in the first case. I shoot for fun, comradery, and to find some use for my aging few guns remaining.
None of this is heresy. There is no sin to any of it. It's all about choices, and budgets, and about keeping a Wife happy for 52 years.
If you have a need to win, the above posts have what you need to read. Life's a lot easier when there's so much less to prove.
Greg
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We make them in those twist rates but like everything else…made to order. We don’t make inventory. If it’s in inventory it’s either an extra from a overrun or customer never paid for it etc…
We are making a ton of 270cal barrels mostly ammunition test barrels for all the 6.8mm testing stuff. So running it pretty frequently.
I was pretty sure a couple of years ago when I posted that. Do you know of a change that I don't? Do tell
Obviously I’m not Frank. But he has posted on numerous occasions that he sees no performance difference in 4, 5R, 6 or any other config except that the 5R “may” be easier to clean due to the obtuse angle where lan meets groove.
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Accessories - FS: 6mm Krieger Hvy Palma Blanks.
I probably have 40 to 50 of these 6mm blanks on hand but rarely build 6mm anything so blowing these out. New Krieger .243/ 6mm Cal. barrel blanks for sale. 1-8" twist. Custom Palma contour with 4" long x 1.250" dia breech Muzzle 0.900" @ 28" Smoking deal. $351.78 ea. plus shipping. Can be...
www.snipershide.com
Looks like Terry does too
5R hands down.
For the most part the style or number of grooves has no bearing on accuracy and or barrel life. That's been my stance for years with one exception is the short jacket 6mm bullets in BR shooting. There you want conventional rifling. 4 groove, 5 groove (not 5R). This is because those short jacket bullets and it's worst if it's a boat tail bullet...the bearing surface is so short there isn't a lot of bearing surface for the lands to bite on and drive the bullet.
Now a longer/heavier 6mm bullet like a 105, 107, 108 etc... 5R.
The 5R also helps fight bullet failure.
Where my stance has changed just since Aug. of last year was from test data that was shared with me. The 5R rifling didn't put any burrs on the sides of the bullet. Conventional rifling and in this case it was 6 groove put a burr on the side of the bullet and those burrs where as large as a 1/32" of an inch. This burr effected the bc of the bullet by as much as 5%. This testing was for 320 rounds fired and every bullet was photographed in flight after it left the barrels. They tested five barrels with 5R rifling and like seven barrels with the 6 groove rifling. So it was a large comprehensive test that was done. What they seen on the bullets was a total surprise to them. Other things where noted as well.
Now having concrete data to back things up more...I'm even more of a fan of the 5R rifling. Boots (Obermeyer) always said the 5R was more accurate. I don't think more accurate is the right way to say it. If the 5R helps the bc of the bullet it will help the flight of the bullet.
Hornady did testing several years ago with a 4 groove and a 5R barrel that we made along independently the Army did similar testing. All doppler radar at extended ranges and came to the same conclusion. It helped the flight of the bullet but didn't know exactly why. Now things are making more sense.
Later, Frank
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He's bought our barrels from GAP for his builds in the past and he now has an order in directly from us.
