Gunsmithing lother walther barrels ?!?!

[black_ump]

Hey guys, I have no seen any one talk about lother walther barrels when they mention custom barrels, and I was pretty set on having a mike rock barrel when i eventually rebarreled my msg90 clone, I under stand the price of that kind work would be expensive but its not any cheaper finding a barrel already done for you such as this lother walther barrel for 900 bucks !!! wow thats freakin crazy but.

Any way are the barrels any good ? here are the details

* Details LW50 Stainless Steel - Lothar Walther's Proprietary steel material
* 1:10 Twist
* Double Hand Lapped
* Polygonal Rifling
* 7.62 NATO Match Chamber

for 900 bucks would you go this rout or would you have a rock barrel done up for you if it was going to cost the same ?

I have about 7-800 rounds down my bore now and i would like to start thinking ahead

 

[BIGGLEE0351]

Re: lother walther barrels ?!?!

I really like the LW barrels. I use all high end barrels. Krieger's on most. A couple of Obermeyers and a Broughton and Bartlein. I've heard nothing but really good things about LW's performance. I've heard they could be a little more labor intensive from a smith's point of view but hey, thats what they get paid for!!!

 

[JSTARSZ]

Re: lother walther barrels ?!?!

You are thinking ahead as sure you could get 8-10k out of a H&K barrel but as most of us on the is Forum we are always looking for something new for the rifles...I got it.

I have heard great things about the Lothar Walter barrels but I don't personally own one. I have had Mike Rock barrels and have been very impressed with their accuracy. I think when you are talking high end barrels there is not all that much difference at least at my shooting ability.

900 bucks is kind of steep but that is what happens when you have the H&K products. Kind of like taking in the Mercedes in for service...it gets expensive quickly.

 

[UgashikBob]

Re: lother walther barrels ?!?!

BU:
You would sure want to think a high dollar high end barrel is a for sure thing but had issues with my first LW barrel. It just wouldn't shoot. Sent it back and it was replaced and the second one did very well.
My one barrel deal was probably a fluke but if I was in your shoes I would go with the Rock. I have a couple Kriegers, and a Rock and LW and my next one would be a Rock.

 

[black_ump]

Re: lother walther barrels ?!?!

thanks for all the info guys.. i have not decided on 155smk or 175 smk what twist would be best 1-10 or 1-11 or ?-?

 

[JSTARSZ]

Re: lother walther barrels ?!?!

either one would be OK and would shoot the grains that you are looking at. I have 1:10's on my GAP and AWC and can shoot anything through 178 AMAX and have not had issues. I am sure I could go to a 208 but I have never tried it.

 

[Lowlight]

Re: lother walther barrels ?!?!

Back in the day, they were used pretty exclusively by HD Rifles, I have one with a LW on it, as well they did the barrels for the original "Ghost Dancer" Savage project this site did in the early 2000s. Very accurate.

As mentioned some smiths won't work with them, they are usually hard on their tooling so you don't see them mentioned very much since HD folded. As well I have heard and in some cases seen sporadic cases where they died around 3000 rounds in a 308. Some attributed this to the hardness, and the mix of the metal, I never really explored it myself, simply moved on to more accepted options.

I prefer the rifle cut stuff, like the Rock, Rock Creek makes an awesome barrel that typical run faster than most others. So it's a win / win as they are used in a lot of systems. Smith's have no problem using a Mike Rock barrel.

The Guys in GA are awesome people to deal with, I always enjoyed their time and seeing them at Shot, they just never caught on for the reasons above. You hear their name again because of the OBR, but for years after HD went under they fell off the radar. Rock however continues to be well used and remains one of my top favorites. Aside from the Bartleins I have, Rock are my most accurate rifles, including my AR10s, which also use Rock Creek Barrels. Both GAP and POF use them.

 

[black_ump]

Re: lother walther barrels ?!?!

cool well thats good to know as well. Its a shame that barrel is going to run me 900 bucks though

how much on average does it cost to have a black turned into the finished product ? say 300 for the blank and ??? amount of money to get it finished so the total cost you guys roughly pay for a finished barrel costs you ?

 

[JSTARSZ]

Re: lother walther barrels ?!?!

I just got a Bartlein - M24 Contour for $330 and add another $250 to chamber it so $580 all together to get it to work.

 

[black_ump]

Re: lother walther barrels ?!?!

wow that is an extra 400 bucks iam roughly spending.. but i guess you have to add the fact the chamber needs fluted and the contour and the threading so ....

 

[sobrbiker883]

Re: lother walther barrels ?!?!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: black_ump</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
i eventually rebarreled my <span style="color: #3366FF">msg90</span> clone, </div></div>

I think that's the part many are overlooking.

LW makes some good barrels and are still very accepted by AR builders, but I'm not sure for the HK clone what would be your best route.

If you want the best shooter, do you need polygonal and fluted chamber, or do you want a correct clone. For correct, find an HK barrel, for a good shooter you may just want to get a good cut or buttoned blank and have soemone that knows their shit contour and install it.

 

[black_ump]

Re: lother walther barrels ?!?!

I honestly dont know if the chamber needs fluted or not... i just do it cause every one else does it to be honest, and the barrel i have now is button rifled so i dont need polly rifling at all

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: lother walther barrels ?!?!

Speaking for myself, I believe my Ghost Dancer could be the last original one still running.

I obtained an identical pair of 28" 1:8" Lothar-Walther LW-50 Stainless barrels, one for the Dancer and one for a close copy built up by STP and Deadeye. Both are nearing middle age, rounds-wise, mine a bit more than STP's.

They both shoot very well.

When funds for additional barrels become available, I will be dealing with L-W again. These days, new barrels are on the to-do list, awaiting funds.

My next barrels will be 28" 1:9" SAAMI 280-Rem, and 20" 1:12" .30BR.

Greg

 

[black_ump]

Re: lother walther barrels ?!?!

iam vary excited to get one of these l-w barrels here is something i now wanna know with 800 rounds threw my 26" buttoned vector "msg90" barrel ( vector didnt offer these barrels to the public, i lucked out and they had about 6 of them made for a project they where doing ) when will it wear out so i can install the l-w barrel hahaha