Trying to decide between Pac-nor or Hart to Rebarrel my SAKO AV

who'd you recommend?

Depends, Pac-Nor has more reamers/choices. Pac-Nor makes a real nice 17cal barrel. Hart has got way more bench rest titles. Pac-Nor is 60bucks cheaper, $120 for a rebarrel. I have a Pac-Nor and could not be happier with it. I just got a Lilja and the next is a Hart 257 will be the next one. Reason I do not have one and Midway has them in stock, not Pac-nor. Your gun will have a bit more custom value if Hart does it. Pick the one you like to say the most, flip a coin. I doubt if you can see an accuracry difference on a sporter weight rifle.

Hart is button rifled, if that makes a difference. Also they only make stainless steel barrels.

I have 2 of theirs:
223 Rem ackley improved bull barrel 24"
338-06 ackley improved sporter 24"

Both very accurate. But that's a given as they were put together by their cousins at RW Hart & Sons in Nescopek, PA.
I have no experience with Pac-Nor. I like to spend my money in Pennsylvania.

While I don't have a Pac-Nor (so I can't say good or bad), I *do* have a Hart (222 Rem), and it shoots EXTREMELY well.

I'd use another one in a heartbeat.

Are Hart's stainless barrels bead blasted or shiny??

Mine had a light "machined" finish as it came from the factory. We polished it after chambering & installing it. You could bead blast it just as easily.

Unless they have changed their process without my noticing in the last couple of years, PacNor barrels are also button rifled.

Chris Dichter (PacNor) is a real nice fella, and spent a lot of his profits in the early going having all his barrels x-ray scanned so he could experiment with button shapes to see which shape produced the most "consistent" twist rates in his barrels...a definite contributor to accuracy.

Hart barrels hold so many benchrest records it is almost uncanny, so there is definitely nothing shabby about them either.

Either would be a fine choice.

Alberta Canuck

I can't say for a fact that they're shiny, only that I paid extra for a bead-blast finish. I painted mine with Aluma-hyde from Brownells. The bead-blasting gave it some 'tooth' for paint adhesion.