Bartlein Barrels

[dm.oakes]

I wanted to say a big thanks to Frank @ Bartlein Barrels. I started a conversation with him back in late October of last year about purchasing a new barrel. We had a variety of back'n'forth emails answering a great number of my questions, all were very prompt and very helpful.

Fast forward to earlier this week, I reply to the original email thread and again he is incredibly quick to respond to my further questions. Got everything sorted out and figured out the best barrel for the solution I wanted (.308 F/TR). Finished up the last few details on the phone today and got it ordered. He was also able to direct me to a gunsmith local to the Seattle, WA area to get it installed for me.

As this is my first venture into anything custom (barrel, action, etc) I will say that his patience, knowledge, and time was very much appreciated! It's nice to see that great customer service is alive and well in companies today.

 

[butchlambert]

That is Frank all the way.

 

[tika]

I got a bartlein barrel some months ago for my for rifle , I got it from the uk, hope you have as much success with yours as I have had with mine, a beautiful piece of gear, and top class accuracy.

 

[spclark]

That's Frank, thru & thru. I have two of his barrels, one 6mm the other 308. Most accurate barrels I've ever had & both easy to clean.

If I might ask, what's the current delivery window for your order? Sometime early next year??

 

[dm.oakes]

That's Frank, thru & thru. I have two of his barrels, one 6mm the other 308. Most accurate barrels I've ever had & both easy to clean.

If I might ask, what's the current delivery window for your order? Sometime early next year??

For the following it was a 4 month lead time

.308 Caliber
30"
1:11.25"
5R
Whitley Med. Palma

 

[spclark]

Thanks! That's better than the 8 to 12 they were quoting earlier this year.

 

[VaniB]

That 4 month wait is closer in line with what I recently waited for my Brux barrel. Perhaps Bartlein prefers to lean on the conservative side when estimating lead times, as their opening page now quotes 6-8 months.

 

[dm.oakes]

As with the next step in the venture - I reached out to Dave Kiff @ PTG and after a short exchange of emails, he was able to get me setup with a reamer.

Everyone on here that I've read has had great experiences with Dave @ PTG. My interaction with him was just as great.

 

[AP2020]

Frank is a very nice gentleman.


His barrels are awesome!

 

[ShootDots]

I have a friend of mine who just purchased a complete custom rig (F-Open) with a Barnard action and a 6.5 Bartlein barrel. His was done in 6.5 x 284 for the Nationals and World competitions this year. He developed a load and needed to get some rounds down the barrel.. He was going to shoot at Bayou Rifles at 600 yards. Well we got rained out of the 600 yard match (no cover) BUT we went to the 300 yard COVERED range. Well he shot a 600-50X! As a matter of fact, his "groups" in the "X"-Ring were so tight that the "pasties" barely covered some of the "X"-Ring line! There is NO DOUBT in my mind that Bartlein barrels rank at or near the VERY top of the "best-of-the-best" of custom barrels! One of these years I will get one too!

 

[LRPV]

I bought a Bartlein barrel and paid for what ended up being a botched gunsmithing job. The guy went out of business. Before he could fix his work. I called Bartlein and after telling them what my issues were they asked me to send the rifle to them for inspection. They re-crowned it, clearances the bolt to barrel fit, and machined the correct cone angle as well as re-cutting the extractor groove for me. They then shipped it back to me, all at no charge. I mailed them a check for shipping on my own, but they didn't ask for anything and none of my problems were their fault. Top notch company in my opinion.

Total contrast is my latest experience with an Ar barrel purchased from Midway. Put everything together and rifle short stroked. I replaced every piece of the operating system with known parts without a change. I contacted the Texas based barrel company and was asked to return it for inspection. Turns out the gas port was out of spec according to the guy who called me to explain what they found and to tell me it would be shipping out that day. A half hour later I got an invoice for a return shipping charge on a barrel that was admittedly defective. I paid it, the barrel works fine now but now I'm $40 in the hole for sending this barrel on vacation, both ways.

I won a 50% off barrel certificate last fall from company #2 that I probably will never use.

 

[AR Shooter]

Frank is great to deal with. Their delivery time goes up and down depending on demand, just like like Kreiger and the other barrel makers. Think they all try not to 'over-promise'. Bartlein built my tubegun and could not be happier with its performance. Am currently having an 1885 Low Wall built with a Bartlein gain-twist barrel in 25-20WCF for Schuezten competitions. Should be a fun and challenging 200yd shoot with cast bullets. Those 120gr bullets with an MV of ~1500fps like to move around a great deal. Especially if one has a 'suspect' hold.

 

[ratguner]

Who did they recommend for the smithing?

 

[AR Shooter]

Bartlien built my rifle. Sent them everything but the barrel. Won't swear to it, but think it may have been Mike Bartlien who did the work.

 

[pburr]

I ordered a Bartlein 7mm barrel back in Feb.......what is the wait times?

 

[NoahbodyImportant]

Another +1 for Frank.

He was a very friendly and informative as well as being prompt on returning emails.