Shillen Select Match bbls

[JimPag]

"Ask Jim Borden what he thinks of Hart barrels."

Borden never said they were the best. He just said that some of the guns that he built with Hart barrels on it set a number of records. Like Butch said, when you get a good one, you got a got a good one I don't care who made it. I've said this many times in the past and it's true, (BECAUSE I SAID SO EDDIE) Buying a barrel blank is nothing more than a crap shoot. You don't know what it's going to shoot like. Case closed as Archie Bunker always said.

 

[Eric Leonard]

thanx ,,I may just try a Shilen one time for the old guys sake,,he taught me how to reload my first rifle rounds in the mid`80s and he shot an XP 100 action with a 10 twist Shilen 6x250 with Rem 80 gr PLHPs ,,back then he thought anything under 1/2 inch group was out of this world

 

[yukonal]

I have a couple Shilen Select Match barrels that shoot lights out. Very happy with them.

 

[Eddie Harren]

"(BECAUSE I SAID SO EDDIE)"

Another irrefutable source of truth! How can anyone argue with that?

"Meathead!" Archie Bunker

 

[Patton243]

I originally started with Shilen barrels, but my experience with them is they're dirty compared to cut rifling barrels from Brux or X Cal. The Shilen barrels also seemed to wear out quicker than my cut rifled barrels too. If you're looking for varmint or hunting accuracy than a Shilen is fine. Shilen doesn't even flute barrels either. Go with Brux, Krieger, or X Cal IMO.

 

[KMart]

I originally started with Shilen barrels, but my experience with them is they're dirty compared to cut rifling barrels from Brux or X Cal. The Shilen barrels also seemed to wear out quicker than my cut rifled barrels too. If you're looking for varmint or hunting accuracy than a Shilen is fine. Shilen doesn't even flute barrels either. Go with Brux, Krieger, or X Cal IMO.

I may be speaking out of school here, but I think if you check with XCaliber you will find that their barrels are button rifled. Some months back they had a special group buy here on 17 twist 30 cal barrels. The hold up was getting a new button made for the rifling.

 

[Patton243]

I may be speaking out of school here, but I think if you check with XCaliber you will find that their barrels are button rifled. Some months back they had a special group buy here on 17 twist 30 cal barrels. The hold up was getting a new button made for the rifling.

They have both cut and button rifled barrels. I've ordered a cut rifled 308 and 243 barrel from them.

 

[Lou Murdica]

I shoot F class four different calibers
I shoot rimfire F class
And I shoot short range Benchrest
I shoot nothing but shilen and Bartlein
This is all I've shot for years and would never change. They're the best of both worlds.

 

[Bamban]

Back in the day when I was in stool shooting, an older gentleman in Austin, TX, by the name of T.J. told me a few times. "Barrels are just like women, a really great one is hard to come by" something to that effect

 

[284winner]

are current run Shillen Select Match bbls any good,,at one time lots of people used Shillen,hart and Douglas bbls,,I understand that Hart and Douglas are not up to par with todays best bbls,,but if you buy say a 14 twist 6mm Shillen Select Match whats the odds it could win matches against a Krieger or Brux bbl??

if they wont hold their own any longer is it because the newer bbls are just that much better or has the Shillen bbls not as good as they used to be,,I was just thinkin about setting up a rifle using parts one of my older mentors would have used to see how it would do against todays best stuff..

Here's my (personal experience) answer to your original question. Shilen, Douglas, Hart, Brux and Kreiger barrels are all very good barrels. Has Shilen or Douglas reduced the quality of there barrels from years past ? I think not. Many more barrel companies have come in to play since Shilen and Douglas began building barrels. Many of them have replaced Shilen and Douglas barrels but not necessarily in precision or accuracy. I tend to try different barrels that I haven't used before to compare them. Some clean up better than others. Some are faster, some wear out faster and some DO shoot better. I think there are percentages in this game. With some barrels, your odds of getting a more accurate barrel is better than others. All companies build exceptionally accurate barrels. Some of those companies may throw a tent stake out occasionally. Odds are against it but they still exist. Out of 11 barrels purchased by various companies, I've never got a dud.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

I would ask your smith what he likes the best, as well as the equipment lists in Benchrest which is probably the only sport where the top shooters may actually be getting everything out of the barrel. Not to say in other shooting disciplines they aren't but it gets lost in the mess, wind reading, rifle hold, and other variables. I see things when I dial in barrels and machine them that makes me prefer certain barrels. All of them can produce a good barrel. However, I feel some produce those good ones more than others. If you use a .0001" indicator to dial in the bores you get see a lot. Groove depths, shapes of the lands, straightness of the bores, exc. None of that really means the barrel will or wont shoot, but I like if the manufacturer is putting out consistency. If you use a hand held reamer holder you get a very good feel for how the steel cuts, again looking for consistency from barrel to barrel. With that in mind, there are most certainly barrel makers that put out very consistent blanks and those who do not.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

One thing to ad, all of them have made bad barrels. How they handle that is also pretty important to me. Some are excellent, some flat out suck.

 

[Steve Ladino]

Heard a well respected Pa. Gunsmith (most all know/know of) give a positive uncoaxed comment about them recently.

 

[hoz53]

One thing to ad, all of them have made bad barrels. How they handle that is also pretty important to me. Some are excellent, some flat out suck.

Yeah just like everything else-- Eventually there will always be a problem--Its how you treat people when there is that makes the difference.

 

[johnfred1965]

You can look at the results from many competitions, what you will find is the best shooters also have their favorites. What they like may or may not be the absolute greatest in accuracy, but a good shooter with confidence in that barrel can make it win.
One poster noted that he could not get a Shilen because of the excessive wait time. Apparently there are enough people ordering that they must have something going for them. Just a thought.

 

[butchlambert]

Shilen is moving into their new greatly enlarged facility this spring. That is the reason for the Swap Meet delay.

 

[jonbearman]

I have tried all barrels almost,LOL. I have a couple shilens and both shoot fantastic, I have a hart that shoots good, and a kreiger that shoots good. I also have several mcgowens,pac-nors,and even an older er shaw and there isn't one that doesn't shoot way better than factorys barrels. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a shilen. The worst barrel I ever had was a goofball german steel hart a few years back and it coppers a lot but I am going to try a last ditch attempt at lapping it a little to ease the copper mining. Anyone can make an oops barrel and most will stand behind their product. Ialmost forgot I have a brux on a savage hunter benchrest gun that shoots better than me. The top makers are bartlein, kreiger,shilen to me and it is only an opinion. All the others are extremely close to the most sold barrels. I hear people that hate pac-nor for instance but mine shoot very well. Thanks for letting me blab. By the way Butch that last rifle you posted pics of is still in my dreams. You have excellent taste.

 

[284winner]

Here's another example of barrels that do shoot well. How many of have purchased rifles off the shelf from Remington, Winchester, Browning or Savage not to mention other much more pricey guns that shot incredibly well ? I have 2 guns currently that will shoot very close to as good as some custom guns. No they don't shoot consistently as well over the long string of groups and they don't clean up as well. All barrel makers make great shooting barrels. As Alex said, some make many more consistently and with higher percentages. Broughton, Bartlein, Kreiger, Benchmark, Hart and Lilja are barrels that have been better than most to me in my experience. Many more I'm sure fit in this group as many would attest but many others don't quite make the cut. Pick a barrel company and move on. Shilen, Douglas, X Caliber and Wilson are a good place to start as they offer better pricing typically than the others mentioned. I just ordered a Shilen select match barrel directly from Shilen chambered in 22-250 AI for a switch barrel setup. I don't expect alot if life from it so I will give it a shot. I've went thru barrels after 800 rounds and replaced them with different ones. Barrels are reasonably priced and there are alot to pick from. Keep trying them till you hit gold.

 

[butchlambert]

Here's another example of barrels that do shoot well. How many of have purchased rifles off the shelf from Remington, Winchester, Browning or Savage not to mention other much more pricey guns that shot incredibly well ? I have 2 guns currently that will shoot very close to as good as some custom guns. No they don't shoot consistently as well over the long string of groups and they don't clean up as well. All barrel makers make great shooting barrels. As Alex said, some make many more consistently and with higher percentages. Broughton, Bartlein, Kreiger, Benchmark, Hart and Lilja are barrels that have been better than most to me in my experience. Many more I'm sure fit in this group as many would attest but many others don't quite make the cut. Pick a barrel company and move on. Shilen, Douglas, X Caliber and Wilson are a good place to start as they offer better pricing typically than the others mentioned. I just ordered a Shilen select match barrel directly from Shilen chambered in 22-250 AI for a switch barrel setup. I don't expect alot if life from it so I will give it a shot. I've went thru barrels after 800 rounds and replaced them with different ones. Barrels are reasonably priced and there are alot to pick from. Keep trying them till you hit gold.

I guess I'm a little different than that. I don't buy a barrel to save a few bucks. Most hunting rifles never wear out a barrel. I've never known a particular brand wear out at a faster rate. If you will dig deep, you will find very few companies offering barrel steel. I would bet that most are using the same steel. Most barrels are replaced because of a condition between our ears.

 

[284winner]

I guess I'm a little different than that. I don't buy a barrel to save a few bucks. Most hunting rifles never wear out a barrel. I've never known a particular brand wear out at a faster rate. If you will dig deep, you will find very few companies offering barrel steel. I would bet that most are using the same steel. Most barrels are replaced because of a condition between our ears.

I'm sure your right about the steel. I'm also sure the rifling process is what differs and the barrel maker cutting it that makes the barrel truly what it is in the end. Sounds like a person asking about the Shilen barrel is looking to save a buck. I bought a Shilen to see how good the barrel actually is and curious about the ratchet rifling. There's really not much savings from one barrel to the next in the end.