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To those of you who have used and changed your Savage 12 VLP "223" or other caliber barrels which in your opinion is the most accurate and best made longest lasting etc. you have used?
Stock Savage, Shilen, McGowen or others?
Another way to look at it is if you were to build the ultimate Savage 12 VLP 223, what barrel would you use?
Thanks for any input.
Stash
I have a McGowen on order for my 223. 26" 8 twist
Depends on what you are looking for.
Sinman or Northland Shooters Supply will get you in the right direction. Look under Vendor Classifieds and contact them. They are most likely to have what you want in stock.
I understand Bartlien is about 1 yr behind on their orders!
whats the best? This thread could go on forever..The classic "ford vs chevy vs dodge" arguement.
As for me personally, the 2 most consistantly accurate barrels I have ever owned have both been Mcgowens. One is a 308 that is now in the hands of Blue Avenger, and the other is a 6br which I still own. I also have had PacNor, Shilen and Lothar Walther barrels and they all shot very well, but just didnt give them enough time to dial them in. I've also had a couple factory barrels that shoot awesome(have one now I may not even reload for cause it shoots factory varmint rounds so good).
Even with these companies you can still end up with a bad one. All of them throw one out every now and then.
Since you are doing a 223 any barrel you choose is gonna last long, So I dont think that will matter in your decision.
Whats your intended use for it? Varminting, benchrest, etc.?
I have only shot Hart, Pac Nor, various Factory barrels, Shilen and ER Shaw and Krieger - without question the best of the bunch has been Krieger by a HUGE margin.
Same thing for my friends. The six most accurate barrels I have ever seen in my entire life are all Kriegers. The ones on the Bolt Action rifles are consistently under 0.23X MOA with lots of groups in the teens and some sub 0.0XX MOA groups. They all stay shooting accurately for well over 100 rounds. The ones in Semi Autos shoot better than any other semi I have ever shot, sub 1/2 MOA in a DPMS 308.
I am not saying there aren't any bad Krieger barrels out there but we sure haven't seen any. So much more accurate than ANY other barrel we have ever shot it is startling.
I have shot a lot of different barrels and as far as accuracy goes, they all shoot about the same. I have had hummer Krieger, Brux, Douglas, and Shilen barrels. As life it would depend on more of the round, and how you shoot the barrel, and cleaning procedure. A cut rifled barrel will last a bit longer than a button rifled barrel.
I too have a 223 Wylde 8 twist on order with Mcgowen. This will be my second McGowen. I own or owned Harts, Shilen and Pac-Nor with good results also.
My most accurate barrel so far is a Broughton, I have had great accuracy from Lilja, Hart, Shilen and a Douglas or two. Look at the long range bench rest shooters match results and check out the winners equipment lists, this will tell the story! Pick any one you want to from that list and it will be good, more important than the barrel maker is the guy who does the threading and chambering, that is the part of the equation that will make or break a rifle accuracy wise.
Bob
All the above comments are interesting.
I have a McGowen, a Broughton, and a Bartlien!
I am happy with all the barrels! Even my factory Savage Barrels are good!
The hot barrel with the point blank br guys right now is Bartlein. The hot bullet is Hottenstein. The point blank guys are fickle though. Let someone win a couple of matches with a differrent barrel and they will start switching to it. Barrel makers tend to have steaks of hot barrels and this bunch has it's finger on the barrel makers' pulse. Many of these guys are rebarreling every year so they are using a lot of barrels and they don't keep secrets to themselves. They share their information and it sweeps through the benchrest community. For your Savage, any of them will do a good job for you. I'm putting a Shilen chambered in 6br on a dualport right now. I have no doubt that I will be pleased.
Pretty accurate right thar.....Quote:
Originally Posted by Tbob
Myself, Have a DAMN fine PacNor in 22ppc that WILL agg with ANY other custom short range Benchrest barrel I have. 22ppc 5groove 1-14 twist. 3 Yardage wins and one Grand.
Smallest recent 100 yd agg this year with a Shilen 6groove 22ppc 14 twist... .1737 agg
200yd ... a .2266agg with a 6ppc Krieger 14 twist...
Standing best 2 gun 2006 .2571 agg with a Shilen 22ppc 1-13.5 twist...
There is no BEST but I believe Krieger (cut barrels) Shilen (button) are both VERY consistent in turning out QUALITY year after year.
cale
The only custom barrel I have is a douglass from SSS. It is one of the most accurate and consistent barrels I've ever owned. The gun is far more accurate than I can shoot.
Caroby has forgotten more than I'll ever know about custom barrels (I'm just an ol' hunter) but the Krieger barrel on my .260 Remington is probably my must accurate. Five shots at 200 yards.
[img width=600 height=307]http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc265/pbcaster45/Nosler120grBallisticTips200yards.jpg[/img]
Most accurate: Benchmark,Krieger,Savage Factory,Pac-nor,Douglas,Shilen, Lother Walther
Worst barrels: Made by Coyote with Green Mountain blanks, Thompson center,Remington Factory,Winchester factory.
Neal
I have only used one, a Mcgowan 6mmbr 1:8. With 95 grain Berger VLDs jumped .030 and Varget, I have yet to find a load that shoots over .5" at 100 yards. One ragged hole groups are the norm. With 70g tnt, 105g a-max and 75 and 87 v-max bullets, the best loads will go in the .4s and the worst closer to an inch.
Krieger.
I have had Shilen, Pacnor, Hart, Montana Rifle, Douglas, Lilja and I have a Bartlein on order now.
Right now I am shooting a Broughton 7 gain twist 243 and a 243 AI 7 twist Mcgowen. And with these two side by side the mcgowen shades the Broughton, the Broughton will out last the Mcgowen as I it is a stainless while the Mcgowen is a chromemoly. Barrel life with the 223 is going to be very long with any of the reccomended barrel, trick will be to get the one you want in less than a yearD! Better get it ordered if someone doesnt have it in hand right this minute. I would check Brunos in Phoenix along with others mentioned in this post and replies. My last barrel came from the gunsmith that built the rifle, it was in stock with him and I was grateful. I would not use a stock savage or other barrel, too many issues to think about.