anyone have any experience with them? I have heard mixed reports, from garbage to great. The only consistent message I'm getting is to fire-lap the barrel.
Thanks in advance for the help..

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Don't tread on me!
Pennsylvania Frank

both me and my friend both have them and we dont have nothing to complain about.i no my nest barrel will be carbon fiber. jason

Like everything else, you get what you pay for....

If your going to the expense of re-barreling you may as well spend an extra hundred and get the best such as a Lothar-Walther, Krieger or Lilja or an extra $50 and get a Douglas. You'll save in the long run.

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

I have one on my 35 whelen ackley. It is accurate, but it is also rough, and fouls quite a bit. I also have to load hot to get it to group, and groups open dramatically for anything other then its preferred load.

I would spend the extra $ for a pac nor in the future, when you go to the trouble and expense of re-barreling, get a good barrel, they aren't that much more exspensive, and they are well worth the cost.

I know that Midway makes some attractive package deals on the A & B barrels, but I think Ray's advice here is good. For a little more money, you can step up a good bit in quality.

quote:

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Originally posted by Atkinson:
Like everything else, you get what you pay for....

If your going to the expense of re-barreling you may as well spend an extra hundred and get the best such as a Lothar-Walther, Krieger or Lilja or an extra $50 and get a Douglas. You'll save in the long run.

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I will the one to disagree here.

I HAVE Lothar Barrels, and Douglas, and Shilen and have found them to be no better than the Midways.

Midway does not have nearly as big a selection of calibers and/or barrel contours, but if you like a .650 muzzle, the Midway is hard to beat.

In fact, I have a NEW Lothar 270 Win barrel threaded and chambered for a 700 REM for sale if anybody wants one.

I have 2 A&B barrels from Midway and they are OK, but the accuracy is not all that impressive.

In the future, I would spend an extra $50 to $100 for a better barrel because it does not make much difference in the total cost of the gun.

I have used a number of their bbls, and I think the real answer is what kind of rifle you're building. They are perfectly adequate for large game, in my experience, but I would not choose one for a varmint/paper punch rig.

What I am considering is the Stainless fluted .308 barrel.
The action I have is a 1917 Danzig, but it was overpolished, rounding off most corners, and isn't really as tight as I would like, so in my opinion isn't "worthy" of a better barrel. It's a "play around" project. The rebarreling will be done by a gunsmith friend of mine, and the action was given to me, so the cost is minmal.

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Don't tread on me!
Pennsylvania Frank

there is a legitamate need for cheap barrels and thats where they come into play...I have no doubt some of them will shoot fine.

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

I have two rifles with A&B barrels and both are more accurate than I am. Maybe if I had a Shilen or Douglas or Lothar I would automatically be a better shot. Need to try that someday.

I have purchased several of these in different calibers and all have shot extremely well. Each barrel is a law unto itself--I have had some high dollar barrels not shoot any better than A&B or Remington factory takeoffs(before their q.c.went to hell).
Sambubba

More accuracy is gained and lost by the care the gunsmith uses in fitting and chambering the barrel, then in the barrel itself. Properly fit, the A&B should provide satisfactory accuracy.

That said, there are good reasons to consider more exspensive tubes, though in this application, I think you'll be pleased with the A&B. When they sold for $70, they were deffinately the ticket, and with the barrel/stock specials are worth it. I wouldn't pay $100 for one of the barrels.

I bought a bunch of them one time for $45.00 each and put them on Mexican Mausers and sold them...they made decent rifles.

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

I've built three mausers in .308 using A&B barrels. The first one is my sons deer rifle and the other two I built for nephews. All three shoot sub MOA with good ammo. Yhey do fould quicker than other barrels so fire lapping is probably a good idea but I haven't tried it yet.