Very sorry to hear about Stan Taylor!!!!! He was a very nice man and a standup guy to deal with!!! I barrel a lot of actions and have used them all. FWIW, here is some of my take on barrels; I recently did two different rifles that literally put bullets in the same hole at 100 yards. The first is a Muller and the other is a Douglas. I have had very good luck with Douglas barrels and they are quick to get.
Last year I barreled two rifles for the same customer that wanted Hawk Hills, both rifles touched bullets at 100 yards. I would be very surprised if Shawn wont contour whatever you want. He is a very easy going guy to deal with.
I have had exceptional luck and use Pac-Nor a lot. They are very accurate and first rate folks to deal with all around. Since the fire they are a little slow to get though. I like their polygonal rifling and have had very good luck with it. Doesn't necessarily shoot better, but it always shoots fantastic.
Lothar Walther makes a great barrel, but they are a rather hard alloy and you will probably only get about 5 chambers from a reamer.
I do in fact have a personal rifle with a Rock Creek 5R barrel and I am not all that impressed.
I have a Schnieder, also a personal rifle {40X} that isn't all that either. Same with Badger, which no longer makes barrels....the last two look like a million dollars with a borescope, but just wont perform with the front runners above. When it comes to Shilen I suggest you get their higher "match" grade, I have not been impressed with the blanks that Brownell's sells.
Bartlien and Krieger are very good barrels. Sometimes they take a little break in time to perform at their best.
Obermeyer, of which I have only installed one, shot great.
The Wilson barrels I have used all were exceptional and so was an Excaliber, especially for the price of these last two.
It is easy to understand why, and I completely agree with the fells that say, "there really aren't any bad barrels out there"...I know Rock Creek, Schnieder and Badger all have made first rate barrels, I just didn't happen to get one. Bottom line, if I was going to build another personal rifle I would not be afraid to try any of the above. Never had anyone request a Hart or Lilja.
