Ok, here is the reason that I ask such a seemingly antagonistic question; I ask why anyone would consider any barrel as a premium barrel. I certainly don't have any opinion on a JP barrel one way or the other. I know that to most shooters, the barrel brand is mostly taboo. Cut rifle barrels are widely considered to have a longer "accuracy life" than a button barrel, however, they are both very capable of delivering the same results. The pic that I posted earlier in this thread was produced with a $140 stainless blank. It has about 1000 rounds through it so far and continues to deliver that kind of accuracy to 600 yds. I have another just like it to slap on the rifle when that one wears out.
I bring up this question because over the past several years I have had the opportunity to cut and chamber just about every barrel brand and always take a mental note of how the barrel cuts in the lathe and the kind of finish it ends up with. They are all for the most part about the same with some minor exception.
Button technology really hasn't changed in about 60 years. You push a carbide button through a bore and you get a button barrel. Every button barrel manufacturer does it this way. Most of the difference lies in the final finish of the bore provided that the bore is gun drilled and reamed properly. I can see a big difference in surface finish between some of the button vs cut rifle bbl due to the inherent way that the carbide button makes its way down the bore. If lapped properly, a button barrel can be as smooth as glass...for the first 300 shots. With all of this said, I continually see excellent results from barrels with machine marks in them all the way down the bore. I have cranked out many Wilson and Green Mountain barrels that all have faint button tracks down the bore, however the bullets don't seem to care much, so says the x ring.
A Kreiger, Brux, Bartlein, & Benchmark barrels are all cut rifle high quality blanks capable of producing long term accuracy and all cost around $325 to $375 due to the higher production cost than button technology. All of the others, Hart, Broughton, Green Mountain, Shilen, Wilson, JP, etc. are also capable of extreme accuracy, but there is a huge fluctuation is cost between all of them. Green Mountain costs $130-140, conversely, Broughton sells a button blank for a whopping $375.
No that I have stated all of this, I ask, what makes it a premium barrel? I used to think that I could only win a match with a Kreiger until I started to win big matches with Pac-Nor, Douglas, and Green Mountain. I have also done pretty well with Kreiger, and Bartlein. There, I have laid all the cards on the table. Educate me.
JS
