What barrel do you use for long range rifle?

[Schw15]

Not looking for advice on what barrel just putting it out there to see what everyone uses and maybe helpful to others in future.

Brand
Style- shoulder or barrel nut
Prefit or fitted
Length
And anything else you want to add

 

[Steel head]

Shilen, Brux, bartlein and soon K&P
Shouldered and barrel nut but now that I’m cutting my own all shouldered.
Fitted and nutted prefits.
28”, 30”, 32” and 36”.

 

[b2lee]

Bartlein
Shouldered....my gunsmith has my numbers...so custom prefit and shipped to me
28 to 30"...depending on the rifle.
New barrels are M24
Some are 4 groove some are 5 groove

 

[Rocketmandb]

Bartlein
Shouldered....my gunsmith has my numbers...so custom prefit and shipped to me
28 to 30"...depending on the rifle.
New barrels are M24
Some are 4 groove some are 5 groove

Now that Spartan moved out of driving distance, I'm getting all my stuff entered into his machine so I can get new barrels sent to him then to me. Starting with my new 37XC and will be getting my 300 and 6BRA done when my new Bartleins arrive.

As for specs on my ELR barrels:

300 PRC:
Current: Bartlein, M24 contour, 1:9 right twist, 5 groove, 28"
On Order: Bartlein, M24 contour, 1:9 to 1:8 gain left twist 5 groove, 28"

New 37XC:
Current: Benchmark, Varmint, 1:8 right twist, 5 groove, 31"
Under Consideration to Order: Bartlein, unknown gain left twist, 5 groove, 31"

 

[Taylorbok]

KS arms
32"
Shouldered,
Custom fit.

 

[GIXXER2000]

Have a K&P 36 IN 1-7.5 375 on order. I have been shooting Bartlein but just wanted to give K&P a try.
In my .338lm and 300wm they are both Bartlein

 

[Schw15]

I've tried kreiger bartlein ect but here lately my go to has been Criterion been doing shoulder prefit and have 1 barrel nut. I'm going to be trying the mcgowen barrel in a 30 nosler prefit with nut. See how they hold up heard good things

 

[TACC]

Good stuff to know

 

[abn31c]

Bartlein, Brux, Krueger all heavy Palma 28 to 32. Just be careful with overspinning, been there and it sucks.

 

[Garvey]

Bartlein.

If not in stock, I will wait for it.

Shouldered

 

[BLEE]

With Garvey. Bartlein, shouldered. Get on a list and wait for it.

 

[Matt_3479]

Use to be benchmark, but now use KS arms primarily.
26-28”
Medium palma to mtu
Shouldered
Custom fit

 

[BuildingConceptsllc]

I've had very good success with Benchmark, Hawk Hill, and Bartlein. I really like how Frank comes on here and I like how he has handled the plandemic issues too, so I try my best to only use Bartlein now. I have 2 and about to get another.

 

[Schw15]

I finally tested a hawkhill and put about 50 rds down it. I was super impressed with the ease of cleaning best I've seen

 

[wade2big]

For those of you who mentioned Benchmark blanks, where can they be ordered? The only thing I could find was carbon blanks.

 

[BuildingConceptsllc]

Where can Benchmark blanks be ordered? The only thing I could find was carbon blanks.

I know Eric @ Blue mountain Precisiom keeps them in stock. Not sure about just ordering the blank.

 

[Schw15]

For those of you who mentioned Benchmark blanks, where can they be ordered? The only thing I could find was carbon blanks.

Email benchmark I believe they have some

 

[BillyGoatMachine]

I'll recommend a Bartlein every time, never had an issue with accuracy in the hundreds of chambers I've cut.

-Shouldered barrels only for ELR rifles. Less parts the better to insure consistency and accuracy. I time my barrels to 12 o'clock using a precision rod inserted into the bore, not the outside of the barrel. My barrels are also held by a 6 jaw Bison chuck on the chamber end only. This eliminates all stress compared to torquing a barrel into alignment when using a dual spider chuck system which most smith's use. I always recommend bringing or shipping me your action to ensure the barrel is timed perfectly to your action. None of this matters out to 1K yards, but I believe in leaving nothing to chance for extreme ranges.

 

[Asgard1]

Ks barrels canada better then bartline less money. Quicker turn around. If you want carbon fiber. Helix-6 is the rolex of carbon fiber barrels

 

[GIXXER2000]

I have used both Bartlein and K&P in my 357CT. My current barrel is the K&P and it shoots fanatic. It's a 36in 1-7.5 twist contour goes from 1.450 to 1.300 and I am very happy.

 

[Benfield_Precision]

I have used both Bartlein and K&P in my 357CT. My current barrel is the K&P and it shoots fanatic. It's a 36in 1-7.5 twist contour goes from 1.450 to 1.300 and I am very happy.

I have chambered several barrels for ELR calibers .375/.416/.458’s from my perspective K&P can NOT be beat!! Those are some of the straightest truest and easiest to chamber barrels. The shooters also report very forgiving load development aswell

 

[roostercogburn98]

I’ve got a few Bartlein and one Shilen barrel currently and they all shoot for me. I have a Brux on order, so will see if my luck continues

 

[Benfield_Precision]

I'll recommend a Bartlein every time, never had an issue with accuracy in the hundreds of chambers I've cut.

-Shouldered barrels only for ELR rifles. Less parts the better to insure consistency and accuracy. I time my barrels to 12 o'clock using a precision rod inserted into the bore, not the outside of the barrel. My barrels are also held by a 6 jaw Bison chuck on the chamber end only. This eliminates all stress compared to torquing a barrel into alignment when using a dual spider chuck system which most smith's use. I always recommend bringing or shipping me your action to ensure the barrel is timed perfectly to your action. None of this matters out to 1K yards, but I believe in leaving nothing to chance for extreme ranges.

Interested to know your run out ONLY holding a barrel in a scrolling 6 jaw chuck (I assume this is a TrueBore system) with barrels as long as those in ELR not supporting the other end is a liability to me and I can measure the run out when they are unsupported. It’s also VERY hard to stress a 1.450+” diameter barrel with an outside spider on a lathe. I can easily be under .0001” run out with this system. Just my 2 cents as there are more than one way to skin a cat.

 

[Schw15]

Seems like k&p should be on my short list to try.

 

[Benfield_Precision]

Seems like k&p should be on my short list to try.

I have also done a Bartlein and it was also very nice. I would think either of those is worthy

 

[42N8 1]

I am using a 300 PRC with a Bartlein MTU 29 in barrel, 1/9 twist, 5 grove.

 

[BillyGoatMachine]

Interested to know your run out ONLY holding a barrel in a scrolling 6 jaw chuck (I assume this is a TrueBore system) with barrels as long as those in ELR not supporting the other end is a liability to me and I can measure the run out when they are unsupported. It’s also VERY hard to stress a 1.450+” diameter barrel with an outside spider on a lathe. I can easily be under .0001” run out with this system. Just my 2 cents as there are more than one way to skin a cat.

Correct Im running a TBAS. I also cut at extremely low speeds on my 3000lb+ South Bend lathe so my chambers take longer to cut. My business is word of mouth only and I'm not hindered by time constraints or a large backlog. My lathe has a 2.06" spindle bore and if needed, I'll support the muzzle end only after dialing in the chamber end first. It really depends on how concentric the bore is to the barrel. Obviously some barrels are better than others in that dept.

 

[GIXXER2000]

My Smith did say my K&P 375 barrel was just factionally on the small side of things. The weird part is the load I ended up with was .2 of a grain more than the Bartlein I was using. The K&P is 2 inches longer than the Bartlein and the avg fps is 3066 for the K&P and the Bartlein was 3060. The load development took half the time of my last barrel also. Very happy with K&P!!

 

[cmickles]

I have had several of Ken’s barrels and they are second to none. His delivery times are usually quick as well.

 

[Benfield_Precision]

Correct Im running a TBAS. I also cut at extremely low speeds on my 3000lb+ South Bend lathe so my chambers take longer to cut. My business is word of mouth only and I'm not hindered by time constraints or a large backlog. My lathe has a 2.06" spindle bore and if needed, I'll support the muzzle end only after dialing in the chamber end first. It really depends on how concentric the bore is to the barrel. Obviously some barrels are better than others in that dept.

Ahhh thanks for the clarification, that makes sense to me. Also good luck in the business, seems like there are less and less competent smiths these days. Everybody wants to buy a CNC and sell some cut-rate barrels that the person running them has no way to check if the chamber is even cut straight.

 

[R_A_W]

For those of you who mentioned Benchmark blanks, where can they be ordered? The only thing I could find was carbon blanks.

Travis Stevens usually has a pretty good inventory

 

[Mumzergadol]

Now that Spartan moved out of driving distance, I'm getting all my stuff entered into his machine so I can get new barrels sent to him then to me. Starting with my new 37XC and will be getting my 300 and 6BRA done when my new Bartleins arrive.

As for specs on my ELR barrels:

300 PRC:
Current: Bartlein, M24 contour, 1:9 right twist, 5 groove, 28"
On Order: Bartlein, M24 contour, 1:9 to 1:8 gain left twist 5 groove, 28"

New 37XC:
Current: Benchmark, Varmint, 1:8 right twist, 5 groove, 31"
Under Consideration to Order: Bartlein, unknown gain left twist, 5 groove, 31"

Man I miss Spartan marc.

 

[Rocketmandb]

Man I miss Spartan marc.

I'm driving up to Caldwell in a couple weeks to get three barrels cut and a chamber adjusted. 9-hour drive vs. an hour down to San Jose...

Still, it's worth the haul!

EDIT: Next week - sheesh, my mind is gone after a couple weeks with family

 

[BillyGoatMachine]

Man I miss Spartan marc.

Marc’s a great guy, he was my mentor. Even though we all miss him here in Ca, he’s much happier living in Idaho!

 

[Mumzergadol]

I'm driving up to Caldwell in a couple weeks to get three barrels cut and a chamber adjusted. 9-hour drive vs. an hour down to San Jose...

Still, it's worth the haul!

EDIT: Next week - sheesh, my mind is gone after a couple weeks with family

Say hi to that goody dog!

 

[Schw15]

Anyone have plans on trying a ACE barrel? I'm very tempted to try one cut rifle and great price.

 

[psharon78]

I've ordered my share of barrels over the years. Many have come from NorthlandShootersSupply
All of my barrels are using a barrel nut
I've used Douglas, Shilen, CBI, and Brux
Brux is the only cut rifle barrel I've used so far
The last brux was for my 300NM build and used the bugnut barrel nut system