Barrels and lead times - worth it?

[chungus]

I am deliberately not mentioning any vendor names here but I have noticed wide varieties of lead times on getting custom barrels. There are numerous shops than can get you a barrel in under a month. I own a couple of these barrels from two different shops and both shoot lights out. Other shops have lead times of 6 months to a year.

Assuming they are using the same blanks what is the difference and why are people willing to wait that long? I understand machining quality but I would assume these outfits that make a lot of barrels know what they are doing and if they weren’t their reputation would be trashed in short order in our online world.

For example I needed a barrel and called up a well known shop and was told the wait would be about 8 months. I decided to check around and found another outfit who said they could have it to me in 2-3 weeks. I searched the company name and found nothing but positive reviews. I ordered the barrel and had it in 17 days. It shoots 1/4 MOA all day long. The pricing was actually higher at the 8 month place. What am I missing? Are these places with huge backlogs producing a superior product? At least in my case I feel my barrels are more capable than I am.

 

[MikeRTacOps]

I ordered the barrel and had it in 17 days. It shoots 1/4 MOA all day long. The pricing was actually higher at the 8 month place. What am I missing?

Do you mind sharing who's barrel this is my Ninja you have me a little curious. If you want to keep it off the radar pm me...


Mike R.

 

[diggler1833]

Well, 1/4 minute all day surpasses the skill of 99.99% of us here on the 'Hide.

I'm comfortable with the blanks of about 4-5 different manufacturers, so I don't wait on those...I just buy what's in stock. That cuts lead time down considerably. I'm also not a '1/4 MOA all day' guy either.

There are a lot of good places these days to get a barrel chambered. Some guys have a very well deserved reputation, which cuts down on the potential headaches.

 

[Holliday]

Well, 1/4 minute all day surpasses the skill of 99.99% of us here on the 'Hide.

Easy there big fella……

 

[Supersubes]

I am deliberately not mentioning any vendor names here but I have noticed wide varieties of lead times on getting custom barrels. There are numerous shops than can get you a barrel in under a month. I own a couple of these barrels from two different shops and both shoot lights out. Other shops have lead times of 6 months to a year.

Assuming they are using the same blanks what is the difference and why are people willing to wait that long? I understand machining quality but I would assume these outfits that make a lot of barrels know what they are doing and if they weren’t their reputation would be trashed in short order in our online world.

For example I needed a barrel and called up a well known shop and was told the wait would be about 8 months. I decided to check around and found another outfit who said they could have it to me in 2-3 weeks. I searched the company name and found nothing but positive reviews. I ordered the barrel and had it in 17 days. It shoots 1/4 MOA all day long. The pricing was actually higher at the 8 month place. What am I missing? Are these places with huge backlogs producing a superior product? At least in my case I feel my barrels are more capable than I am.

People aren't lining up for some of those outfits for nothing. Results got them a good reputation, and as long as the product is good, they continue to buy.

More importantly for you, no need to wait in line, just grab one from a stocking dealer. Quite a few places sell Bartlein.

 

[diggler1833]

Easy there big fella……

View attachment 8617202

Trust me, I see the number of game photos here where the dude is sitting five feet behind what now looks like a 600lb whitetail.

Same guys get an extra 100 FPS over you in every cartridge.

It's the internet.

I'm just waiting for a single sample group photo now to prove otherwise unbelievable accuracy...

 

[trob]

I’m past 3 months for my proof carbon. I didn’t realize it would be this long.
Luckily I’m also waiting on a manners that is a LONG ways out, so I’m not in a rush.

 

[BCP]

I am deliberately not mentioning any vendor names here but I have noticed wide varieties of lead times on getting custom barrels. There are numerous shops than can get you a barrel in under a month. I own a couple of these barrels from two different shops and both shoot lights out. Other shops have lead times of 6 months to a year.

Assuming they are using the same blanks what is the difference and why are people willing to wait that long? I understand machining quality but I would assume these outfits that make a lot of barrels know what they are doing and if they weren’t their reputation would be trashed in short order in our online world.

For example I needed a barrel and called up a well known shop and was told the wait would be about 8 months. I decided to check around and found another outfit who said they could have it to me in 2-3 weeks. I searched the company name and found nothing but positive reviews. I ordered the barrel and had it in 17 days. It shoots 1/4 MOA all day long. The pricing was actually higher at the 8 month place. What am I missing? Are these places with huge backlogs producing a superior product? At least in my case I feel my barrels are more capable than I am.

Lots of it is just people being lemmings. Someone will win a competition and their rifle will have a certain brand barrel so then everybody orders the same thing and now that company has an 8month backlog.

Button vs cut rifled is another fun one.

Also I wanna see the 1/4 all day groups.

 

[chungus]

Do I shoot 1/4 groups all day long? No. Are my barrels capable of it? I believe so. They have shot numerous 1/4 groups and one of them the worst ten shot group I ever got out of it was under 3/4” at 100 yards. If my groups are above 1/4 I think it is because I screwed up not because of a flaw in my barrel.

The point of my post isn’t to start a pissing match about group size. I haven’t bought a ton of them and maybe I am just lucky but I haven’t really seen a bad barrel. everyone I have bought seems to be more than adequate so I was just wondering on what was the huge draw to certain shops.

 

[XLR308]

I usually look on SPR first, usually has a good assortment from the top brands.

 

[stello1001]

Can you post up 10 consecutive 5-10 round groups on a single cardboard/target paper that are all 1/4 moa?

And yeah, post up which shop got it to you in 17 days. I understand if you don't want to name the 8 month shop. But the 17 days one would be good for you to post up.

 

[Sheldon N]

I've gotten barrels from many different smiths. I have not seen any correlation between the amount of the lead time and the quality of their work. Admittedly all these shops were top tier gunsmiths so I wouldn't expect anything less in terms of quality. I think whats most important is a smith who will do meticulous work AND who is good with communication and following through on their promises.

Preece Precision has been cutting barrels for me and my daughter for our competition rifles and they have been hammers. The last barrel I purchased I had the tracking number and barrel delivered within 2-3 weeks.

One huge factor that may not be immediately apparent is the barrel blank itself. If you call up a smith and say "I want a 25 caliber Kreiger M24 profile 7.5 twist barrel" they might not have that blank on hand and will need to custom order it. That could be 6 months lead time right there. Now if you call up a smith and ask "What blanks do you have on hand?" and are willing to be a bit flexible, then the lead time will likely be MUCH faster.

 

[cooper_257]

This is a 6MM Creedmoor Bartlein LH twist shouldered prefit that Altus @AccuSol-ERN did for me and it was only about a 3 week wait if I remember correctly.

 

[whatsupdoc]

Can you post up 10 consecutive 5-10 round groups on a single cardboard/target paper that are all 1/4 moa?

And yeah, post up which shop got it to you in 17 days. I understand if you don't want to name the 8 month shop. But the 17 days one would be good for you to post up.

Benchrest shooters would be hard pressed to do this.

 

[chungus]

Can you post up 10 consecutive 5-10 round groups on a single cardboard/target paper that are all 1/4 moa?

And yeah, post up which shop got it to you in 17 days. I understand if you don't want to name the 8 month shop. But the 17 days one would be good for you to post up.

I can’t shoot that good. Like I said in my other post I think my barrel can. I have shot enough 1/4 groups with it to believe that when they are larger it is my fault. Again that isn’t the point.

Here is a target. It is only 12 rounds and only one is 1 target is 1/4 MOA but the others are dang close. I don’t think a better barrel would make it better. I think the problem is me. All the post was about is if you can get barrels that shoot like this in 2-3 weeks why are people waiting 8 months for barrels.

 

[stello1001]

I can’t shoot that good. Like I said in my other post I think my barrel can. I have shot enough 1/4 groups with it to believe that when they are larger it is my fault. Again that isn’t the point.

Here is a target. It is only 12 rounds and only one is 1 target is 1/4 MOA but the others are dang close. I don’t think a better barrel would make it better. I think the problem is me. All the post was about is if you can get barrels that shoot like this in 2-3 weeks why are people waiting 8 months for barrels.

Yeah but this is still the hide so you can't say you weren't expecting someone to call this out haha. All is good, I'm just busting your balls hehe.

On the other note, we'd still like to know the faster turnaround shop. Been thinking of doing a 22gt barrel for one of my rifles.

 

[chungus]

Blue mountain precision.

 

[Bacarrat]

Out of all the people to call out on the Hide, I probably wouldn't be calling out Mike from Tac Ops on this.

 

[Supersubes]

Out of all the people to call out on the Hide, I probably wouldn't be calling out Mike from Tac Ops on this.

Nobody is calling out Mike. The first bit of Mike’s post is a quote of the OP, he just fat fingered it.

 

[MikeRTacOps]

Nobody is calling out Mike. The first bit of Mike’s post is a quote of the OP, he just fat fingered it.

You hurt my feelings I thought you were going to say I had a fat Italian sausage ...

My bad but I'll take it on the chin my NINJAS I suck at using my phone...

I was just curious who's barrel he was talking about. I've seen some no name barrels shoot lights out. I for one use kriegers they have worked well for Tac Ops for many years. I've also used Frank Green's barrels (BL) and they are sick accurate...

Mike R.

 

[Supersubes]

You hurt my feelings I thought you were going to say I had a fat Italian sausage ...

My bad but I'll take it on the chin my NINJAS I suck at using my phone...

I was just curious who's barrel he was talking about. I've seen some no name barrels shoot lights out. I for one use kriegers they have worked well for Tac Ops for many years. I've also used Frank Green's barrels (BL) and they are sick accurate...

Mike R.

We love you long time for your rifles, not your interweb savvy.

He’s almost certainly talking about bartlein barrels, or not.

 

[XLR308]

Out of all the people to call out on the Hide, I probably wouldn't be calling out Mike from Tac Ops on this.

I was going to say it but knew I wouldn't have to

 

[Holliday]

I'm just waiting for a single sample group photo now to prove otherwise unbelievable accuracy...

If when I pull my huntin’ rig out I can’t hit a pie plate at 50 yards, with my eyes open, I buy a new rifle….

 

[MikeRTacOps]

If when I pull my huntin’ rig out I can’t hit a pie plate at 50 yards, with my eyes open, I buy a new rifle….

Is that 1/4 MOA PIE?

Mike R

 

[Skeptic1]

I am deliberately not mentioning any vendor names here but I have noticed wide varieties of lead times on getting custom barrels. There are numerous shops than can get you a barrel in under a month. I own a couple of these barrels from two different shops and both shoot lights out. Other shops have lead times of 6 months to a year.

Assuming they are using the same blanks what is the difference and why are people willing to wait that long? I understand machining quality but I would assume these outfits that make a lot of barrels know what they are doing and if they weren’t their reputation would be trashed in short order in our online world.

For example I needed a barrel and called up a well known shop and was told the wait would be about 8 months. I decided to check around and found another outfit who said they could have it to me in 2-3 weeks. I searched the company name and found nothing but positive reviews. I ordered the barrel and had it in 17 days. It shoots 1/4 MOA all day long. The pricing was actually higher at the 8 month place. What am I missing? Are these places with huge backlogs producing a superior product? At least in my case I feel my barrels are more capable than I am.

You are doing quite a bit of assuming in that second paragraph. What if your assumptions are incorrect.
What if they aren't using the same blanks?

 

[roostercogburn98]

We love you long time for your rifles, not your interweb savvy.

He’s almost certainly talking about bartlein barrels.

So he(OP) doesn’t like bartlein?

 

[reelserious]

PVA is 8 weeks I just go with them.

 

[Supersubes]

So he(OP) doesn’t like bartlein?

Thats just me talking, and i think he’s actually asking about gunsmithing work, and not blank manufacturers.