Borescoped my McGowen

Hi All,
Been a member for a few years and have gathered a ton of useful info from you guys... Thank You. I don't like the fact that my first post is a negative one, but it is what it is. I ordered a McGowen barrel through Gun Shack which was shipped 10 days ago and received it today (usps priority mail-2 day) so i got off to a bad start. That being said, thought i'd clean it prior to installing so i ran a few wet patches through, dried, and decided to take a look at the bore. I'm not a gunsmith, or an engineer, or a brain surgeon, and i didn't spend last night at a Holiday Inn..... but i do have a bore scope. First impressions were good (only have 2 Shilens and a Lilja to compare as far as aftermarket) however, at closer inspection i found some "slight" gouging approx. 3 to 6 inches from muzzle on one of the lands. Looking closer found a few other "marks" on adjacent lands. Kinda difficult to explain so i won't, unless asked. Bottom line.... I'm just an average Joe... you know the type... you spend months agonizing over which caliber to build, which dies, powder, brass, bullets, which barrelmaker, etc., etc., etc., and then you finally make all the decisions.... 6.5x55, lee collet/redding bump, etc., etc., etc., get everything ordered and on hand, plunk down the cash for a barrel and then barrel shows up with "questionable" defects. Gun Shack was closed today so i'll try to get ahold of them in the am and come up with a plan. I don't know... guess i just expected more. Is there no quality control or is it just lame? Did they think they could "slip one through" and take a chance on nobody catching it? This could very well be the most accurate barrel i own, but my common sense tells me that with the impefections on the lands it could turn out to be a notsoaccuratecopperfouling pig. I'm not bashing... yet... just venting. I'm sure that McGowen, like any reputable company, will do what's right and I look forward to getting this straightened out. Thanks for listening... comments or questions welcomed. Great site, by the way.

mm242

I'm glad you like the site and are a paid member.......says a lot about you too....

I do understnad the frustration but:

In all fairness.....contact the folks you bought it from and give them a chance to get everything straight before you get too mad and say something you will regret.

People make mistakes and good people will try to make them right when they do. Haven't heard too many bad reports about any of the vendors on this site. I'm sure they'll make it right for you. Just give them a little time.

I have found the guys over at Gun Shack to be very interested in any concerns you might have. They helped me get my Shaw fixed without hesitation.

I'm still confused about why you are upset.
If you buy a Rembrandt, I understand the aesthetics. But you bought a barrel to shoot, which it does...AND you haven't talked to them.
Assuming that they are trying to "pull a fast one, or skip something by you", when you haven't spoken to them; is bad form.
Have a cup of cheer, calm down, and call them when they reopen.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by darkker

I'm still confused about why you are upset.
If you buy a Rembrandt, I understand the aesthetics. But you bought a barrel to shoot, which it does...AND you haven't talked to them.
Assuming that they are trying to "pull a fast one, or skip something by you", when you haven't spoken to them; is bad form.
Have a cup of cheer, calm down, and call them when they reopen.

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Original poster paid for a premium barrel, just happens to own a borescope, inspected said premium barrel, and did not receive what his hard earned dollars paid for.


IMHO, believe there are a lot of barrels (regardless of manufacturer) that have issues - but not many people own borescopes.

Being a vendor in another field I Kringe when I see someone complain about a potential defect on the Internet when the vendor has not even been advised of the problem. A great vendor can get a bad rap real quickly that way. Nobody is perfect and things can happen the the best vendors. I'm also a borescope owner and have seen a good shooting barrel have imperfections that I would rather not see.

That barrel should never have passed qc.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dcloco

Original poster paid for a premium barrel, just happens to own a borescope, inspected said premium barrel, and did not receive what his hard earned dollars paid for.


IMHO, believe there are a lot of barrels (regardless of manufacturer) that have issues - but not many people own borescopes.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Stockrex

That barrel should never have passed qc.

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Agreed with both of these posts.

The vendor may very well make it right but, regardless of whether they do or not, that barrel with those defects shouldn't have left the plant. It says something about their QC that it did get out.

With such a plethora of great barrelmakers these days you had better be on top of your game if you want to swim in that sea for long.

And my CBI in .223 should not have left either, with its short throat that seems to not be even all the way around. But it shoots like crazy and I'd be an idiot to send it back.

As others have stated, things happen and everyone makes mistakes at work including those that posted in this thread. Give the vendor and maker a chance to make it right. Who knows, it may be a 5 shot less than .250" like my "defective" CBI.

Jamie,
The CBI 223 chamber freebore is set at .025 to allow the shooters the ability to seat their bullets into the rifling if they prefer. For those shooters requesting the longer freebore they offer the 223 Wylde with .078 freebore.

Quite often a shooter will want the longer throat (Wylde freebore) for the heavier weight bullets, less bullet protrusion into the casing for more powder capacity. I recently had a customer request a 8 twist (heavy bullets) with the standard chamber (.025 freebore) for his build. Reason being, he wanted to seat his bullets real short for magazine feeding issues.

Jim Briggs
NSS

Guys, I don't think the original post was out of line in any way. Just stating the facts and questioning how or why it got to me in the condition it was. Contacting the barrel maker prior to posting has nothing to do with the fact that the barrel didn't compare to the quality i've seen in others.
The good news... The folks at GS were very easy to work with giving me a couple of options... send it to McG for inspection/repair or to just send it back to them. I chose to send it back to GS.
That same day i called Jim Briggs and ordered a CBI barrel. Barrel arrived today and looks good. I look forward to putting some rounds through it. Thanks Jim... was a pleasure dealing with you.