Winningest barrel maker?

[ctrout]

Is there any solid evidence or statistics out there as to which barrel has won the most competitions?

 

[CanusLatransSnpr]

Get a subscription to Precision Shooting magazine! In the back they post the results of alot of the matches. Along with that they state what action was used, the smith, barrel maker, chambering, bullet etc. Alot of good stuff. From what I can read its a mixed bag of whats being shot out there.

Mike

 

[rcw3]

Is there any solid evidence or statistics out there as to which barrel has won the most competitions?

I would imagine Krieger has to be there especially because of their size relative to many of the other premium barrel makers, but that does not mean other barrel makers cannot equal or better their barrel performance. Right now, while Krieger makes some great barrels, so does Bartlein, so does Broughton, so does Brux, and Pac-Nor, and so do a whole lot of other great barrel makers. For innovation in great barrel making, my vote goes to Bartlein at present, but I have barrels from Krieger, Broughton, Brux, Hart, Pac-Nor and others, and they all produce some great barrels.

Robert Whitley

 

[Frankr]

I think at one time shilen and hart won just about every thing. but now days there are so many fine match rifle barrels out there and any of them are capeble of winning.there are great cut rifled barrels and great button rifled barrels.any one of the top makers select match barrels could win on any given day,so pick one you like and give it a try, but i would feel safe saying if you went any of the top makers shieln,hart,kreiger,bartlin,pac-nor,ect you would be happy,I have had a few of them and liked the shieln's, my last three barrels have been pac nor's and have been very happy with them and plan on ordering two more pac nor's here real soon.

 

[243Mendoza]

Since all the barrel makers mentioned have excellent reputations, the deciding factor may be the one who can deliver the soonest

 

[Erik Cortina]

Since all the barrel makers mentioned have excellent reputations, the deciding factor may be the one who can deliver the soonest

Sounds like it won't be a Bartlein! ;D

 

[fdshuster]

If wanting a barrel "fast" there are a lot of suppliers who keep an inventory of the most popular calibers and contours. Lester Bruno has been able to meet my needs, with the brown truck arriving one week after the telephone order, containing a cut rifled Krieger. Just one of several I've used. If an odd, little used caliber and/or a non standard contour is wanted, then yes, that will take more time. For button rifled Hart has quoted 6 weeks when phone ordering, but the delivery has been closer to 4 weeks. Have a number of both makes, and never got a bad one yet.

 

[GermanS1]

Is there any solid evidence or statistics out there as to which barrel has won the most competitions?

As a shooting history buff, I would ask what is the relevant time period? Any limitations on which shooting discipline?

There was a time when Douglas barrels were on every big winner's rifle. Before that you would find other names, most forgotten today, but Eric Johnson's barrels, for instance, were the dominant force in Smallbore shooting for decades.
Hart barrels were at the top of all the equipment lists in Benchrest and also on most winning Highpower and Smallbore rifles for a long time - and they still win penty of matches though there are, of course, many others today.

Krieger's entry into the market about 30 years ago brought the whole "cut vs. button" debate to the table as most custom makers at that time had gone to button rifling. Highpower shooters were the first to latch on to Krieger because our barrels (particularly for the M1 and M14) were so full of odd contours and external threads that the promise of no internal stress to change the barrel as it heated up really appealed to us.

Today we have a lot of choices, whether button or cut rifled, and most of the makers deliver a top quality product. I use Krieger, Bartlein and Hart with no particular preference.

The winningest barrel maker of all time? Springfield Armory which made the barrels on countless thousands of National Match M1903's, M1's and M14's that won untold thousands of Highpower matches from the earliest days of smokeless powder through the mid 1990's.

 

[ballistic64]

The winningest barrel maker of all time? Springfield Armory which made the barrels on countless thousands of National Match M1903's, M1's and M14's that won untold thousands of Highpower matches from the earliest days of smokeless powder through the mid 1990's.
[/quote]

Yep, and just goes to show that barrels dont win competitions,shooters do. ;D

 

[memilanuk]

...barrels don't win competitions,shooters do.

Thats just crazy talk right there

 

[KevinThomas]

Need to narrow down the question a bit. Which discipline? Odd as it sounds, there's definate preferences between the various disciplines as to whose barrels each community uses. Shilen is very popular among silhouette shooters, and you almost never see them at Highpower or Longrange matches. On the other hand, you rarely see Kreigers at silhouette matches, though they're quite popular at HP and LR matches. Hart's has long had an aoutstanding reputation among Benchrest shooters, but I seem to be one of the few who has used them in over-the-course rifles. It's odd, but there are definate trends within each. I think a lot of it comes down to which group of shooters they do their primary marketing to, and how well they're received from there. Lately I've had a real preference to Satern barrels and have had good results with them. Ya pay's yer money and makes yer choice!

 

[ollie]

I have won matchs with hart, shelin, lilja, kreiger and bartlin. Of those mentioned my bartlins have won the most.

 

[1000yardstare]

As a shooter outside the USA, I would have to say the best barrel is the one you can actually find and buy and have properly installed on your action before the season starts.

+1 on ballistic64, after that it is up to the shooter.

 

[wc872]

I have Precision Shooting magazines back to 1993. I won't say that I looked at every magazine but I looked at an awful lot of them. I looked at who won the Benchrest or other competitions where they listed an equipment list. I did not write down each & every win for each & every barrel maker. I did notice that Kreiger barrels year in & year out had by far the most winners. Over the years one or another barrel maker would have a run of winners. But year in year out Kreiger gets my vote.