West VA Douglas Barrels

[FNG1001]

Does anyone have experience with barrels from Douglas Barrels Inc from West Virginia? Curious how they compare against Bartlein, Proof, Hawk Hill, etc. Will be in need of a new 6.5CM barrel this time next year.

Barrels | Douglas Barrels

Best custom rifle barrels in the business. Douglas barrels.

www.douglasbarrels.net

 

[Poorboyr]

I use them and love them. Shoot sub 1/4 groups easily. They used to be a huge name in bench rest competitions.

 

[MarinePMI]

Good barrels. Back in the day, they were the only game in town for .20 caliber barrels. Ask any barrel maker; subcalibers (.17, .20, .19, .14, etc.) are some tough barrels to make and still have them shoot accurately.

Douglas has been around a long time...

 

[FNG1001]

I use them and love them. Shoot sub 1/4 groups easily. They used to be a huge name in bench rest competitions.

Why aren't they a huge name anymore?

 

[Poorboyr]

From what I’ve been told it’s because the market is flooded now with barrel makers. I don’t shoot benchrest so you’ll have to ask someone with more knowledge about it.

 

[DeathBeforeDismount]

Overated in their time, and today they aren't even relevent. The fact they sells 2 different grades of barrel due to inability to control tolerances and are willing to sell substandard barrels with their name on it tells you all you need to know.

Like anything, you could get lucky with the right tube, bullet, load ect and get an exceptional shooter but the barrel to barrel consistency will not be close to the quality you get from Bart, Brux, Hawk Hill, Benchmark, ect.

They are price point, button barrels. There is a reason all the highly respected barrel makers are doing single point rifle cut barrels.

Why roll the dice to save a few dollars when you can spent a bit more and get something almost guaranteed to be a hammer?

 

[jbell]

Overated in their time, and today they aren't even relevent. The fact they sells 2 different grades of barrel due to inability to control tolerances and are willing to sell substandard barrels with their name on it tells you all you need to know.

Like anything, you could get lucky with the right tube, bullet, load ect and get an exceptional shooter but the barrel to barrel consistency will not be close to the quality you get from Bart, Brux, Hawk Hill, Benchmark, ect.

They are price point, button barrels. There is a reason all the highly respected barrel makers are doing single point rifle cut barrels.

Why roll the dice to save a few dollars when you can spent a bit more and get something almost guaranteed to be a hammer?

Not that I completely disagree with your statement but one of the most respected barrels in the rimfire world offers 2 grades of barrels:

Welcome to Shilen Rifles, Inc.

I have owned a few rifles with Douglas XX barrels and all were truly excellent shooters. All were hunting rifles with light contour barrels, I never had any trouble finding a load that would shoot well under MOA.

 

[FNG1001]

Overated in their time, and today they aren't even relevent. The fact they sells 2 different grades of barrel due to inability to control tolerances and are willing to sell substandard barrels with their name on it tells you all you need to know.

Like anything, you could get lucky with the right tube, bullet, load ect and get an exceptional shooter but the barrel to barrel consistency will not be close to the quality you get from Bart, Brux, Hawk Hill, Benchmark, ect.

They are price point, button barrels. There is a reason all the highly respected barrel makers are doing single point rifle cut barrels.

Why roll the dice to save a few dollars when you can spent a bit more and get something almost guaranteed to be a hammer?

Very interesting, and I appreciate the straight honest opinions. I think Bergara makes factory button rifles too, and their lineup seems to hold well. Just me thinking out loud.

 

[sgtsmmiii]

Good barrels. I don't think you'd have any issues with their accuracy. I've had several, and they shot as well as my other manufacturers.

 

[KineticPerformance]

Overated in their time, and today they aren't even relevent. The fact they sells 2 different grades of barrel due to inability to control tolerances and are willing to sell substandard barrels with their name on it tells you all you need to know.

Like anything, you could get lucky with the right tube, bullet, load ect and get an exceptional shooter but the barrel to barrel consistency will not be close to the quality you get from Bart, Brux, Hawk Hill, Benchmark, ect.

They are price point, button barrels. There is a reason all the highly respected barrel makers are doing single point rifle cut barrels.

Why roll the dice to save a few dollars when you can spent a bit more and get something almost guaranteed to be a hammer?

How many have you had? I've never owned one that didn't shoot really well. And I've used them on everything from .22LR to smokeless muzzleloaders.

I would also posit there is nothing wrong with buttoned barrels. Some of my best have been buttoned Benchmark but have had great barrels from Shilen, Lilja, Pacnor, Montana Rifleman, and Green Mountain. My Kriegers and Bartleins last longer but don't shoot any better.

The only two bad barrel blanks I've had were from McGowen (shot fine but had to be re-lapped because of inconsistent bore which doesn't work with full-form smokeless muzzleloaders) and a Brux, so I'm 1:1 on bad button vs cut.

 

[DeathBeforeDismount]

How many have you had? I've never owned one that didn't shoot really well. And I've used them on everything from .22LR to smokeless muzzleloaders.

I would also posit there is nothing wrong with buttoned barrels. Some of my best have been buttoned Benchmark but have had great barrels from Shilen, Lilja, Pacnor, Montana Rifleman, and Green Mountain. My Kriegers and Bartleins last longer but don't shoot any better.

The only two bad barrel blanks I've had were from McGowen (shot fine but had to be re-lapped because of inconsistent bore which doesn't work with full-form smokeless muzzleloaders) and a Brux, so I'm 1:1 on bad button vs cut.

Ive build a few dozen mk12's with Douglas barrels, mostly early SPR guns as there was limited options back then. I then moved onto Noveske and Lija when I could get them (who as using Pacnor for their SPR barrels) with some WOA sprinkled in before the Mk12 heyday kind of died out. There was no real cut rifle barrel options back then unless you wanted to try and fit an ar15 extension and drill the port, which we did not do. not to mention the ammo was more of a limitation than anything. With modern bolt guns and the ability to make sub 1/4 moa ammo, its penny wise and pound foolish to fuck around with button barrels.

Nothing is as consistent barrel to barrel as a cut rifle barrel from one of the bigs (minus proof). The most accurate factory AR's I have seen to date were the SR-15 LPR with Kriegers. Anything from CLE is going to be good, WOA is good for a budget barrel

There is zero reason to use a button rifle or other cheap barrel if you care about accuracy. The cost of components along with your time massively surpasses the cost delta between a budget and premium barrel, which is not that much. People will always throw out anecdotal but take 100 buttons and 100 cut rifle and see which one stacks up where. That is what you are doing when you buy a random blank.

 

[msgriff]

Ive build a few dozen mk12's with wilson barrels, mostly early SPR guns as there was limited options back then. I then moved onto Noveske and Lija when I could get them (who as using Pacnor for their SPR barrels) with some WOA sprinkled in before the Mk12 heyday kind of died out. There was no real cut rifle barrel options back then unless you wanted to try and fit an ar15 extension and drill the port, which we did not do. not to mention the ammo was more of a limitation than anything. With modern bolt guns and the ability to make sub 1/4 moa ammo, its penny wise and pound foolish to fuck around with button barrels.

Nothing is as consistent barrel to barrel as a cut rifle barrel from one of the bigs (minus proof). The most accuracte factory AR's I have seen to date were the SR-15 LPR with Kriegers. Anything from CLE is going to be good, WOA is good for a budget barrel

There is zero reason to use a button rifle or other cheap barrel if you care about accuracy. The cost of componets along with your time massivley surpasses the cost delta between a budget and premium barrel, which is not that much. People will always throw out anedotals but take 100 buttons and 100 cut rifle and see which one stacks up where. That is what you are doing when you buy a random blank.

So you have never owned a Douglas?

 

[DeathBeforeDismount]

So you have never owned a Douglas?

Sorry i mistyped, Douglas not wilson.

 

[jbell]

There is zero reason to use a button rifle or other cheap barrel if you care about accuracy. The cost of componets along with your time massivley surpasses the cost delta between a budget and premium barrel, which is not that much. People will always throw out anedotals but take 100 buttons and 100 cut rifle and see which one stacks up where. That is what you are doing when you buy a random blank.

I do agree with you here for the most part, there seems to be more room for inconsistency with a button barrel. However a good barrel is a good barrel no matter how the rifling is put in it.

 

[DeathBeforeDismount]

I do agree with you here for the most part, there seems to be more room for inconsistency with a button barrel. However a good barrel is a good barrel no matter how the rifling is put in it.

One of the things Frank Green has mentioned a few times is how the bore will open up when you cut the threads for a brake with a button rifle depending on how much material is between the bore and threads.

 

[jbell]

One of the things Frank Green has mentioned a few times is how the bore will open up when you cut the threads for a brake with a button rifle depending on how much material is between the bore and threads.

Yes, it absolutely can & I have seen muzzle threads create flyers on a few occasions which is one reason I advocate for not threading a rimfire. It is also the reason all of my centerfire barrels are 18X1.0, I feel it is the superior thread size and pitch for a muzzle device. I was told about this phenomenon by Bobby Hart (Hart barrels) back around 2003-2004 when I observed it with one of his barrels. Conversely he said a hammer forged barrel will have a tendency to tighten up when you thread it, I have never had an opportunity to test this. It’s all due to the stress that is imparted to the steel during rifling, a button creates an outward stress where hammer forging creates an inward stress. Interesting stuff…

 

[KineticPerformance]

Ive build a few dozen mk12's with Douglas barrels, mostly early SPR guns as there was limited options back then. I then moved onto Noveske and Lija when I could get them (who as using Pacnor for their SPR barrels) with some WOA sprinkled in before the Mk12 heyday kind of died out. There was no real cut rifle barrel options back then unless you wanted to try and fit an ar15 extension and drill the port, which we did not do. not to mention the ammo was more of a limitation than anything. With modern bolt guns and the ability to make sub 1/4 moa ammo, its penny wise and pound foolish to fuck around with button barrels.

Nothing is as consistent barrel to barrel as a cut rifle barrel from one of the bigs (minus proof). The most accurate factory AR's I have seen to date were the SR-15 LPR with Kriegers. Anything from CLE is going to be good, WOA is good for a budget barrel

There is zero reason to use a button rifle or other cheap barrel if you care about accuracy. The cost of components along with your time massively surpasses the cost delta between a budget and premium barrel, which is not that much. People will always throw out anecdotal but take 100 buttons and 100 cut rifle and see which one stacks up where. That is what you are doing when you buy a random blank.

I understand what you are talking about and do not disagree about cut barrels. The one place you can truly feel the difference is in smokeless muzzleloaders where you use a portion of the barrel, to make a sizing bushing for your die, and engrave/size the bullet to .000x under bore diameter. With a cut barrel seating the bullet tends to be way more consistent than with a button barrels and the groves tend to be more consistent so bullets don't need to be indexed. I've used two buttoned barrels for this purpose and while they work, they are more problematic and required different techniques.

I maintain that there is nothing wrong with a buttoned barrel, that good barrels are good barrels, and when properly fitted and chambered they will all shoot. Currently, I compete with five cut barrels, a few more than that buttoned, and if I don't walk away with a trophy, it's my fault; bolts have Krieger (x2), Bartlein (X1), Brux (x1), Benchmark (x2 button) and gassers are WOA/Wilson (x1), BHW (x1), GM (x2). I barrel my bolt guns with barrel certs from matches and my big frame PRS gassers get free replacement but I buy whatever WOA has in stock and/or on sale for Service Rifle. I don't lose sleep about it because I can't shut the difference, they all shoot good until they start to die, and I never get to that point just like I don't drive tires until they are bald.