My best friend and I got into a debate this morning as to who makes the best after-market barrel. He has an older Ruger 77 in 30-06 that does not shoot well and is considering a Douglas barrel. This decision is based on another friend's assertion that Douglas is the best because that's what all knowledgable benchrest shooters use.

However, based on what I have read here along with my own experience, I would continue to chose shilen, Hart, Lijda, Lothar-Walther, and Pac-nor before Douglas or Shaw. I would like your opinions as to what's the best and / or most popular barrel. Thanks, Lou

Since nobody has taken this bait, I'll offer my $.02. I don't think there is a "best" barrel maker. There are several ones that you could group into a "top-dog" group. IMO Krieger, Hart, Lilja and Shilen probably belong to this group - simply based on the amount of these barrels used in one type of competition or the other. Then there are several excellent barrel makers, that perhaps could be grouped into a slightly lower category - prices usually a tad lower, barrels normally fully satisfactory for a hunting rifle, say: Pac-Nor, Douglas, MRC, Lothar Walther. Everybody will have their own opinion on which maker belongs where, and most of the above in general make good barrels. You'll get any number of opinions on this, this was just mine.

- mike

What confuses me is where his friend came up with the information that "Douglas is the best because that's what all knowledgable benchrest shooters use". His friend obviously hasn't looked down the firing line at a benchrest match lately.

Now just insert everything MHO said here, because his comments echo mine exactly. Only I think I would rate Pac-Nor with the top bunch. I will say however that I have only owned Shilens.

FWIW, I asked Kenny Jarrett that question last month when I met him at a SCI meeting. He said Hart.

There is no way to judge which one is "best".

There certainly is nothing wrong with Douglas he wants to buy. I happen to like Walther's.

Odds are if he bought one of each, he could not tell the difference from his sporter. Maybe a bench rest could tell, but not many hunting guns can.

And yes, your friend is mistaken. I shoot many centerfire br matches every year. Maybe 1% of the competitors use Douglas. Doesn't mean that they aren't every bit as good as some of the other brands but they just aren't used much currently. The top barrels in BR are Hart, Shilen and Krieger. And that's a fact!!!

These are all good barrels. Pac-Nor offers a long chambered option. It only needs a couple of thousands removed from the shoulder to get correct headspace. This elimiates the need to buy/rent a reamer. For that reason alone I get Pac-Nor. I like the idea of not messing with the chamber since the reamer you use is different than the one that originally cut it. Don't know if it really matters. It will save you $50 and some time though.

Dr. Lou,
Any knowledgeable benchrest shooter did use a Douglas barrel.....30 or 40 years ago, and that is a testament to their quality of today also. However as Rancher pointed out BR today is totally dominated by Hart, Shilen and Krieger and not necessarily in that order. There are a few others in the mix that are as good namely Lilja, Pac-Nor, Spencer and Chanlyn. All you need to do is read the equipment list from a benchrest match and you will know who makes BR quality barrels. It just depends on what the end purpose of the rifle will be. For an extremely accurate hunting barrel, a Douglas is second to none. If you want a BR quality barrel capable of shooting bugholes at 100-200 and 300 yards I would look elsewhere. Thats my story and I'm stickin to it. Jim

Is you're friend shooting benchrest? If not, Douglas is fine. I have 2 of them, one a .257 Roberts on a M98 is under 1 moa for 5 shot's, and a Garand 30-06 that is under 1 moa for 8 shot's with issue sights.

A whole lot of how well any barrel does depends on the guy that screws it on to your receiver.
I had a Wilson .223 barrel (I know ) that shot extremely well. Hart,Kreiger,Shilen etc deliver consistent quality virtually every time.

As always, I really appreciate your assistance. Thanks, Lou

Being biased like I am and honest at the same time, I believe there are a lot of good barrels out there (Montana Rifleman)but covey16 hit the nail right square on the head when he said it all depends upon the smith doing the installation. It doesn't matter if you have a super match grade barrel from Hart, Lothar Walther, Shilen, Douglas, Lilja or Montana Rifleman if it is not installed properly you just have an expensive piece of pipe. Before buying your barrel make sure the gunsmith you are using will install it correctly. If at all possible ask for references if you are not familiar with them and then follow up on those references. This will ensure that it is the barrel and not the installation that is the cause of possible accuracy problems.

Dan