Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing ER Shaw barrels

I've seen lots of threads on various barrels, but not much on ER Shaw. What do you think of these as compared to some of the more popular/high end choices - brux, bartlein, kreiger, etc?

I was taught that if you didn't have anything nice to say, say nothing at all. Maybe that's why you don't hear much about shaw.
Don

I had a Czech Mauser re-barreled to 7mm-08 for my son. E.R. Shaw did the work. Turn around time was more than acceptable. From my vantage point they did a very good job. They pointed out a few extra things that would prove helpful to accuracy and left it up to me to do it or not with no pressure. The rifle will print a clover leaf if you do you job. Most of the time it groups within a quarter (25cents). Years ago they did a .35 Whelen Improved for me that shoots very well.
While I am not saying that they make match grade rifles I think they do a very good job for hunting rifles at a decent price.

Shaw barrel are great barrels for the price and shoot much better that they get credit for. I have four rifle with Shaw Barrels and all shoot 1/2 to 3/4 inch groups with my handloads. Most who put down Shaw barrels have never tried one. For a Hunting rifle they are great barrels.

Shaw versus those names? Not even close.

However....



bea175 brings up a couple very valid points. Their price isn't in the same category as the others you mentioned, and for a big game rifle, most any barrel will shoot better than a guy can hold in the field.

So, it depends on your needs and expectations. For a big game rifle, very few guys will ever know a real-world difference in ANY makers' barrels.

The main complaint that I hear though on Shaw barrels is a tendency to foul.

Like somebody above said though, I've never owned one.

Notwithstanding what I just said above, I've always felt that it didn't cost much more to step up another tier or two, and the mental comfort of that has always been worth the added cost to me.

I would agree that for a big game rifle its hard to see any difference.

I bought an ER shaw barrel in 2008 or so and It clearly shoots better than my last Hart, Douglas, Rock or Krieger. In fact it might be my best shooting barrel of all.

However I don't see them on leader boards and I don't know how much of that is their performance ( or lack their of) or just the way the cat chases its tail in competitive shooting. Though not a competitive shooter I guess I am guilty as well because I haven't bought a ER Shaw since 2008 and I currently have a Rock and a Krieger on order.

No issues with Shaw barrels. You can get bad barrel from any manufacturer but in today's world it is rare. Most after market barrels are better than the factory barrels. Although Savage is producing some really accurate rifles out of the box. I really feel that what happens to a barrel after it is made has more influence on accuracy than anything else.

that is what they are using on the forbes rifle that should say something there


gene

I have a 243AI with a Shaw bbl, no complaints.

This sums it up nicely. You get what you pay for. Be very wary of any budget barrels.

I have a Forbes 24B 30/06 with an ER Shaw barrel and a Remington 700 with a .308 barrel. I had a great shooting .338/06 barrel that was a little too heavy for my tastes.

I'd put them above Remington or Savage factory but below Douglas, Shilen or Hart (I have one of each).

They shoot just fine for hunting, and don't foul as bad as a Remington or Savage.

I have acustom built 260 Rem on a 700 action that shoots as good or better than any rifle i've ever owned.If you're in a hurry for the work to be done,it's not the place for you.But they do great work for a reasonable price ad are nice people to deal with.They'll be doing my 257 Bob build this summer for sure.

Very pleased with ER Shaw and my new .270 that they re barreled.

While I've never used one, only because for the most part they don't fit my needs, Mule Deer endorses them. That's good enough for me.

I sent ER Shaw and email about a month ago inquiring about the cost to rebarrel a model 70. I had two different people respond to the email (using the exact same ER Shaw email address) two days apart quoting very different prices for the same work.....

6-9 months to get it done was consistent in both emails. I decided to pass.

ER Shaw are 6 to 9 months out because of military contracts

ER Shaw are good barrels, they were all a gunsmith friend of mine ever used. I have an ER Shaw rifled barrel on my 12ga. Slug Gun, it shoots like a highpowered rifle. Taken many deer with it and I am very pleased with its performance.

Had a Savage 111 in .223 Rem that shot MOA out of the box. Last year decided to go up to 6 X 45 and bought a Shaw barrel. The same Savage action with the Shaw barrel shoots 5-shot nickels at 100yds. I'm 73 with watery eyes or I might do better. The barrel gets cleaned every 100 rds need it or not.

I'll be ordering an 8 X 57 come spring for my Turk Mauser.

If you're not a competitor, why go broke to pay for a barrel?Cheers

Lots of times in any market one pays a premium for "name" which is probably deserved in most cases. What Theresa said, last line. But then, I'm a believer in leaving powder burns on animals taken, if possible...

I'm no longer a practicing gunsmith (much), but when I was, I re-barreled a number of rifles with Shaw barrels, and they all shot well with acceptable accuracy for hunting rifles. Some of them exceptionally well, considering the price. Generally, these rifles also got a trigger job and glass-bedding as well.

I always had fast and exceptional service from ERSHAW Company when ordering barrels.

Never used their gunsmithing services, however.

I'd not hesitate to put a Shaw barrel on my own personal hunting rifle. If you are going to go with Shilen, Douglas, Brux, Krieger etc, you might as well go all the way to the top of their line.

Unless you are building a bean-field rifle, prairie-poodle shooter, or competition gun, the Shaw will likely meet or exceed your hunting needs and probably field skill levels.

It never hurts to have better equipment than your skill levels/needs however.....

My .243 AI has a Shaw bbl installed by them and as of yet I can't find a load it don't like.
It shoots everything I feed it from 55 grainers on up to the 105 amax's into 3/4" or less.



I'd use them again, and just might soon.