Will a pre-fit be better than factory in a sporter weight barrel?

[fly-n-arrow]

I'm planning on rebarreling my Stevens 200 action with a pre-fit from CBI, Shilen, X-Caliber, etc. I was planning on a sporter weight .270 barrel for a hunting rifle. I just read some posts where guys are saying that it's not worth it to spend the extra money on a pre-fit and to just go with a factory take-off. I just want a really accurate hunting rifle. Am I really not going to see a difference between the factory take-off barrel and the others?

I'm new to this arena so I don't have any experience with rebarreling the Savage rifles. I appreciate any insight you folks can give me.

[toddcdozer]

MAYBE. Barrels are weird things. Some shoot some don't. I would BET a prefit will outshoot a stock one. I would win MOST of the time. A prefit SHOULD clean easier, be more accurate and last longer than a stock rig.

[m12lrs]

A prefit from which barrel manufacturer? They certainly all are not the same.

It is still the luck of the draw but the odds of getting a hummer are better with the premium barrels.

[darkker]

I'm planning on rebarreling my Stevens 200 action with a pre-fit from CBI, Shilen, X-Caliber, etc. I was planning on a sporter weight .270 barrel for a hunting rifle. I just read some posts where guys are saying that it's not worth it to spend the extra money on a pre-fit and to just go with a factory take-off. I just want a really accurate hunting rifle. Am I really not going to see a difference between the factory take-off barrel and the others?

I'm new to this arena so I don't have any experience with rebarreling the Savage rifles. I appreciate any insight you folks can give me.

That's a foolish argument.
Some Savage barrels are accurate, some are complete dog food. That has ALWAYS been the case with Savage. The same is possible with anything, including barrels.

I did a review a few years ago, on an ER Shaw I got from GunShack. Came with a tight spot in the bore, near the muzzle. My fix? Ignore it and shoot the dog poop out of it, like I do to all my guns. That rifle is my preferred rifle for mile shooting.

Now as to "worth it". That is a description that should only be used when explaining your personal preference. Drinking with strippers all night, waking up with a hangover and wild memories may not be "worth it" to you, but to some of us it definitely is.

[FW Conch]

^ Was that You I just saw at "Teasers" ? ;-)) ^

[toddcdozer]

That's a foolish argument.
Some Savage barrels are accurate, some are complete dog food. That has ALWAYS been the case with Savage. The same is possible with anything, including barrels.

I did a review a few years ago, on an ER Shaw I got from GunShack. Came with a tight spot in the bore, near the muzzle. My fix? Ignore it and shoot the dog poop out of it, like I do to all my guns. That rifle is my preferred rifle for mile shooting.

Now as to "worth it". That is a description that should only be used when explaining your personal preference. Drinking with strippers all night, waking up with a hangover and wild memories may not be "worth it" to you, but to some of us it definitely is.
Stripper nights don't qualify under $1k.

[RC20]

I will say there is a clear difference in barrel cleaning and who made it.

I don't say that has anything at all to do with accuracy though.

Savage take more cleaning, XC was in between, The Shilen was the best.

XC seems to be a bit more accurate than the Shilen. That may be the 308 vs the 30-06 (and both Bull barrels)

I am going back to the Savage Varmint contour to work that one through (I got the XC in and wanted to work with it so I swapped it out before I got a load going for the Varmint. )

Last go around I was getting under 1/2 MOA out of the Savage Varmint. That puts it on par with the other two accuracy wise.


As the Shilen shoots as good as the other two I would be biased in that direction.

On the other hand, for hunting as long as it shoots 1.5 inches that's good enough for me. You don't clean them enough to make any difference for a hunting gun.

[darkker]

^ Was that You I just saw at "Teasers" ? ;-)) ^
.:cool:

[olddav]

I have a couple of questions.
What distances are you going to be shooting?
What are you looking for in accuracy *(1.5 MOA)?
After market barrels are great but they just one part of a system (rifle). To get the most out of the system you will need to find what it likes to shoot. Many a stock rifle will shoot MOA-ish with the right ammo, and most people I know don't bother to find out what their rifle likes. They sight their rifles in and accept 2 MOA +, so when another hunter comes along who has done their homework they are both amazed and impressed.

I purchased a Shilen Barrel varmint *contour in 338-06. It has shot sub MOA out to 600 yards and is easy to clean, but my regular hunting rifle is a 110 factory barreled rifle chambered in 30-06 that shoots MOA-ish out to 200 yards, and that is more than I need we're I hunt.*

Don't know if this helps but it is what I can offer to the discussion. Good luck in which ever direction you choose.

[jpdown]

Pre-fit sporter barrels clean up faster than Savage factory sporter barrels, but they are not necessarily any more accurate with the right hand load in my experience. A Savage 22" factory sporter barrel will easily shoot sub 1" MOA with the right load.

[fly-n-arrow]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I should've realized that asking if a particular piece of gear is "worth it" is pretty subjective and not conducive to yes/no answers. To fill in some of the blanks: I live out west and hunt in terrain that varies from open prairie to mountainous. So shots have the potential to be longer. I want to practice out to 500 yds or more if my skills allow. I don't like to take hunting shots that far however. I like to get as close as possible. I handload as well, so am able to experiment a little with loads. I am building on a Stevens 200 action. I have a timney trigger and a B&C Medalist stock for it. I am hoping for consistent MOA to sub-MOA performance.

As an aside: I noticed when I put the barreled action (still has the factory '06 barrel on it) in the B&C stock that I was able to pinch the stock and barrel together at the very tip of the forearm with two fingers. I thought the B&C stock with the aluminum chassis would be stiffer than that. That was my whole reason for getting an aftermarket stock. So the barrel would remain free floated without the risk of the forearm flexing and touching the barrel. Any other experiences with these stocks?

[olddav]

Considering your latest post I would say buy an aftermarket barrel. You can tune your hand loads to get the most out of it.
Can't help on the stock.

[toddcdozer]

After my 1st REAL barrel I find it hard to shoot a stock barrel. That being said I just bought and plan on shooting a 112 Magnum Lapua with a stock barrel. I hunt in the west as well and very few guys around here run stock barrels, MAYBE on a Sendero or LRP but even then they usually end up as tomato stakes or prybars.
In Mississippi a Kreiger or Hart might be an oddity outside of benchrest but out west everyone I know runs aftermarket. I don't want to know I can hit a prairie dog at 312 yds. I wanna KNOW I can hit it in the EYE. Between the accuracy and ease of cleaning I would go aftermarket, I have NEVER felt bad about buying one.

[darkker]

Yeah, in with olddav, if you want MOA to 500, buy a barrel, not fool around with a $50 takeoff....
A handloader worth his salt can get that from most barrels, but with the "worth it" and now handloader post, I assume you are still a bit new to it. Save yourself the hassle.

[RC20]

If I was going to go aftermarket, the only option that would make sense would b e a cut rifle barrel.

I am still not convinced that they can stress relive a pencil barrel all that well, ergo feeling in a toss up on an aftermarket.

Both factory and after are going to require hand loading to get to shoot (my opinion)

For my shooting a Heavy Varmint per Savage contour is the minimum. Heavy hunter might be an interesting aftermarket option.

However weight is always a factor, pencil barrels are the lightest.

270 is a great cartridge for that out West shooting.