I'm about to start 2 mauser projects at the same time. I know that everyone has their favorites, but which barrel maker is the best? I'm not looking for a lightweight barrel, but rather a good medium to medium heavy 24".

Pac Nor.

I can't tell you which one is best since I've used only one barrel maker but I've used several Douglas barrels over the years and have been pleased with all of them.

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Originally posted by Caretaker:
I'm about to start 2 mauser projects at the same time. I know that everyone has their favorites, but which barrel maker is the best? I'm not looking for a lightweight barrel, but rather a good medium to medium heavy 24".

You're opening up a can of worms.

Krieger, Rock, Lilja, Obermeyer, Bartlein, Kostyshyn, Shilen

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which barrel maker is the best?

Who makes the best ice cream?

In barrels, NO ONE buys what he thinks may be second best, and all the custom makers do a brisk business.

Agree with fjord in many ways. I would go PacNor for 6.8SPC and .308 for AR-10 otherwise pick whichever is less lead time as they all are good to go. I would also add Brux to the mix.

The bore on the PacNor barrel of my 375 is visibly off- center. Is this typical of Pac-Nor's

quote:

which barrel maker is the best?

I've used a few makers of barrel but have never had one better than Douglas and I've sure spent a lot more.

If they're not the best then they're among the best.

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Originally posted by 458Win:
The bore on the PacNor barrel of my 375 is visibly off- center. Is this typical of Pac-Nor's

Not by my experience 458Win. I've had just two rebarrels by Pac-Nor, and both were very nicely done. Shot well to. But I've heard good and bad about most all of the makers from someone, sometime.
I have a Larry Brace custom rifle that I had Larry decide which barrel to supply and install, with instructions that I would like a good shooter. He installed a 25" Krieger. It's done well, and is a tac driver in .338-06 AI.
Also had decent luck with Douglas and Donnelly barrels.
I think as long as you stay with a quality company 'Caretaker', your chances are about the same for a good barrel.

Since you are in Dallas, consider Shilen located in Ennis, TX. I have been very pleased with their stainless varmit weight barrels.

I've owned six long range real live varmint rifles, and five bench rest rifles; scratch-built that is. They all had Lilja barrels, and all of them shot better than I could hold off the bench. They come smooth, and Dan, unlike many barrelmakers, does not have three or four grades, depending on how good they turn out. They meet Dan's specs, or they don't go out the door.

Rich

Living in Dallas, I think you have a screw loose if you don't use Shilen. I've had them rebarrel 3 rifles and ALL of them shoot well. The 30-06 I built years ago shoots EVERYTHING to the same place for anybody that pulls the trigger.

Am partial to Lilja's. Really smooth inside, and out of the three rifles I had rebarreled with them zero cooper fouling in any of them.

But I wouldnt feel handicapped by any of the top makers such as Kreiger, Pac Nor, Shilen, etc.

Lothar Walther

Well lets see I've used Krieger, Lilja, Broughton, Bartlein, Rock, Shilen, Pac-Nor, and Douglas. Any one of the will shoot great. The Rifles I've had that were the easiest to get to shoot exceptional wore Krieger, Broughton, and Bartlein, but all would do well. I can say the Douglas, and the Liljas kept grabbing copper longer than any of the others.

Hart, Douglas, Shilen, and Lilja.

And there you have it, the BEST barrel maker is....

What was that question again?

Seeing you are asking for "Opinions", I can give you mine.
Cut rifled = Krieger
Button rifled = Hart

On adverage they seem to shoot well and are easy to get and keep clean.
Thanks, Doug

Of my guns, two are extra accurate with very little fouling, one Douglas and one Badger.

Since you asked, I would go with Lilja then Douglas. I'm sure that like the ice cream question, everyone has had good and bad experiences.

900 SS: Me too. Douglas: 6mm Rem, Badger: 38-55.

It's real tough to give a straight answer to your question, as we all have such a small sampleing. But here's my 2 cents. Pac-Nor, never had a better shooter than their super match stainless, have one in 6mm-06. Douglas, I had Dereck up at Accuracy Speaks rebarell my Sako 243, he used a Douglas. After I pissed and moaned for quite a long time,the damn thing shot better before Dereck switched barrels, he changed it to a Shilen, and it is now a tack driver. I tried E. R. Shaw as well, for a couple hunting guns. The 35 Whelen they barelled is an exceptional shooter, always less than a minute. The 6.5-06 is a POS, and cost me quite a few more bucks, to get it to shoot. Everybody has an opinion, but in my experience, Pac-Nor and Shilen are exceptional quality products.

Jerry

There isn't a best barrel maker.

"X" barrel maker might have a run of screamers and then the next run might just be good and "Y" might have a better run of them in that caliber.

It's rare for the better makers to put out a real turd but everyone once in a great while that happens too. You can pretty much order a barrel from one of several barrel makers and have an equal chance of having a great barrel and a very likely chance of having a good one.............................DJ

I just think we're very fortunate to have as many good barrel makers as we do. Thirty years ago the choices would have been significantly fewer. My hat is off to all those who have chosen to make the "best barrels in the world".

Shilen Barrels are the best in my opion.

I've had an absolutely rotten Krieger, replaced with a fantastic Krieger.

I had a 60's era Douglas on a .25-06 that was a tack driver.

I have a new Jerry Pedersen cut-rifled barrel I'm just checking out.

As someone said, you might get a good one or a lousy one. Never owned Shilen or PacNor, but may someday.

Lots of good barrels and now that Kreiger is going to make 5r barrels that should be a good one.

I've got another Bartlein 5r up the gunsmith now for a 280AI used a Kreiger for my wifes 280AI. Mark Chanlynn makes a good barrel so does Lilja,Shilen,Hart,Rock,Broughton,Kostyshyn big problem is the wait time think Bartlein is quoting 6/8 months. My gunsmith has been waiting over 6mos for a Rock so he been quoting 1 yr on rebarrel. My next barrel going to be a Brux hearing good thing about them.

I am about to order a Wilson from Brownells. Short chambered in .308. Going on an M48A Yugo action. Not trying to build a "set the world on fire" rifle. Just one that hits where it points well enough to kill alien zombies and the odd Chupacabra. Off duty hours it will be in a soft case under the back seat of the truck.

Tube will be $140 plus TT&L at gunsmith discount.

There is Border...
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and then there are some others......

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Originally posted by Tumbleweed:
There is Border...
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and then there are some others......

You guy have Ted Gaillard up there I used his barrels before.

quote:

Originally posted by 458Win:
The bore on the PacNor barrel of my 375 is visibly off- center. Is this typical of Pac-Nor's

I have 4 PacNor bbls. & have not seen this. My gunsmtih swtiched from Douglas to PacNor because he feels their quality is better. Best, talk to the pure benchrest guys.

My gunsmith has always suggested Douglas barrel so I went along with what he said. So far, I have had no complaints at all with all rifles based on Mauser actions to be close to MOA or less than MOA. Certainly a lot more accuracy the really needed for big game.
Only one rifle has been any kind of a problem, but I'm positive it's not with the barrel, but with the receiver. It may be warped slightly. I haven't had a chance to get it back to my gunsmith to have this checked out.
Paul B.
Paul B.

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Originally posted by tom holland:

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Originally posted by Tumbleweed:
There is Border...
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and then there are some others......

You guy have Ted Gaillard up there I used his barrels before.

Actually yes, and he's great. I admit to being a bit of a smartass.... ...there are a lot of good barrels out there.

I have rifles with:

1) Krieger cut rifled (1)
2) Half Moon (1)
3) Hart (1)
4) E.R. Shaw (1)
5) Douglas (several)

The Krieger barreled .338 Win Mag holds 2" at 300 yards any time I am doing my job. The Half Moon is on a 6mm Rem (the Ottmar rifle) done by members of the ACGG. Does OK but I haven't shot it much as it really is a collector's piece.

The Shaw bbl came in .264 Win Mag on a Manchester Mark X action I bought to make into a big bore. Shoots so well (<1 MOA) I can't take it apart.

The Hart was built from a piece of uncontoured barrel stock acquired from Brownell's. Shot clover leafs from the first day. Tickled me because it was the first one I'd ever done from scratch!

Douglas is a home town shop. I have .338-06, 9,3x62, .376 Steyr, .376/.416 Steyr Improved, and .458 AR rifles built with their barrels.

Have had issues with builds ... never anything associated with the quality of the Douglas barrels. When I've gotten the bugs associated with bedding out of the build, they have all shot well. The .458 AR shot a clover leaf during sight-in in South Africa on my last trip.

I think there are lots of really good barrel makers out there.

One Shilen, one Pac-Nor,not much to pick between them, but the Pc-Nor is better...

Only 1 mention of Brux?

My gunsmith is high on them right now.

I had a Walther that was literally trash, but they warranteed it and replaced it. The install isn't done yet, so I don't know how well it will do...........

1 Hart
1 Douglas
1 Brux
waiting on a PacNor 3 groove

All shoot better than I can.

Waited the longest on the Hart, the others were quick if that matters.

More important to choose a great gunsmith

I have had good luck with PacNor, Hart and Shilen. Stick with one of those mentioned here and you will be happy. Lou

do a little research online. check out bench rest/long range forums/sites and see what those guys are winning the matches with. any barrel good enough to win bench rest matches with would be more than good enough to hunt with. here is a web link for the 1000 yard range in williamsport Pa, http://www.pa1000yard.com/ , it has info on the shooters, guns, etc maybe others will have more links you can look at. good luck in your search jim

Krieger and Bartlein are DOMINATING the benchrest circuit.