Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Rebarreling??

I have never had a McGowen shoot poorly. I have used them on and off now for 45 years.

The idea of "you get what you pay for" is 100% wrong in barrels. What you pay for is the guarantee, not the performance.

I have been doing gunsmithing since 1970. I have also done my own barrel making, mostly muzzleloader barrels, but I did make a few for modern bolt actions too. I know something about barrel making and what quality is, and is not.

In my 4-1/2 decades of doing gunsmithing I can remember quite a few rifles I did with "cheep" barrels. I have a 25-06 with an Adams and Bennet I got from Midway USA on their "close out" for 48 dollars that shoots into 1/4 MOA center to center for 3 shots (looks like one 30 cal hole) and does 5 shots into .875" at 100.
I have a Mauser with a pre-war Military barrel that shoots 5/8 at 100 yards. I have re-barreled several rifles with the old Santa Barbra barrels we used to buy for $17.95 each from Numrich and many of them would shoot a ragged hole at 100 yards.
I re-barreled a friends 30-06 Remington M-700 with a turned down M1919 Machine gun barrel, and it shot 3/4 MOA when we were done with it.
My own 270 is on it's 3rd barrel, and with the load it likes best, it puts 5 shots touching at 100, and I have shot one 1.2" group with it at 300 (one time.) That gun has an ER Shaw barrel in it now.

I have also used Hart, Lilja, Kerger, Bartlein, Broughton, Shilen, ER Shaw, Green Mountain, Douglas, and several others, from US and from European manufacturers.

My experience has shown me that spending $600 instead of $80 on a barrel gets you a replacement if the gun won't shoot sub-MOA more easily. Not to say the "cheep" barrel companies won't stand behind their products. Some do. But those that charge higher amounts do it more easily then those that don't charge much.

This is NOT a universal truth however. Some high priced barrel companies don't stand behind their barrels any better than the cheep ones do. So there is a lot to say about this issue.

Remember that dealing with a "company" is actually dealing with a person, and if that person is in the mind-set to replace the barrel, it gets replaced. If they are not of that mind-set, they don't. In the case of some companies, you may deal with a different man today then the one you dealt with 5, 10 or 30 years ago.

I use what my customers wants me to use, but I tell them what I am telling all of you now. Spending more doesn't mean you get more. It may, and if you don't it usually means you get a replacement easier, but it's still a gamble to some extent.

Also keep in mind that if you are paying for gunsmithing, you don't get a refund on that labor as a rule. Only a new barrel. The machine time and labor, sights, finish and all that is still a loss.

So if we look at a barrel job as follows it may convince you to look at less expensive barrels.

Example:
Re-barrel a Remington M700.

(a) Barrel............$55 to $700 (price may include lathe turning or not, polishing, or not, crowning or not and so on. A blank can be only $55 but the gunsmith need to contour it, polish it, thread it, chamber and head space it, fit it and may need to do a bit of stock work too)

(b) Polish is all that's needed on a stainless barrel if it is slick. If sights are added, you need to look at the sights themselves, the cost of installation and the clean up (if soldiered) Same if you have a barrel band front swivel mount. If it's a carbon steel barrel you also have the bluing to pay for.

(c) If desired, the muzzle will be threaded as the customer desires.

(d) In many cases there can be a small charge to inlet into the stock.

If you get a bummer barrel and if the company will do a replacement for you, you get satisfaction on (a). Not (b), (c) or (d)

So, if the average was ----let's say 85% good and 15% not-so-good, from ER-Shaw or Green Mountain (I would not put their bummers at nearly that high, but as I said, this is for the illustration) How many "cheep barrels could you buy even if they would not stand behind their work? (they do) Enough to buy 3-6 of them for one of the high priced companies barrels?

If they were to average 85% good and you got 3 for that price, it's mathematically certain you are going to get more good then bad. And you get a lot more shooting over the coming years with 3 than you do with one barrel. So for the best bang for the buck, it's usually best to go with the "bargain barrels". If you are going to the nationals, or a big-money shoot, some customers will opt for the high end barrels anyway. I have no problem with that. I will put in what they bring to me, or order what they want.

But as a gunsmith, I get to have what I want for the same amount of labor, and it costs me not one cent more on that labor. It's my time and if I want to value my own time at zero, I can.

None of my rifles have high priced barrels in them. Not one. My most expensive barrels are Shilen and Douglas.
And my least accurate scoped center fire rifle shoots about 1.2 MOA ( a 30-06 Scout I made with a SAKO barrel) and all my others shoot sub MOA. My most accurate rifles are:
My oldest 270 with an ER-Shaw, that shoots .4 MOA
A classic 270 with a Shilen that shoots 1/2MOA
A 375H&H with an ER Shaw that shoots 5/8"
And my 25-06 with the A&B Barrel in it that shoots .25 MOA (yes, a total outside to outside measurement of 3/10")

Not one of these rifles has a barrel in it that cost me over $150 (at the time) The 25-06 has the lest expensive barrel of them all, and it's the most accurate.

I have made a LOT of tack driving rifles for customers over the last 47 years with high priced barrels. As I said, I have no problem doing that work and I always love a satisfied customer.
But the idea that spending more will get you more accuracy is simply not true. It's not even close to being true.
I shoot enough to have to concern myself with barrel life. For my own use, I'd rather have three 1/2 MOA barrels than one 1/8 MOA barrel. Why? I can't shoot 1/8MOA with any gun when I don't have a solid bench rest. Neither can anyone else. I don't carry a rest with me, and I believe shooting off a rest limits the level of skill a shooter or hunter can achieve. Bench shooting is for load work and zeroing, but when I get one of my own rifles to shoot I never put it on a rest again until I change loads, or until I re-barrel it. Shooting from sitting, kneeling, prone and off-hand are the ways I like to practice. Those are what I really use in the field.

A man that can shoot 3" off hand is usually a far better marksman than a man that can shoot 1" from a rest.

That's how I see things. If you don't agree I am not offended. It's your time and it's your money.

As the old saying goes, "you pay your money and you take your chances"