i know the question of the quality of these comes up every now and then. the one i most recently finished is a 300winmag on a vz24. i cut (finished) the chamber w/ a ptg reamer myself. tried out friday. after sighting in (remington factory 180gr ammo - the cheap stuff discount houses sells so nothing special there) i was just finishing when someone else showed up so i slammed out the last 4 rds to get it over with so he could put up his targets and i could collect mine. i.e. i was not taking my time. 100 yrd 4-shot group was 1" high and 1.5" wide. that was also a hot barrel as last 4 shots of 10 and an old weaver 3-9 set on 3x. i'd be hard put to believe it won't beat that under better circumstances. granted, if i were shooting pasture poodles or competition i might want better. but what need is there in a major caliber hunting rifle for better than that? personally i think the cost difference between that barrel and a more highly regarded, i.e. higher $$ make could better be applied to ammo/ practice.

A lot of guys don't think too highly of AB barrels. I've used them in 7x57, 6.5x55 and the most recent, 257 Roberts. All three shoot very well. I will say that they seem to be a little on the rough side and take a little more effort to get the copper out come cleaning time. These are hunting rifles and the barrels work just fine for that.

I used one to make a 6.5 x 55 BJAI. My experience was similar, respectable accuracy, rough bore.

The bore has smoothed out with shooting and a lot of elbow grease and J&B bore paste.

If you have more time than money, and are willing to lap them out, they are a good deal (in my opinion).

My 220 Swift shot 5 shot groups under 1/2 inch. It not only tickled pasture poodles but also tickled me. AB barrels are a good bet for the money.

I put one on a 98 in 243 accuratcy is great for the first 40 rounds then it fouls out.

Clean it and it shoots great again.

I have two A&B barrels...on rifles I put together myself...a 257Roberts and a 35 Whelen.. the accuracy is exceptional in the 257 and the 35W is nearly as good. I have not experienced a fouling problem with either rifle.

There will be others that will post that these barrels are junk...but that has not been my experience.

Zeeriverrat1

this makes 4 i've used and likewise a 35 whelen and a 6.5x55 plus a 270 win. the whelen has been impressive so far - only has open express sights but i got around 1" at 50 yds which is all i could ask w/ load development consisting of "i want this bullet (hornady 250grRN) and this; didn't see need to go further. that one i did lap the bore by method described by barsness in an article in "rifle" a few yrs back - i.e. patch wrapped around a brush and coated in 320grit paste for a couple hundred strokes. unfortunately never fired beforehand so no idea how much this mattered. this 300mag bbl may be a good frame of reference for that. the 6.5 was a peep sighted and similar results. the 270 haven't shot in a while and don't even recall specifically but wasn't disappointed.

On a sample of one (416), I'm happy.

I have used one, in 458 Lott, and I really think it was a bargain.

Guy, you have to try Final Finish from Superior Shooting Systems on thosue rough bores. It works wonders! It does push the throat a tiny bit, but that is more than made up by the accuracy increase and ease of cleaning.

Here's my current take on AB barrels.

i haven't heard anyone, i repeat ANYONE complain that they don't shoot reasonably well.

the biggest complaint that I have is that there aint a .475 or .510 bore!!

i've done a couple with these.. like em!!

jeffe

I have one on a 98, in 270 win. It shoots real good, but thats my only experence. My gun smith buddy slugged the barrel and lapped it, which he is very good at doing. I have no fouling problems and its a real good shooter.

I bought another AB in 7mm but havent done anything with it yet, think I got it on sale, I'm a sucker for a cheap deal.

I perfer a shilen or pac-nor, but for the money A&B are not a bad deal, I think they need to be lapped and worked some. If I'm going to sink serious money in a gun, I would use a premium barrel and not an AB.

this is interesting considering all the negative hype i've read about them in the past in different places. sounds like many have same experience as myself. but my accuracy expectations are less - let's say - anal than some. i get sighted in then move off the bench. if i can get 1.5" groups with the bullet i want to use then keep my shots on half a pc of 8.5x11 construction paper at 100 yds from field positions i'm usually quite happy. sitting and shooting tiny groups off a bench beats working and is sort of interesting but not so applicable to field shooting.

I've hunted from Alaska to Africa and I've yet to see a bench in the field, but after soom of the hills I've tried to run up, I'd have sure liked to had a chair Not sure the brand of barrel would have mattered much at all, maybe being in better shape is the largest factor, and I just ate at KFC

I think that is the real problem people want there rifles to shoot like target rifles that is fine and dandy but when you are hunting you are usually huffing and puffing, a deer I shot in Oregon couple of years ago I shot him after I ran up a hill boy was I huffing and I run every day. Also Some folks are just trying to keep up with jones's I guess, I have an assortment of barrels on my rifles Pac-Nor, Montana rifleman, Shilen, A&B I even have one rifle that has a Machine gun barrel that my friend turned down it is 7mm before he turned it down it had to wiegh 10lbs. Same goes for scopes, nothing wrong with having a good Leupold have a couple myself, but hell I have Simmons and Tasco that shoot groups just fine as long as you don't put them on big boomers I guess. Besides last time I was out hunting Deer or Elk I wasn't out looking for a 1,000yd rifle match. Okay I will get off my soap box!

Im happy with them but I agree that a little hand lapping goes a long way with an A&B bbl. I just use a long tipton bore jag and JB's bore paste. That coupled with a lot of shooting seems to work pretty well without the wear that firelapping can cause.

I shot about 15 round thru mine with NECO's finest grit and have no cleaning issues whatsoever. I wish I had shot it for group first but since not, I can't say if it helped accuracy.

One of those picky barrels though. I can't get Speer HotCores to shoot better than 4 inches but 5 Northfork 370s go into a hole less than one inch OD.

I have cut chambers on two A&B barrels and shot them at the range a few times.

What a difference between the two in number of shots before Copper fouling!

One can't get through the second group, the other shoots well until I'm beat up from recoil.

Before you cut threads and chamber look into the muzzle for roughness. One barrel may not be worth your time, and another might be.

Sounds like a great deal for the DIY gunsmith. Not everyone is looking to spend several hundred on a top-notch barrel. When a guy is learning to do his own work cheap barrels and low quality semi inlet stocks are just the thing. When I was learning I used lots of take off barrels, military barrels and such. Used to use the Herters stocks and lumber yard dimensional walnut too. After a time, when my skills warranted it I began to spend more on better materials. I think A/B barrels and Richards's stocks defiantly have an important place in the hobby.

I might even get an A/B barrel for a project I have in mind. If I do I will lap it before I chamber and install it. They are an opportunity for a guy to learn about lapping by doing.

Shaw also has some lowball barrels to consiter. I have used one and it was smooth enough to work great with cast bullets.

quote:

Shaw has some lowball barrels to consider

Have never verified it, but I've heard that A&B's are Shaw seconds.

I have had good A&B barrels and some that were so bad it wasn't funny. I helped a guy put together a Savage 11 with a 1~8" twist 22-250 A&B barrel that was really good, so I bought a Savage 11 and 3 A&B barrels to play with. I did the JB's polishing on all 3 barrels after shooting them a little. The 1~8" 22-250 barrel that I got wasn't quite a smooth as the 1 my friend got, but it shoots 55 grain BTs and 60 grain Partitions into groups just a hair over 1" without working up a load (loads) for that rifle.

The A&B barrels for the Savages have been better, and also more recent purchases, than the A&B barrels for Mausers that I have had. I had a stainless A&B 260 barrel on a Mark X that was about the worst commercial barrel I've ever shot. It is now a $60 tomato stake.

Jeff

I have a 22-250 that is not so great and a .308 that is the producer of some small groups but is rather finicky. roger