< Also you'll rarely see PacNor listed on the top,or even near it) on bench rest match equipment lists....
And MOST of the winning barrels are button rifled, not cut.>
While the first statement is correct, I cannot for the life of me reason why - since purchasing my first thirty caliber PacNor barrel in 1997, I have used them to win many local and regional NBRSA tournaments . . . and even nab some Yardage and Grand AGG wins at the NBRSA Hunter Nationals. And when not winning with PacNor barrels, I have usually been able to scare the winner,s)enough to help keep them running as fast as they were able - PacNor barrels are as good as the best - period.
The, implication, that PacNor barrels are cut rifled, in the last sentence, is incorrect: PacNor barrels
ARE button rifled.
About ten years back, a group of HBR shooters made a "group" purchase [of PacNor barrels] and sent the lot off to a California outfit called "Barrel Scan",I believe this the correct moniker), which claimed to be capable of measuring both the actual twist rate,s) and the UNIFORMITY of the twist rate,s) of barrels, in addition to inspecting and "rating" the interior finish. The plan for that lot was to have the barrels, quantified on the basis of twist rate UNIFORMITY, stored at the smiths shop, to be installed as the conspirators needed new tubes - only the smith and the Chief conspirator knew which barrels were which. The Chief instigator was to get both the worst and the best barrels of the dozen . . . The goal was to determine if a variation in twist rate affected precision - and just how much; this followed several PS articles dealing with twist "issues", such as variability.
The problem: there wasn't a twit of difference between the worst and the best!

And, the good folks at PacNor,Chris and Casey)
didn't have a clue that this "test" was to be conducted. The letter which accompanied the returned barrels stated something like, " with regard to uniformity of twist rate and surface finish, this is the most uniform lot of barrels we have ever measured" - pretty powerful testimony from a non-biased third party inspector! Further, all of those barrels shot like the hammers of hell! Following exposure to this info, I purchased my first PacNor and have experienced only good things; a few BIG wins and numerous opportunities to win BIG, which ultimately, were squandered via poor judgment.
PacNor barrels are very good! Good enough that I just took delivery on three more of the beauties last week - all SUPER MATCH SS deals! R.G.