Krieger or Bartlein best barrel

[M14AMU]

One cannot buy a BEST BARREL!

One has to FIND A BEST BARREL!!

 

[jrm850]

I have to say that I am kind of shocked hearing some very accomplished shooters poo pooing some very sound gunmaking theory. Some of you spend thousands on your rest and bags looking for the last smidgen of tracking perfection, but you are willing to disregard a .030" error in vector mechanics by having your rifle point at the target frame while your muzzle points at the X.

 

[Raythemanroe]

"Banana" shaped barrels, so far @ 1k my barrels have been very close.. I guess some variance is there, but nothing to give much thought..

Ray

 

[hogpatrol]

"Banana" shaped barrels, so far @ 1k my barrels have been very close.. I guess some variance is there, but nothing to give much thought..

Ray

Damn, this thread is over two years old. I hope the OP has his rifle built by now.

 

[dkhunt14]

Damn, this thread is over two years old. I hope the OP has his rifle built by now.

I wondered the same. Matt

 

[TexasSR]

The bore on all barrels have a deviation from "dead straight". How much, and does it make a difference is the question. A drill will never bore a "perfect" hole. A piece of steel will never be "perfect". Like someone before stated, indicate the chamber end of a barrel and true it. After you do the muzzle end sticking out the other end of the headstock will be lolling around like crazy.

 

[centershot]

One thing that I will mention. Use a bore scope on the barrel before you have the gunsmith chamber and fit it. Barrel manufacturers will guarantee the barrel but will not cover the gunsmithing. I had a major defect that could be seen with the naked eye. Was lucky enough to have the barrel cut back an inch and re crowned.

 

[Rope2horns]

 

[rkittine]

All my Barrels are Krieger except my RF build which is a Bartlein. Of course I don't have a clue what I am doing, but I bought all of them on recommendations from others.

Bob

 

[Bob3700]

If i had a barrel with a curve in it it you could see it would go back to the mfg. for a replacement……… I sure wouldn't put it on an action. I shoot a lot of long range…….. jim

johara1,

Do u chamber n fit ur own bbls to ur LR rifles.?

Cause if u do, once u have ur bore on the chamber end centered put ur gauge pin in the muzzle and read the dial indicator. Have never seen the muzzle indicate zero.
A good smith will index ur bbls (to the action) so that they all point to either 12 or 6 o’clock. Now when u install the bbl on ur rifle u are not using many minutes of windage adjustment to center ur shots.

When indexed to 12, u use less elevation on ur scope or rear sight adjustment.

bbl indexing is a practice that the heavy hitters smiths are doing as a matter of their normal procedures. There are no straight bores in ur bbls.

Bob

 

[rardoin]

This is getting good.....

 

[INTJ]

"n", "ur", "u"? What the hell? Are we teenagers here?

That said, @Bob3700 is absolutely correct that all barrels are crooked. The first one you dial in on the lathe dramatically illustrates that......

 

[338 dude]

Savage actually uses a straightener on their barrels and a guy eyeballs them as he bends them. Saw it on a TV show featuring the Savage factory.

This is the machine they use at savage to straighten their barrels

 

[GSPV]

johara1,

Do u chamber n fit ur own bbls to ur LR rifles.?

Cause if u do, once u have ur bore on the chamber end centered put ur gauge pin in the muzzle and read the dial indicator. Have never seen the muzzle indicate zero.
A good smith will index ur bbls (to the action) so that they all point to either 12 or 6 o’clock. Now when u install the bbl on ur rifle u are not using many minutes of windage adjustment to center ur shots.

When indexed to 12, u use less elevation on ur scope or rear sight adjustment.

bbl indexing is a practice that the heavy hitters smiths are doing as a matter of their normal procedures. There are no straight bores in ur bbls.

Bob

Bob, you might want to google “Jim O’Hara”. Edit: I’ll save you the time: https://www.accurateshooter.com/competition/ohara-sets-1000-yard-ibs-agg-records/

 

[SBS]

Nothing new, Winchester straightened barrels by eye and I suspect other rifle manufacturers did also. True match grade barrels are never straightened. Straightened barrels, as they heat, tend to bend back to where they were before straightening, even if stress relieved. As they cool, they will bend back to where they were straightened. Might be why some Savage barrels really shoot well and some don't. I've owned both types. Does explain why many sporters need to be allowed to cool between shots in warm weather or between short strings of fire.

 

[jelenko]

This is the machine they use at savage to straighten their barrels
View attachment 1186586

The mind [at least mine] boggles.

 

[Bob3700]

Bob, you might want to google “Jim O’Hara”. Edit: I’ll save you the time: https://www.accurateshooter.com/competition/ohara-sets-1000-yard-ibs-agg-records/

I have not said that Jim is not an accomplished shooter. All I asked is if he chambers his own bbls. There is a difference between being an excellent shooter and being an accomplished fitter of barrels.

When was the last time you saw a factory Savage bbl in the winners circle for a MR or LR match when pitted against custom barrels? You can go back into the 30s-40s and see Buehmiller using the same bbl straightening device on their barrels.
I am not talking about a custom barrel being bent like a dogs hind leg. Rather measuring the bbl curve with a dial indicator at the muzzle once the throat is dialed in to zero. No doubt there are a few custom bbls that are perfectly straight, but my money is on they are few and far between. Some might call them "Hummers" and only shoot them in big money matches.

If you are a benchrest shooter, your bbl is only 20-23 inches long. Those will have less measured curve in them than 30-32 inch tubes. Just stands to reason, the longer the tube the harder it is to keep the hole in the middle straight. The steel just varies in hardness over the length of the bbl and the gun drill cuts toward the softer material. It is not rocket science. Also, the curve (or lack there of) is not an indication of how accurate a custom bbl will shoot. You can borescope some winning custom barrels and not think that they should ever shoot as well as they do.

I have fitted my share of competition/custom barrels to many different actions for hi-power shooting. Cross the course, Mid Range and 1K competitions. It "Ain't my first Rodeo" and have a little experience in what I have said.

Distinguished Rifleman, President's 100, High Master XC, High Master MR Prone, HM LR Prone, NRA Record holder MR Team prone, if any of that matters.

Bob

 

[GSPV]

I have not said that Jim is not an accomplished shooter. All I asked is if he chambers his own bbls. There is a difference between being an excellent shooter and being an accomplished fitter of barrels.

When was the last time you saw a factory Savage bbl in the winners circle for a MR or LR match when pitted against custom barrels? You can go back into the 30s-40s and see Buehmiller using the same bbl straightening device on their barrels.
I am not talking about a custom barrel being bent like a dogs hind leg. Rather measuring the bbl curve with a dial indicator at the muzzle once the throat is dialed in to zero. No doubt there are a few custom bbls that are perfectly straight, but my money is on they are few and far between. Some might call them "Hummers" and only shoot them in big money matches.

If you are a benchrest shooter, your bbl is only 20-23 inches long. Those will have less measured curve in them than 30-32 inch tubes. Just stands to reason, the longer the tube the harder it is to keep the hole in the middle straight. The steel just varies in hardness over the length of the bbl and the gun drill cuts toward the softer material. It is not rocket science. Also, the curve (or lack there of) is not an indication of how accurate a custom bbl will shoot. You can borescope some winning custom barrels and not think that they should ever shoot as well as they do.

I have fitted my share of competition/custom barrels to many different actions for hi-power shooting. Cross the course, Mid Range and 1K competitions. It "Ain't my first Rodeo" and have a little experience in what I have said.

Distinguished Rifleman, President's 100, High Master XC, High Master MR Prone, HM LR Prone, NRA Record holder MR Team prone, if any of that matters.

Bob

Well, not indexing works for many, many 1,000 yard BR shooters including world record holders. It’s an exacting game. Makes you wonder.

 

[Bob3700]

Well, not indexing works for many, many 1,000 yard BR shooters including world record holders. It’s an exacting game. Makes you wonder.

No doubt it does. I am not disputing that. With indexed barrels, I can take one 308 bbl off my rifle and install another and my first shots will be in the black at 600yds. That means I am not using up my sight/scope adjustments to get the POI of my bbl aligned once again. Many accuracy smiths realize this and automatically index the bbl they chamber for you (probably to 12 o'clock) for consistency. Makes life easier for the end user.

 

[FrankG]

My Krieger is hard , Bartlein softer to machine, Krieger says ( solvent wont hurt them ) both shot well but I prefer
Krieger

And you base this on??? Did you do a Rc check on the steel?

The quality of the steel has a lot to do with how it machines. Can have nothing to do with hardness.

Use the same reamer? Over time as you use the reamer and gets dull etc...can effect how it cuts.
Who's reamer? Only two places I'll use a reamer from. How the reamer is ground etc...can effect how it cuts. Even when brand new.

There are a lot of variables.

Later, Frank
Bartlein Barrels