I'm looking for a 318 barrel for a project. Seems Krieger may be my only option. I have been in contact with Lothar Walther and they cannot furnish one at this time. I've checked everyone else I can think of and nobody seems to do this bore dia. Does anyone here have any ideas of where else to look?
John

Several years ago, I ordered mine from LW. It had to come from Germany and it took about a year to get, 'course when I ordered it, they told me three months! What was their reason that they could not accommodate you? As far as I know, Krieger is the only option here in the U.S. Recently, on a thread here on AR, there was talk of a South African barrel, but I can't imagine how hard that would be to get. Good Luck, as it is a great cartridge!

Lothar Walther has customer service issues in America.

The smiths here claim no problems.

quote:

Originally posted by Big Wonderful Wyoming:
Lothar Walther has customer service issues in America.

The smiths here claim no problems.

BWW, what state are they in? With WW gone, things should get much better.

Lee,
They said there were none at the facility in Germany and did not know when there would be any so I decided to not take it any further. I have had great communication with LW and feel with Woody gone LW sales are going to increase if the customer service issues are solved. I know some here had no problems with Woody but many did and if my dealings with them as of the last 3 weeks is any indication of how things are now I see no reason not to use them. I did order a 7mm barrel and was quoted 8 weeks, to me that is fast concerning barrels nowadays. We shall see.

I would just make it a .338 instead of a .330 and avoid a lot of drama and months/years of waiting.

Georgia I think? Somewhere in the south or they were.

I have ordered 2 or 3 barrels and they just never came. Wasn't important enough to get them I guess.

quote:

Originally posted by butchlambert:

quote:

Originally posted by Big Wonderful Wyoming:
Lothar Walther has customer service issues in America.

The smiths here claim no problems.

BWW, what state are they in? With WW gone, things should get much better.

Gundog 64
I have a Krieger #3 contour that I probably won't get to using for a build. PM in you are interested. Thanks.

Ive never had any problems with Lothar Walthar and that's the only barrel I will use as a rule.

The option to a 318 if you remove the misguided nostalgia and gun scribes words of glory is a 30-06 or 8x57 loaded with 250 gr. bullets! or even the 220gr.

Well there ya go, Ozark Hunter has a barrel and a good one at that..

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
Well there ya go, Ozark Hunter has a barrel and a good one at that..

I bought it from him weeks ago

I would do a 338-06 improved. The cartridges look almost identical, and .338 bullets are far easier to get. I had a Westley Richards several years ago that I bought at a local show. Well used, but not abused. At that time I found only one source for .330 bullets. Shot about 100 rounds through it and sold it.

quote:

Originally posted by AlanFaulkner:
I would do a 338-06 improved. The cartridges look almost identical, and .338 bullets are far easier to get. I had a Westley Richards several years ago that I bought at a local show. Well used, but not abused. At that time I found only one source for .330 bullets. Shot about 100 rounds through it and sold it.

Nahh 318 it is. Got the reamer the other day and have the gunsmith all lined up. We are doing a 275 Rigby now and when thats done the 318 will start.

Grafs has Hornady 205 gr. sp for the 8x56r for practice and deer hunting, and Woodleighs are available for bigger game, I've considered building one myself just for the cool factor.

quote:

Originally posted by Gundog 64:
We are doing a 275 Rigby now and when thats done the 318 will start.

WILL THE MADNESS NEVER CEASE!



I suggest you get an easily obtainable 7mm barrel and send it to a good rifle reboring person/specialist/technician/professional/guru/ace. He can rebore and rifle it to whatever specifications you require.

Amazing how one jerk can poison the well for long time after he's finally out. Woody is gone.. LW is on track, delivery is very acceptable and quality is top notch,,Never had one that didn't shoot superbly

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe (CG&R):
Amazing how one jerk can poison the well for long time after he's finally out. Woody is gone.. LW is on track, delivery is very acceptable and quality is top notch,,Never had one that didn't shoot superbly

Best thing that has happened to LW.

I ordered the barrel for my 275 from LW. Was told 6 weeks had it in 5. Bought it threaded, chambered, and crowned. It fit and headspaced perfectly.
Krieger needed 8 months for the 318 barrel, Ozark Hunter saved my bacon there as LW did not want to make one. To me ordering and receiving a custom barrel in 5 weeks is lightning fast.

I never had a problem with Woody other than trying to hang up the phone..He would talk me to death, but he was always a nice guy..

Anyway, I am sold on LW barrels, they are by far the very best IMO...Never had one that wouldn't shoot little bitty groups and Ive had a bunch of them..I guess my only gripe was slow delivery at times, but that's not unusual in the gun world...

That said I consider such guns as the .318 WR as fun guns, great to hunt Africa with, and its a real good killer of course with a fine reputation, brass is difficult but can be had. I am also a nostalgic otherwise I wouldn't shoot many of the calibers that I do..I know a 30-06 with a 250 gr. bullet is a .318 WR in the hunting field.

I strongly recommend purchasing your 318 reamer from ANYONE but Pacific Tool and Gauge.

quote:

Originally posted by Fal Grunt:
I strongly recommend purchasing your 318 reamer from ANYONE but Pacific Tool and Gauge.

Mr. Meyers,
I got it from Dave Manson. I try to spend my money local if possible. Dave is 2 hours from me so I guess that in this case, he is local. I'm done with PTG after their last screw up cost me a substantial amount of time and money.

Gundog,
What profile did you go with for your .275 Rigby Barrel. I just bought some Norma brass, which is the first sign of an impending project.
LD

quote:

Originally posted by lawndart:
Gundog,
What profile did you go with for your .275 Rigby Barrel. I just bought some Norma brass, which is the first sign of an impending project.
LD

I used the LW #5126 H&H Small caliber contour

Thanks Gundog, I bought a type "E" barrel in .423". They happened to have one left on the shelf, so turn around was five days, door to door.

Please post a picture of you .275 Rigby if you find a reasonably priced photograph manager tool.

quote:

Originally posted by lawndart:
Thanks Gundog, I bought a type "E" barrel in .423". They happened to have one left on the shelf, so turn around was five days, door to door.

Please post a picture of you .275 Rigby if you find a reasonably priced photograph manager tool.

Good looking mauser. Mind telling who shaped or duplicated the stock? Thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by thirdbite:
Good looking mauser. Mind telling who shaped or duplicated the stock? Thanks.

A member here, Soroka 1. He is doing the bulk of the project and I'm doing the stock finish.

quote:

The option to a 318 if you remove the misguided nostalgia and gun scribes words of glory is a 30-06 or 8x57 loaded with 250 gr. bullets! or even the 220gr.

Geez Ray, you are such a killjoy! Next thing you might say is no one really needs a .333 Jeffery ....

But Bill Im a dyed in the wool nostalgic, I love the idea of a .318 and this one has stuff that's right up my alley..I love the gun and caliber way good, but jeeze it is a 30-06 with a 250 or 300 gr. bullet, but that was ment to be a compliment to both calibers!!

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
But Bill Im a dyed in the wool nostalgic, I love the idea of a .318 and this one has stuff that's right up my alley..I love the gun and caliber way good, but jeeze it is a 30-06 with a 250 or 300 gr. bullet, but that was ment to be a compliment to both calibers!!

Ray,
Well I cannot argue with any point you have made, but I like to do things a bit different. I already have a nice 30-06 but I don't have a 318. What really drove me to this was being able to secure the barrel and forming/loading dies for a reasonable price. All the parts are with the smith right now and I may have it back in my hands in a few weeks. The 318 will be iron sights only just the way I like it. The 275 pictured above is actually for my wife....Don't tell her she does not know about it. LOL
John

I understand, I've built my wife a lot of nice guns, they are displayed in my gun cabinet!

I have used LW fwt. along with a few Douglas barrels in most of my 7x57 barrels, the LWs shoot under an inch so far and the guns weigh about 6.5 to 7.5 lbs. with scope, sling, iron sights, wood, and loaded. That to me is the beauty of a 7x57. The douglas barrels shoot almost as well on average, some as good.. If I pack more gun the old 06 is next at 8.5 Lbs., magnums and my 9.3s at 8.5 to 9 lbs. Im a hunter, and age is creeping up on me so I lean towards lighter guns and less recoil these days.

Just got the photos of the stock for my 318, wood is from Roger Vardy.

Gorgeous!

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe (CG&R):
Amazing how one jerk can poison the well for long time after he's finally out. Woody is gone.. LW is on track, delivery is very acceptable and quality is top notch,,Never had one that didn't shoot superbly

Are they difficult to chamber? Depending on who you believe, their "special steel" can be a problem...more with the stainless though?

quote:

Originally posted by lockingblock:

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe (CG&R):
Amazing how one jerk can poison the well for long time after he's finally out. Woody is gone.. LW is on track, delivery is very acceptable and quality is top notch,,Never had one that didn't shoot superbly

Are they difficult to chamber? Depending on who you believe, their "special steel" can be a problem...more with the stainless though?

I've only done a couple CM blanks from LW and they machine fine. The LW50?, is a pain unless you know it likes speed and faster feed to chamber them.
I think their "special" stainless is very similar to 17-4.

That lines up with what I was told by a friend who chambers a lot of barrels and has a "NO" list of barrel makers that includes LW.

His view was that their steel tends to work harden easily and machines poorly unless you were working at higher speeds, usually with a carbide reamer and a flush system.

It wasn't impossible to machine...but was not worth the hassle compared to other makers that provide a similar or better product that isn't a PITA to work with...

Interesting that it's a somewhat common issue and LW doesn't see it as a problem.

YMMV.

I have fit exactly one LW barrel in CM. It was fine to machine, no different than Krieger which is what I usually buy. I have another LW now on order. I do not fit barrels at high speed.

quote:

Originally posted by skb:
I have fit exactly one LW barrel in CM. It was fine to machine, no different than Krieger which is what I usually buy. I have another LW now on order. I do not fit barrels at high speed.

Don't buy their LW50 then. You will never get it chambered.

Not likely I would buy a Stainless barrel unless someone comes up with a rust blue process for them