Why no love for Shilen barrels?

BurnOut

BurnOut

DDOJSIOC
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Minuteman
Nov 24, 2013
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Dallas
#1
I've noticed on here a lack of people using/discussing Shilen barrels; is there something that I don't know? Shilen seems to have a great reputation among the bench rest crowd, but their absence from this forum is kind of odd. Do they offer poor customer service or... ?

I was just kind of wondering, since I have seen plenty of references on here to many of the other high-end barrel makers (Bartlein, Brux, Broughton, etc...), but some that I HAVEN'T seen are Shilen, Satern, or McGowen (for example). What am I missing?
 
#2
Most here are convinced that only cut rifled barrels are worthy of consideration. There are a lot of buttoned rifle barrel makers out there (Shilen being one) that produce a barrel that is just as accurate, they are just discounted because of the method in which they are made. In reality, outside of top level benchrest competition, nobody would be able to discern the difference if they werent told.
 
#5
Had several and they all shot very well. I had the stainless select match on a few of my rigs. I have owned Bartleins and Kriegers which also shot fantastic. I couldn't really say whether one was better than another. But some of these hipster snipers are trendy and want the newest most obscure barrels out there. It's about image, man. lol
 
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#6
I used them in the 70's to the mid 80's. They shot very well. Then I had one that as I cleaned it up (lightly contoured) showed a void near the chamber. I called and they said to just use it anyway. I threw it away and never considered another. I went with A&M barrels while they were available after that. Those were as good as any made today I think.
 
#7
LRJammer said:
Most here are convinced that only cut rifled barrels are worthy of consideration. There are a lot of buttoned rifle barrel makers out there (Shilen being one) that produce a barrel that is just as accurate, they are just discounted because of the method in which they are made. In reality, outside of top level benchrest competition, nobody would be able to discern the difference if they werent told.
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Ah. I do have to admit that the idea of a cut rifled barrel appeals to me in the sense that it seems to be more of an example of craftsmanship (than would be a button rifled barrel) as opposed to production. That said, there's also something to be said for production... and that something is (could be?) consistency and repeatability.

I'm sure that I'm showing my ignorance regarding the finer points (if you'll pardon the pun) of barrel making, but I would think that as long as the bore is consistent in diameter (within tolerance, anyhow), the rifling rate is consistent (except for gain twists), and the groove depth is consistent, that the final surface finish of the bore would be more important than would the method of rifling. Of course, there is always the aspect of barrel stresses due to the rifling process... but as I understand it, the top tier barrel makers stress relieve their barrels anyhow...
 
#8
Shilen barrels are shooters for sure! Thre of my shooting partners have Shilens on the rifles and they are the short chambered barrels that you can get from Brownells or midway. All three will shoot bugholes just as well as my custom build. After seeing them in action over the last three years I would use them.
 
#9
I've got 2 of them in Gas guns, both on the heavier side of contours and while they are great shooters, they are temperamental in needing to be clean to shoot good. I have no real explanation for it but they both go from sub moa guns to well over 1 1/2" at about the 50-75 round mark. Run a couple patches through them and back to sub moa again. Maybe it's heat and stress in the barrels, IDK but these two love to be cleaned.
 
#10
I put a Shilen per-fit on an old Savage 110. Had it chambered in a 6.5-284 Norma and it is a shooter. I have around 500 rounds through it as I mainly use it for hunting. Running berger vld 140's @ 3000 fps. Pretty impressive barrel.
 
#14
Have had 3 Shilen select match barrels that were great. Tony Boyer has set so many records with Shilen barrels it isn't funny. Nothing to do with quality, just seems to cater more to the benchrest crowd. That should mean something as the BR crowd are as anal a group as any :).
 
#15
LRJammer said:
Most here are convinced that only cut rifled barrels are worthy of consideration. There are a lot of buttoned rifle barrel makers out there (Shilen being one) that produce a barrel that is just as accurate, they are just discounted because of the method in which they are made. In reality, outside of top level benchrest competition, nobody would be able to discern the difference if they werent told.
Click to expand...

I have kinda wondered if that's why Benchmark (which seems to be available AND reasonably priced) doesn't seem to get mentioned much, despite a handful of folks giving them high marks.
 
#17
I've used their AR barrels, they shoot very well. I think someone else hit the nail on its head, they don't really seem to have the presence or support that other manufacturers do here on both these forums and at events.
 
#18
I have one Shilen and two Kriegers and the Shilen was far easier to develop a load for in my case. Both Krieger bbls took awhile to make shoot while the Shilen shoots just about anything quite well. Maybe I just got lucky with the Shilen (243), but so far I am very happy. I am not knocking Krieger at all, they make a great product also.
 
#19
I've had a SS Select Match grade pre-fit .260Rem on my Savage for about a year. It has been an AMAZING barrel for the ~500 rounds I've put through it. I've NEVER taken a brush, patch, or solvent to it and observed no loss of accuracy. I just had my gunsmith spin it on and went out and shot it. One of these days I will actually shoot a group with it on a calm day. ;) Some 300yd groups from breezy days.



 
#20
They were one of the match sponsers at Kevins lone star challenge match, part of the PRS series we shot in April. They put on a great crawfish cookout on Saturday evening and donated barrels for the prize table. I don't own one but they used to be considered by benchrest shooters and custom hunting rifle builders to be the gold standard. Honestly as backlogged as most of these guys are, they don't really need to advertise or give free stuff away!
 
#22
Over the years I have used several Shilen barrels with very good results, but last year 1 bought 2 6.5 cal. barrels which I chambered in 260 Rem. Both of those 6.5 barrels took about 400 rounds to settle in and were coppering like all hell. Using a bore scope you could see the copper streaking and it was mostly from the muzzle to a few inches down the bore. I called Shilen for some advice to get them to shoot and there response was to change bullet manufacture. I wound up re-lead lapping the bore and now the rifle is shooting excellent. I have talked to the vice president of the IBS and to a top 20 high power shooter where they also have experienced the same think with other barrel Mfg's. One was a space gun with a Krieger barrel chambered in 6 Hagar that didn't settle down until his 5 match.
 
#25
JMO,they suck.Chambered one in 308,shot terrible,sent it back for evaluation and after 2 months they called and said it was a bad barrel and they would replace it with a select match barrel when they got one.7 to 8 weeks later still no barrel so we told them to cancel it and refund the money.Four hours later they called back and somehow found a barrel.Got it and it was no better than the other one.Sent it back and it didn't meet specs either.Had 2 other friends try them using different smith's and they sent those back.But I hear of people that have had good luck with them.I just had a bad experience with there customer service and there product.
 
#26
Brux said:
JMO,they suck.Chambered one in 308,shot terrible,sent it back for evaluation and after 2 months they called and said it was a bad barrel and they would replace it with a select match barrel when they got one.7 to 8 weeks later still no barrel so we told them to cancel it and refund the money.Four hours later they called back and somehow found a barrel.Got it and it was no better than the other one.Sent it back and it didn't meet specs either.Had 2 other friends try them using different smith's and they sent those back.But I hear of people that have had good luck with them.I just had a bad experience with there customer service and there product.
Click to expand...

Based on your user name, you arent the least bit biased are you?
 
#27
LRJammer said:
Based on your user name, you arent the least bit biased are you?
Click to expand...

Yeah, how bout that...... the only bad thing so far comes from "Brux"?

I've used lots of different manufacturers, and my two main guns now wear a shilen in .300 wm and a krieger .300 wm. With the exception of my shilen opening up after a few rounds due to its light weight (hunting rifle), it damn near keeps up with my krieger mtu, even at 2" shorter (at 400 yds). Price and availability make them desirable to me, especially after waiting 5 months for my krieger. When I rebarrel my hunting rifle, it'll probably be with another shilen.
 
#29
I used Shilen tubes when it meant something to say you had a Shilen barrel. Never had any complaints and have had them rebarrel a couple rifles in 6.5x55 a and .222. The Swede shoots about .5moa and it's a Mauser action with full-lgth bedding. The .222 was a .25 incher and was re tubed and pillar bedded by them.

Now I use Bartlein and Douglas tubes. They shoot, too. Would have no shame with a Rock or Krieger, either.
 
#30
I had one on a wildcat 25/06 based case heavy varmint rifle and it was just an "OK" barrel IMHO.

Button rifled barrels are usually softer hardness wise to push / pull the button thru the bore. Cut rifled tubes can be made a few Rc points harder which should help in longevity. Twist rate is also spot-on, on cut rifled tubes.
Chambering the Shilen I could tell by the chips on the reamer it was a softer blank. My Shilen barrel also grabbed more copper fouling than my Krieger barrels.

Shooting it the proof test of any barrel regardless on how its constructed. The quality of the steel, hardness and induced stress = longevity.
 
#33
I have current classifications in something near a dozen different competitive disciplines, including High Power XC, Long Range Prone, Small Bore prone, and both High Power and Small Bore Silhouette. I mention this only to point out something that I've seen across the boards; there is no favorite barrel maker for all. Each discipline, for whatever reason, seems to have their favorites, and others which no one playing that particular game has ever heard of. The OP asks about Shilens, but I can tell you that they have a huge following and are VERY popular with the Silhouette crowd. Probably the most popular barrel in that game across the board. Don't think I've ever seen, or heard of one being used in in High Power or Long Range Prone. Hart's used to dominate the BenchRest game, and had some following in HP and LR, but you almost never saw them in Silhouette. You don't commonly see Lilja's on the HP circuit, but they're fairly popular among Smallbore Prone shooters. Steve Satern's cut rifled barrels are very popular among certain HP and LR circles, but then, Steve himself is a long time HP and LR shooter.

I have no real explanation for this, other than word of mouth within those closed little circles, but that's what I've seen in several different disciplines. Just not as much cross over as you'd think. Not to say a barrel is good or bad, but it just may not have made significant inroads into that particular type of shooting.
 
#34
You mentioned McGowan barrels. I have one that's a screw on for my 7 mag savage. It shoots great and I have a lot of rounds through it. I liked the barrel so well that there's a brand new one sitting in the safe just like it waiting on the first on to give up the ghost.
 
#35
I've tried two Shilen short chambered prefits. One in .308 and the other 6.5x47. The .308 will keep up with my Bartlein custom out to 400yds (.4-.5 moa with me shooting). I never could find a good load for the 6.5.
 
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