Please no hearsay.Actual experience would be helpful.Thanks,OB

The ones I have installed machined beautifully, and were top quality. Customers like the way they shoot. Main advantage is weight reduction. No better or worse than Krieger of Bartlein in terms of accuracy potential. A lot of $$ to save some weight.

Gimmick. Doesn't mean they can't work but there are better ways to get a lighter barrel. Some I've worked on shot well; others shot very poorly--one that went back to manufacturer twice still shot badly.

I've got 4 of them.
300 Rum
28 Nosler
6.5 X 280 AI
20 Practical

They're all very, very good "shooters" by anyone's standards.
Gimmick? I think not but they're unique and maybe some don't like the way they look.
If I were building a rifle on a more tame and standard cartridge or in a beautiful wood stock, I'd certainly opt for a more "normal" barrel (which I've done now near countless times).

BTW: yes, all Proof Research barrels

To each his own,
Zeke

Several Proofs
300WM,308,223 Wylde,6.5CM,6.8SpcII

All Sub MOA
Run all with Titanium suppressors most of the time (TBAC or GT)

(last) 4 are AR platforms, with Carbon front hand-guards/ rails
Typically- the weight with optic and NV clip-on
is about the same as non- carbon (std) AR platform without optic and NV clip-on

10/22 and AR-10 in 260 Rem. Happy with both but the 10/22 is the standout. Handles incredibly well and was very competitive in Hunter Class 22BR (I was lucky to buy a Jewell 10/22 trigger before they quit making them, which helped).

I’ve used a few of them, if I had to pay $750 for a blank I’d skip it. Accuracy was good/decent. My barrel maker said to me when they shoot well, all is great, but he feels they have a bit more percentage of barrels that just don’t shoot as well as hoped. That might mean 3/4-1MOA instead of 1/4-1/2MOA. I probably won’t use any more myself except a 22rf bbl I was given...that might be cool as a flyweight squirrel rifle.

Shooting standing, it helps to have some weight up front, which is why I continued to use my NM M1 until the heavy barrel M14's came on the scene. Even in Africa, there are times when the demand for speed precludes the use of a tripod shooting standing. I can remember several instances. I never shot .458 WM and above any other way than standing, unsupported.

I own three Proof barrels (installed two of them myself) and have shot several others (including two from Christensen Arms)-- without exception they have been extremely accurate.

Whether they are a gimmick is probably a matter of your needs but, in my experience, they shoot.