Douglas vs Wilson

[Pyscodog]

By the time I ordered a Wilson and had it shipped to me, them paid my smith to chamber and fit it to my action, there wasn't much difference in the price. I'm getting a top of the line Douglas fitted to my action for just a few dollars more. And not that much more $$ either.

 

[Dgd6mm]

Less than 24 hours later you had it boxed up and shipped. I believe you knew exactly what you were going to do before you started this thread.

 

[troupe]

Some folks can make proper decision quickly. You won't be disappointed in the turn out. Stan and crew at Douglas are great to work with and the Douglas employees enjoy their jobs. The owner of Douglas takes care of his employees like the old days the way you should. If it was not so far from me, I would love to work there. It is harmony in a shop when your employees are happy !

 

[Pyscodog]

Less than 24 hours later you had it boxed up and shipped. I believe you knew exactly what you were going to do before you started this thread.

Actually I had two actions I wanted to use for a build. A Savage/Stevens 200 and the Sako A7. On Sunday I bought another Sako in the same caliber as the A7, 243Win. That's when I actually made the decision to send the A7 to Douglas and let the Stevens set for a while. My others thoughts were by using the Sako its money well spent. Re-barreling the Stevens and its still a Stevens with a nice barrel. I already had a good stock for the A7 and nothing for the Stevens. Just decided to put my money where it does the most good. And..usually when I decide to do something it doesn't take me long to do it. I've never been a last minute person. It s not always the right thing to do but I live with my decisions. Sometimes they bite me in the ass too.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Actually I had two actions I wanted to use for a build. A Savage/Stevens 200 and the Sako A7. On Sunday I bought another Sako in the same caliber as the A7, 243Win. That's when I actually made the decision to send the A7 to Douglas and let the Stevens set for a while. My others thoughts were by using the Sako its money well spent. Re-barreling the Stevens and its still a Stevens with a nice barrel. I already had a good stock for the A7 and nothing for the Stevens. Just decided to put my money where it does the most good. And..usually when I decide to do something it doesn't take me long to do it. I've never been a last minute person. It s not always the right thing to do but I live with my decisions. Sometimes they bite me in the ass too.

Good choice. I’d just throw the Savage in the garbage. LOL!

There are some good aftermarket parts for the A7 like aluminum shroud and bottom metal. Sako may have already made those changes at the factory but my old A7 back when they first came out had plastic bolt shroud and bottom metal. A7 trigger is basically the same exact setup as a Tikka. I know a trick to make that trigger sing at really light pull weight. They are great triggers when modified properly. Absolutely no need to purchase an aftermarket trigger. PM me when you get the rifle back of interested in lightening up the trigger farther than what the normal adjustment levels will allow

 

[Pyscodog]

I already worked the trigger over. Did the same thing to my Tikka T3x as well. They both have great triggers now. Thanks!

 

[urbanrifleman]

My Wilson barrels have been exceeding my customer expectations. And mine for that matter.

Personally, I think the question is a silly question. If someone were to post something like "which is better, Kreiger or Brux" there would likely be a fist fight. The truth of the matter is most people have no idea what a Wilson is capable of... or a Douglass either.

300 yard Wilson Dasher from my customer. Large shank Savage.



He sent me the other two Targets from the same match they were both under an inch at 300. Now I'm sure someone will respond and say yeah but how many world records did Wilson Barrel said and blah blah blah blah. The truth of the matter is is that these barrels will shoot better than most people can shoot. And I don't think people have any idea what they are truly capable of doing with a caliber that is highly accurate. Or care for that matter because they immediately will say I'll just go buy a Krieger or a Brux or a whatever.... blah blah Nationals... blah blah blah benchrest match... blah blah blah.

 

[Pyscodog]

Sorry you feel its a silly question. I didn't at the time.

 

[urbanrifleman]

Sorry you feel its a silly question. I didn't at the time.

Most people have never chambered or tested a Wilson, and would have no interest in even looking at them considering they would feel it would be a waste of time.

That would be my observation.

I am sure Douglass are good too.

 

[hpshooter]

Sorry you feel its a silly question. I didn't at the time.

No question is silly if you, as the inquirer, learn something from it.

The majority of rifle rounds I have fired were in a 10 year period of shooting across the course with service rifles. I have seen and owned M1's and M1a's that would clean 200, 300, and 600yard targets that had Gene Barnett barrels made from Douglas blanks just like my Krieger barreled one. I can say the same for AR-15's with White Oak Precision barrels made from Wilson blanks. I was at best a mediocre shooter who would occasionally manage to shoot a medium to high expert score at one or another yardage line but it wasn't the barrel that held me back or caused my inconsistent performance it was my lack of practice and focus on the task at hand.

Point being, if you stay involved in the shooting sports you will most likely find hummers and bummers from any of the barrel manufactures. Different disciplines require different levels of precision and all of them have more than a little follow the leader mentality involved which, at the cost of re-barreling, is not an entirely bad thing. Just my rambling opinions that are worth exactly what you paid for them.

 

[Edd]

Are Wilson and Douglas barrels hand lapped?

 

[Pyscodog]

By no means am I bashing Wilson barrels. I'll probably use one on a Savage/Stevens build in the future. Mainly because of cost and I can do it myself.

 

[urbanrifleman]

Are Wilson and Douglas barrels hand lapped?

Yes.

 

[Stan Taylor]

Yes.

You are totally wrong Douglas barrels are not lapped.

 

[jelenko]

Speaking of lapping barrels.

Is there an automated way to lap barrels?

 

[Hal]

Unless Wilson has changed in the last couple of years, their barrels are not hand lapped.
They use a machine to lap their barrels.

Hal

 

[troupe]

Here we go again !! The OP asked a simple question as I did a while back about Douglas. He chose a Douglas as I did with very good advice from fellow members with experiences of Douglas. I also purchased a Remage long ago from Urbanrifleman but have yet to shoot it. Urbanrifleman was very helpful on my purchase. The question the OP asked is not silly because he did not choose the Wilson from the start. White Oak uses Wilson barrels for there lower priced AR barrels. The Wilson's do a good job. I used one in my 3 Gun AR and done pretty well on a local level at 3 gun matches. Compass Lake offers Douglas. Douglas barrels has won many Highpower competitions and are still used today. Douglas also offers Remage barrels also. Bottom line for the OP is that Douglas offered what the OP wanted from one shop, turn key. I did not notice in the posts from the vast experiences of others that Wilson barrels were even mentioned much even though it was in the OP's question until the sale went to Douglas. My most recent purchase is another Douglas from Compass Lake.

 

[vecdel9159]

Got a Douglas barrel for a 6.5x47 build recently. Shipped fast. Shoots great. customer service exceptional. would buy again.

 

[urbanrifleman]

You are totally wrong Douglas barrels are not lapped.

Sorry, my mistake. Wilson are lapped.

 

[Stan Taylor]

Sorry, my mistake. Wilson are lapped.

Totally understand Douglas doesn’t need to lap.
Because of our rifling procedure.