Has anyone had any experience with this barrel maker? I have a .264 Win Mag with a Walther barrel that is no good. While running a patch through it, I noticed a rough spot about midway in the 26" barrel. You can feel the patch get "grabbed" by the rough spot. I took the gun to my local gunsmith and we looked the barrel over with his barrel scope. He confirmed that the area was "nasty" in his words. Also the throat area was showing signs of firecracking. Sent it back to the barrel maker and he says there is nothing wrong with it?????

What Gives?

I have five. They shoot great and I've had no issues. 243, 257, 308, 30-06, 375. Thinking about it, the 30-06 is PICKY and not as accurate as the others, but other than that, no issues.

I've read both sides of the discussion on LW barrels.....some thumbs up and some conversely...

You might get more response on this if posted on the gunsmithing forum.....much more experience there.

As to me....Douglas is about all I need to know about barrels.

I have had lots of experience with Lothar Walther barrels. Most recently with 338 Lapua in short and very long barrels in "Special Applications" They produce exactly what the order is called for. And I have screwed up and thought I knew what I wanted only to find out I did not. But I did get what I ordered. My fault.

I am interested about your barrel. Is it stainless or normal steel? Fluted and by who?

On my project 338, I see fire cracking within the 75 rounds. I expect that since I am over 65000 psi. BUT it does not make any difference! and it outlast the others by a long shot. Run over 1200 rounds of 338 through your barrel and see what you think.

More info please.

I have close to 800 rounds thru my L W 338 Win Mag, and it still shoots MOA.

Great! Another 338 Fan! I think the 338 caliber will handle almost anything on this continent. With the right case behind it!

Once we finish of off the Lapua project, I want to look at a 338 Federal for whitetail deer.

I would expect that you can run another 800 rounds through that LW barrel before you notice any real change. Is it stainless?

It's a stainless barrel fluted by Briley. The gun shoots 1 moa, but for a 3-4 thousand dollar custom gun, this is not acceptable. I've never had a rifle with a 4" rough area like this in the bore that grabs a patch when run through and I am sure that this is causing inconsistencies in group size. With the load I've worked up, it will shoot under .5 moa one minute and then the next not even achieve moa accuracy. I could buy a Remington 700 off the rack that will shoot that well.
Can anyone recommend another barrel that they have had good luck with? That is luck with accuracy and barrel life?

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Can anyone recommend another barrel that they have had good luck with? That is luck with accuracy and barrel life?

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As to me....Douglas is about all I need to know about barrels.

I never had rifle that shhots well with LW. However, I think you can be lucky but with the occasional good one, there are also lots of competion shooters who are very happy with them.

But to be on the safe side -even here in Germany with import hassle involved - I rely on Shilen, Lilja or also Heym.

Have you actually contacted Lothar Walther or just Briley? Fluting can do strange things to a barrel .

We had a 300 WM for an Agency that started that problem (shooting onl A191 ammo) . And it was 4" , which was exactly the size of the vice that was used to hold the barrel for heavy cleaning. We has a bore scan when we got the barrel so we could eval the wear. It was not there then so it was developed during use.(Or misuse in this case) The pressure on the barrel actually caused a restriction in the bore.

That barrel does have a translation area some where. Thats where they go from a heavy lap to an accuracy hone and is speced out by the purchaser. Some have it lapped out and some don't. It's all dollars at that point.

We have a reverse hone done on 338's to semi choke the muzzle and all translation areas match honed.

I would still contact LW. Maybe send them the barrel for a internal evaluation or have it mapped.

I have quit blaming barrelmakers for gunsmith mistakes. If a gunsmith cuts the chamber, crown and does the machining...and the barrelmaker just sold him a 26" blank. Usually its not the barrel but the workmanship.

But that's not how it seems to work, is it?

Wow Jaegerfrank! That tells me a lot about Walther. When even a German would rather use Shilen, Lilja.......!!!

Another question. Would the barrel recommended be unique to the caliber choice or do great barrel makers make great barrels regardless of caliber? In other words, would your choice for a 22-250 barrel maker be different from your choice for a barrel you need on your .264 Win Mag?

So TOMAHAWK61,

Briley did the machining. You think that it's possible that the rough area inside the bore is due to their work? Through a bore scope you can see the rough lands..almost like flakes.

Anything is possible! The vice issue really got my attention!

Remember the AI gun that split the barrel along the fluting lines several years ago. Pressure wave ran the barrel and it split in three sections. If the fluting is too deep or off balance at all it will affect the accuracy.

If you really want to know, call the barrel maker and explain your problem! It seem that all you have right now is the opinion of a guy that might want to sell you another barrel.

Just to be a little off. Is it really a LW barrel?

One of my ops guys had a rifle that had a barel from XXX and it was a real dog. He happened to be in the area and took it by to see what they thought. It turned out to be some jackleg barrel .

Did Briley look at the barrel or LW? LW stainless barrels are hard as woodpecker lips and generally smooth as glass.

Firecracking at the throat begins early with a full-house 264 but until the throat advances it is what it is; shouldn't be an accuracy factor.

If Briley did the inspection, call Woody at LW in GA (if he's still there) and ask him if he is willing to look at it. They probably won't warrant a barrel someone else fluted but I think he'll give you an honest opinion of what caused the mid-barrel problem.

As a side note, a spot that rough should show up on visual inspection and at least be lapped before the gun ever left the shop.

The more I think about this, the more is seems to be a bedding issue. A mechanical fault will be somewhat consistant.

And does your barrel copper foul? a big rough spot like you describe should strip copper in sheets.

There is more here than meets the eye.

And I agree with Tiggertate. The LW Military grade stainless is tough. It actually machimes very well if you follow the directions and turn it fast. Start with the reamer instructions and calculate the surface feet per minute feed rate.

If you follow "old School" and slow it down. be prepared for trouble. It's not like 416R at all. We ate several before calling and learning how. Mr Woodall was very helpful and told us what we were doing wrong.

It's pretty good steel.

Like I said in the start of this topic, the gun has been back to LW and they say there is nothing wrong with the barrel. I don't think they put a scope in it or they wouldn't say this because it is obvious even to an untrained eye like mine that the rough area is just as it is......Rough. Briley says that LW measured tolerances and everything checked out. If they did put a scope in it and still maintain the barrel is fine, I would never buy another one of their barrels and would tell everybody I know not to as well.

It's just mind boggling to me that LW can say the barrel is fine. I noticed the problem when running a patch through the barrel. It gets "grabbed" by the rough section. You can actually hear it. Mind you I've never built a rifle myself and my barrel is the only one I've ever looked at through a scope, but it's obvious this barrel is trash, even to me.

If a patch gets grabbed like this imagine what is happening to a jacketed bullet at 3100fps. There is no way it can't be effected and I think it is what is causing inconsistent groupings

TOMAHAWK61

Briley swears by LW. They say the steel is so much harder than other makers that if they machine it like the others, they break carbide bits all the time. They have to turn at a cutting rate much less than on other barrels because of this. They also say that these barrels can't be shot out. They made a .308 and sent it to the Remington proofing factory where it has over 15,000 documented rounds through it and it still shoots under 1 MOA. I realize that .308 is a different animal than hotter calibers but still this is impressive. I just think I got a bad apple and hope that LW steps up and gets it straight. I don't think that Briley is at all at fault in any way.

I just wonder about LW and their standing behind their product. I know of one other that got a barrel that keyholed. It was sent back and LW told him the same thing; nothing wrong. He finally got the problem straight but it took a whole hell of a lot of back and forth. That just isn't right. If a barrel shoots that bad, the comany should take care of it immediately.

I don't disagree because I have not seen it. Call LW and see what they tell you.

You are at the end of the party line and things do get "confused" sometime.

If they had it there will be a pretty extensive report somewhere. And they use a special scope because if you look straight down at a section of barrel you really see nothing. There is nothing to gauge against. Commercial scopes are forward looking and 25-30 degrees off axis.

Sorry to get on a soapbox but I do have access to real nice equipment at work and it makes a difference.

Who knows, they may relap it for you.

And just to add fuel to the fire, my long barrels have s transition zone between the stages of the hone. We require a special lapping to this area. If we have a tight patch (and I mean tight) you can feel the patch hit the zone and then seem to release as it passes. Digitally mapped, it will show as well within tolerances but it is the difference in honing speed and grit size.

Again, I am not taking up for LW but the barrel manufacturer in general. They get the short end of the stick most of the time.

It's always easier to blame the barrel guy, even after 2 other guys mess around with the gun.

That being said, LW saved my butt on several occasions so I do take up for them when I can.

Have a Happy and Safe New Year.

Glad to hear it and same back at you. I hope they do the same for me. What business are you in?

UPDATE:

I just got off the phone with Woody at LW. Boy I wish I had called him a long time ago. He spent at least a half hour talking to me about my barrel and boy to I feel relieved. After this conversation I wouldn't buy a barrel from anyone else BUT LW!!!! I hate when I jump to conclusions! They re-dressed the barrel in the area in which they found some roughness and sent it back to Briley with instructions to test fire and call with results. Anyway.......he says I have nothing to worry about. They will make it right no matter what even if it needs to be replaced!

Thanks for all your knowledge and input fellas

Man, that's a relief for all of us.

I have some projects going using LW barrels, yet untested.

I have had good discussion with Woody as well. The only thing is that he sometimes gets long-winded, but that's ok too.

KB

10-4 on the longwinded..............

Chemist! at least at heart! I did some work for a 'Start up' company that built a large caliber AR and things went from there.

Ran demos at remote locations for very very long target applications.

Yes, you can hit 4x4 plates at 1800M! Just bring along some Marines and do the math. And keep a legal pad handy. Shooters notebooks don't have enough space.

Glad things worked out! Like I said, LW saved my butt several times so I try to return the favor when I can.

i have a buddy in a company that manufactures higher than usual capacity magazines and he is pretty big on lothar barrels.

I have a L/W barrel fitted to my 9,3x64 and am well satisfied with its performance.

tasso

TOMAHAWK......
Woody mirrored a lot of the things you had to say in your earlier post when you said you thought it was a bedding problem. Great deduction I hope! Briley will pillar bed the gun and shoot it and hopefully it will perform. Woody also said that when they discovered the rough area they ran some kind of special brush through and came out with a lot of copper. Through the borescope I could see the coppper in the rough area also. They then re-dressed that area. He explained the transition zones in the barrel to me. Very interesting. I had no idea that barrels were made that way with constrictions at different areas and at the muzzle. Why are they made that way? I always assumed it was a consistant "tube".

The reason I asked what business you are in is that your posts seem to indicate you are in the gunsmithing or rifle building trade......


This is one of your earlier posts.....

We had a 300 WM for an Agency that started that problem (shooting onl A191 ammo) . And it was 4" , which was exactly the size of the vice that was used to hold the barrel for heavy cleaning. We has a bore scan when we got the barrel so we could eval the wear. It was not there then so it was developed during use.(Or misuse in this case) The pressure on the barrel actually caused a restriction in the bore.

That barrel does have a translation area some where. Thats where they go from a heavy lap to an accuracy hone and is speced out by the purchaser. Some have it lapped out and some don't. It's all dollars at that point.

We have a reverse hone done on 338's to semi choke the muzzle and all translation areas match honed.

The only LW barrel I've seen is a pre=fit Savage varmint barrel I put on my M10FP. That barrel doesn't foul at all and is easily more accurate than me. I was trying out some bulk Hornady 55 gr. bullets the other day in my Rem. sporter barrel, decided to try a few in the LW. Took only 3 shots with it and they went into a .26" center to center group. Not the first time it's shot that well, really likes V-Maxs.