Which Barrel..

A novice here needs advice—thanks in advance.

I am turning my factory 270 wsm into a 7mm wsm. I am not sure from which company to buy the barrel from and was looking for advice because this will be my first custom barrel. It will be used for hunting and I think I will go probably 1:8.5 to 1:9 twist, 22 inch heavy contour.

A couple of very opinionated experts at the range would not shoot anything but Krieger barrels, others Lilja. This will be for hunting and would like to be able to shoot it accurately in the field to 600 yards(thats the length of our range and I can get in plenty of practice).


Again, would love advice because I am not an expert nor did I sleep in a Holiday Inn Express..

Holiday Inn Express, I like that.

If it were me, I would strongly look into a barrel from CBI (Criterion). Jim Briggs at Northland Shooters Supply is the main dealer for these. I have one in a 6BR and it cleans very easy and is extremely accurate. CBI is the button rifling division of Krieger IIRC.

Shilen is also a really good choice. ER Shaw makes decent barrels and they can be found pretty cheap, they are on par with factory Savage barrels, maybe a bit better. I had a Pac-Nor for a year or so, and it was also a good shooter. A buddy has a Mcgowan and it is on par with my CBI in the accuracy department.

I have had great luck with Shilen and McGowen barrels. Haven't tried any others. Jim at Northland is a good connection for barrels.

i think you could close your eyes and pick one as for brand.
delivery time would be a consideration for me.
a 9 twist would do well for all but the heaviest bullets.
the 8.5 would be better if your planning on using say 175 and above.
for me at least id be going longer on the barrel.
at least 24" and maybe 26" to start.
your no doubt doing this with the idea of better performance.
you can always lop off an inch to see what you lose but the opposite wouldnt be possible.

22" is pretty short for a magnum cartridge, you might get equall performance from a 280 Ackley with that short barrel, it takes barrel length to burn all that powder.