My experience with the SSK Hunter barrels has been limited but eventful, let's say. I got 445 Supermag 20" with an impossibly sloppy chamber. Got absolutely no help from SSK but Marty took care of things and sent me another barrel. That one has a much much better chamber but not anything I'd categorize as tight tolerance. Currently I'm trying out a 44 Mag 18" and it seems pretty reasonably made. Chamber is cut to nearly the exact same spec as the EABCO 44 mag 24" that I got to do some velocity testing. I wanted to compare the quality of those two brands and I can say that the EABCO reminded me of late-production TC factory stuff while the SSK seems a little cleaner in the bore machining. Neither comes close to any of the the Bullberry barrels that I've gotten. Regarding the threads, I find that with the shorter barrels, a linear compensator is very useful in terms of keeping the muzzle blast directed away from face and ears and goes a long way toward improving balance and looks. I would have to think that the SSK custom barrels were more precisely machined than the hunters but I have no idea. I think they'll all shoot fine but whether they'll offer bug-hole accuracy is an open question.
As for you dilemma, seems like .257 JDJ would be the ticket for the sort of shooting you normally do. I wouldn't personally waste time with a 22 cal wildcat. For contender, 223 Remington or maybe 222 Rem Mag would be all you need. For any bolt action, 22-250 is just too hard to beat in terms of accuracy and speed. Personally, I'd like to have a 223 Contender carbine again but with my CZ, there's just no need for it. My 14" Contender set up in 223 covers all my 22cal Contender needs.
Your 1:8 225 AI might be a very cool setup and a fun project, though. :)
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