What are your opinions on prefit barrels?

[Gil P.]

Just curious, how do they get around the SBR aspect of not permanently pinning the two together? Since ATF considers the barrel starting at the bolt face, not the throat.

I'm sure his lawyers sorted that out. What's a barrel anyway?

He does talk it up like it's the best thing ever, maybe it is.

I wish he'd donate some for BR shooters to try. Does anyone know if he has?

If it was my product and I was confident in it, I would be trying to show it off at the highest level.

 

[jelenko]

Yeah - but try it out with just a couple to begin with. I'd want to see the results before opening it all the way.

 

[spaniel]

I have prefits from Shilen (Savage) and McGowen (Remage). They are every bit as accurate as the shouldered barrels I have. My 338 Edge (McGowen prefit) is second only to my F-Class rifle (Kelbly Panda 284Win) in absolute accuracy. I took third in a 2000yd match with it. It might be as accurate if I dropped it in a flat-fronted stock and shot it from a Seb rest....

Once I got into a couple prefits I realized I could build a lot more accurate rifles because I didn't need a smith anymore. I've got two rifles built by reputable smiths that don't shoot with some of my prefits.

 

[Louisiana Shooter]

There are MANY methods for chambering..... several of which will make an extremely straight and true chamber with the lead in perfect alignment with the bore. BUT, that is not the only thing necessary for an accurate barrel. It's only ONE PART of the equation.

The statement made in the advertisement about lead alignment isn't based in absolute fact. Yes, many prefits have been mass produced with less than stellar chamber/lead alignment, but that certainly doesn't mean ALL prefits OR even standard chamber jobs are built that way.

The truth is, how conscientious is the machinist working on the chambering job? Did he take proper measurements and spend the time necessary to get everything lined up perfectly? Did he use the proper tooloing for the most precise chambering job he and his machine are capable of producing? If so, that precision alignment isn't that difficult to achieve with the proper tools. It can be very time consuming though.......and TIME eats into profits.

 

[jamesdmock]

I have used the Criterion/Northland prefit on a Savage and it was a great barrel. I am thinking of trying one from Urbanrifleman on a Remington. Is there any feedback on the Remage from the Urban man? Thanks, James

 

[Tokay444]

I didn't see him mention headspace at all. Do you have to send your action to them for that? With a nut setting headspace is easy that ACE looks like a shouldered barrel.

No. BAT holds their bolt face to the front of the action to .0005”.

 

[KMart]

I have used the Criterion/Northland prefit on a Savage and it was a great barrel. I am thinking of trying one from Urbanrifleman on a Remington. Is there any feedback on the Remage from the Urban man? Thanks, James

Review: urbanrifleman's 6 BRA 8T minimal freebore SS Barrel

About a month ago, I took delivery of one of Urbanrifleman's 6 BRA zero freebore SS 26" Remage barrels. Since I chamber my own barrels, I was very interested in the quality of: A. barrel quality in general B. Machine work Needless to say, I was very, very impressed with both. First, the...

forum.accurateshooter.com

 

[Pezco]

Do custom action makers always cut their threads perfectly? What about the gunsmith who does the prefit? Is there enough wiggle room to avoid any problems?

I was looking at prefits as well as Wolf Precision Accurizing Chamber Extension. http://www.wolfprecision.net/the-ace.html

What are your thoughts on this?

There are no problems with prefit barrels if the action are made to exacting tolerances. I use prefit barrels for my Kelbly Panda actions all the time. I came in 12th this year at 1,000 yard Nationals. I also use prefits on my PRS rifles for Impact actions from multiple Smiths.

 

[boltfluter]

There is a difference between a pre fit from a manufacturer and one from an accuracy oriented smith. Period. One is world class, and one is mass produced. How lucky do you feel!!

Paul

 

[rogina]

I have used the Criterion/Northland prefit on a Savage and it was a great barrel. I am thinking of trying one from Urbanrifleman on a Remington. Is there any feedback on the Remage from the Urban man? Thanks, James

James, be careful with the single point data.

 

[yotehater]

No. BAT holds their bolt face to the front of the action to .0005”.

I didn't see him mention BAT. Well, that makes sense then. Big difference between a custom action and a mass produced factory one. Seems like spinning a roulette wheel with a regular action.

 

[Tokay444]

I didn't see him mention BAT. Well, that makes sense then. Big difference between a custom action and a mass produced factory one. Seems like spinning a roulette wheel with a regular action.

The ACE system is only available for BAT actions.

 

[urbanrifleman]

I have used the Criterion/Northland prefit on a Savage and it was a great barrel. I am thinking of trying one from Urbanrifleman on a Remington. Is there any feedback on the Remage from the Urban man? Thanks, James

Check out my threads in the commercial classifieds.

 

[boltfluter]

The ACE system is only available for BAT actions.

That's a good thing, as I see no reason for it to exist at all!!

Paul

 

[Jaa600]

Pre-fit barrels are only as good as the CNC machine and the tooling used. Ironically, custom barrels are only as good as the craftsman and tooling they use. I, personally, am not afraid of pre-fits. The vast majority of pre-fits, like custom barrels, will shoot very well.

 

[urbanrifleman]

Pre-fit barrels are only as good as the CNC machine and the tooling used. Ironically, custom barrels are only as good as the craftsman and tooling they use. I, personally, am not afraid of pre-fits. The vast majority of pre-fits, like custom barrels, will shoot very well.

My prefits are all hand chambered.

 

[slobhunter2]

I have used the Criterion/Northland prefit on a Savage and it was a great barrel. I am thinking of trying one from Urbanrifleman on a Remington. Is there any feedback on the Remage from the Urban man? Thanks, James

I have a 6 bra barrel from urbanrifleman, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one from him, great price and great service.

 

[dannyjbiggs]

Regardless of who is turning the barrel, I do still think there's an inherent advantage to purchasing and using your own reamer for competitive barrels. Specifically that load dev after a few barrels becomes a 50 round affair, you can have custom dies setup, they're not going to get replaced after chambering 150 other barrels etc.

Nevertheless...I have to stick with Mike on this one. Undoubtedly, shooters/competitors may get sterling performance out of "pre-fit barrels"...at least a lot of you make that claim, and I will not dispute it.

But, for me, I don't want to worry about my brass not fitting chamber-to-chamber on follow-on barrels? I will yield to all of you "pre-fitters" that have not experienced that dour problem with your brass, chamber-to-chamber on pre-fit barrels. Yet, your success in that area will not have convinced to try pre-fit barrels.

I would be keenly interested in knowing "who" (or just the number of competitors will do) within the top 50 F-Open shooters in the US that use pre-fit barrels. (Calling up Kelbly's and telling them that it's time for a new barrel will not count as a pre-fit barrel, when they are holding your unique reamer.)

Dan

 

[Alex Wheeler]

+1 Owning your own reamer and keeping it at a smiths is the way to go if you plan to chamber more than one barrel. Different reamers, even if spec'd exactly the same are not the same and they do have to be "learned". Once you figure out your reamer, future load development on new barrels becomes much easier. Seating depths and loads seem to follow a reamer, not exactly but close. Its also nice to get new barrels and keep using your old brass without touching the die. My shop reamers get used and replaced, but I always recommend any one that plans to stick with a cartridge own their own reamer.

 

[Okumacaptain]

I shot my first F-Open with a factory sporter barrel.

I have 3 prefits now. They do fine for hunting rifles.

My match build is using a prefit Shilen.
We shall see.

This was shot today with a cold gun , Shilen prefit . 3 shots at 300 yards .