Reply With QuoteCheck out CBI barrels. Seems to be the best bang for the buck going.
Northland Shooters Supply in the Vendors Classifieds is the place to look.
Like title says am getting 8 barrels, waiting on them for a few monthes is not an issue. Looked at all the makers and have it narrowed down to McGowen mainly because of there prices. However, have read some bad publicity about them. Does anyone know if they have fixed thier issues or am I going to regret dealing with them and wish I had just spent the extra to have them done right the first time? Just wanting standard chambering and stainless barrels for smaller calibers 223, 22250, 204 ect Prefit in Remington and savage and want them to clean up easy with little copper fouling. Not looking for benchrest accuracy, but of course want them to shoot really well. Would appreciate any offers and opinions, your not going to hurt my feelings.
Thanks ahead.
Check out CBI barrels. Seems to be the best bang for the buck going.
Northland Shooters Supply in the Vendors Classifieds is the place to look.
Check your PM.
There is a reason why I switched from Mcgowen to Shilen.Originally Posted by pdkillr
I have 4 McGowen barrels and have no problem with them!
They are all naildrivers!
I have two more on order as of this post, and three other shooters who are waiting on their's!
Also search Pdog and MDM post's and see how their McGowen's are doing! I am sure you will find many more!
[B][SIZE=3]Dennis[/SIZE][/B]
Devin, I sent an email on the 20th, did you get it?
[B][SIZE=3]Dennis[/SIZE][/B]
I have a McGowan SS bbl in 6x45 and its a tack driver. Its on my Savage FP10 action I built it for my 400 yard Antelope/coyote gun.
My 95g NBT load goes right at 2" at 400 yds.
It rarely has cooper buildup/fouling very easy to clean. When I got it I put my borescope in it and it was absolutly perfectly smooth with NO land/groove marks.
I would not hesitate to get another one from Jim at NSS.
I think I have 4 McGowens and I'm pleased with all 4. They shoot great, clean up easily, and don't copper foul and drop accuracy. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one when needed.
I also have 1 Shilen and 1 Lothar-Walther. They are equally good barrels. I wouldn't say my Shilen was better than my McGowens. About equal.
I have not tried a CBI barrel, but I admit they sure sound good.
12F, McGowen 6.5x284 1-8" twist, Nightforce 12-42x BR<br />BVSS, McGowen barrel, 22-250 1-9" twist, Nikon 6-18x<br />16 FHLSS Weather Warrior, Sinarms 257 Roberts, Pentax 3-9<br />Stevens 200, 223 bone-factory-stock, Nikon 3-9x<br />Scratch-built BVSS, LW 243 1-8" twist, Viper 6.5-20x50 mil-dot
If your gonna get 8 barrels, I wouldn't put all my eggs in one basket. Get 8 different brands and try them all.
"As long as there's lead in the air....there's still hope.."
I bought 1 McGowan and will never again. Had serious chamber issues.
Thanks guys for all your help NOW I'm really torn. Getting some good and some bad, now I don't know what to do?
sharpshooter gave you some wise advise
I would buy two of each: Brux, PacNor, CBI, Shilen, and Lothar Walther
Once McGowen gets the order correct they seem to shoot, but it isn't worth the time wasted waiting on them to screw it up the first time and then waiting for them to get it right the next time.
2 each makes 10, he "only" wants 8!
I know there were issues in 2009, but I was assured these issues are taken care of!
I do own Kreiger, Broughton, Douglas, and FACTORY Savage's that are naildrivers as well.
But I can't say anything but good about my 4 McGowen's. There are just as accurate as the above barrels.
PS: I am going to sell some of them before long!!!! Too many!
But when they are all shooting 1/4" groups, it's hard to get rid of any of them!!!!
[B][SIZE=3]Dennis[/SIZE][/B]
Why are you buying 8 barrels?
Go pd shooting several times a year and most of the factory barrels are a bit__ to clean after shooting. Hand lapped custom should be much easier and last longer. The factory bbls shoot fine now, Will be selling them with pic of last group to help fund new bbl's.
Go with the CBI barrels from Jim Briggs........hurry before the price goes up next month! I got both a CBI from Jim
and a McGowen direct from the factory. I will get more CBI barrels. As for the McGowen, I would like to find/know
the machinist who messed up an otherwise good barrel and shove the breech end up where the sun doesn't shine.
Same with the jerk who should have inspected it. I'll never get another McGowen barrel. And no, this was not back
in 2009, it was Jan 2011, this year.
I have a Shilen, Douglas, McGowen and the CBI. Of all them, the Criterion barrel leaves the least amount of
copper in the barrel from day one. I just wish they made larger calibers than .338.........that's the WORST thing
I can say about CBI! And it is bug-hole accurate.
Interesting, I know people who stated the exact opposite regarding Criterion barrels!
So far, my luck has been good with "ALL" of my barrels!
[B][SIZE=3]Dennis[/SIZE][/B]
Dennis, they must not be on this site. I think I have read every review on here and there doesn't seem to be a single bad one any where. What are they saying in the negative about the CBIs?
I would like to get one or three to try myself, but can't afford it right now, and can only talk from experience on the 3 McGowen barrels I still own. I second the post by Danno, the person/s who did two they screwed up on need/s to be fired, and the guy(can't remember the name) who lied to me on the phone about what was really going on does too!
I got a Douglas barrel from SSS a couple years ago. My only complaint against them is that the rifle is now boring to shoot...every time you put the crosshairs on the target, thats where the bullet will go lol. ;D
This problem I have has driven me to build a 7mm remington magnum. I'm going to try out a Brux barrel from SSS this time.
They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.
+1Dennis, they must not be on this site. I think I have read every review on here and there doesn't seem to be a single bad one any where.
I was at the retail store of ThirdGenerationShooting (aka Gene Sears Inc.) in El Reno Oklahoma recently and mentioned that I had a Criterion in 6.5CM...the guy said "I wish I had a barrel full of Criterions". Since most of the guys that work there build and shoot rifles I thought that was a fairly good review.!
I agree.
That would be Dan Wynne, who also lied to me on the phone. My last message to him (couldn't get to him
personally) on the phone was that I hoped the barrel had better quality than his word. It didn't.
Unfortunately, Mr. Wynne is the manager of the place and the owner does not seem to be a "hands on"
owner. Someone told me that the guy has a gun club somewhere in the Southeast. There are a couple
photos of him on the McGowen site, but his name is nowhere to be found.
So the chances of Mr. Wynne being fired and things improving at McGowen are slim-to-none. >>
I am going to post this mainly due to the above two statements from 319 & wbm.
As stated, I have many barrels that are tack drivers! One of my favorite is one I had Don Geraci build for me with a Krieger! I feel my other barrels are just as good. Sometimes I wonder why I just don't use Savage Factory barrels as they are some of my best!
I was thinking about buying a Criterion and as we are doing here, I asked questions about the barrel.
I don't think it would be proper to mention names, nor do I like really bashing anyone's products! Example, I personally purchase many products from SSS, some I have received quick, some took a little extra time, but I didn't make any negative statements concerning any of my transactions (app 10). And I currently have two current orders with SSS.
Maybe one Criterion slipped through the cracks as the one Danno purchased from McGowen! The only thing I will say, the one Criterion that slipped through went to a very well known shooter!
One fact is, everything manufactured will has a failure %, electronics (covers about everything made these day), anything machined, vehicles, etc.
If I can help anyone with a concern, I will glad to do so, Dennis
[B][SIZE=3]Dennis[/SIZE][/B]
Telling the truth isn't bashing. It is just telling the truth. I am happy with my McGowens, but very unhappy with the process to get them the way I ordered them. I am not defending CBI as I don't have one, but one bad review from one guy (no matter how good he is) isn't even close to all the bad reviews given by McGowen owners. I am not for or against any company, I just call em like I see em.
It may be worth noting that Criterion builds barrels for more than one reseller and for several OEM accounts. I do know that several of the OEM accounts do specify a (less expensive) lower quality barrel. Point is, unless I order the Hand Lapped Match Grade Criterion's I would be selling an unlapped OEM Grade Barrel.
When I established the Savage and Remington Pre-Fits from Criterion, I asked for their best barrel first and pricing secondly. I can not speak for the OEM Grade Barrels that are manufactured at Criterion but the Stainless Match that I do order have been extremely high quality barrels. Having said that, anything that is manufactured can have an issue. If the company selling that product and the manufacturer work with the end users, those items that do sneak out are repaired or replaced in a very short turn around. Criterion has replaced one barrel in their first year of production. That is a "reject" rate of 0.002%. I have never worked with any company with this high of a quality acceptance level.
Jim Briggs
NSS
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