Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Barrel recommendation

I’m getting ready to have another rifle built. Gonna be a light weight .260 22in. Who makes the best light weight barrels? No carbon..

If you are interested in stainless steel, in a lightweight contour, there are only a few manufacturers producing them. I prefer cut rifled barrels, and Brux and Rock Creek would be ones I would look at.

If chrome moly is an option, my hands down favorite would be a Krieger, although Bartlein is used by a lot of satisfied friends. Local F Class guru, Bryan Blake makes some outstanding barrels as well and may turn a lightweight SS barrel if asked.

Yes it’s gonna be stainless. I’ve always used Douglass but I don’t think they make a rem mountain rifle contour.

I have used Rock Creek, Brux, and Lilja in light contour #2's, mountain rifle and Kimber Montana contours and every one of them has been extremely accurate.

I've only got about 70-80 rounds through the latest Lilja Montana contour but at this point the last 2, 3 shot groups were under .75" with 88 grain ELD-M's.

Just a side note but this barrel shooting the 88's and RL17 is the easiest barrel to clean that I have ever owned.

Bore finish is another consideration. I want one that is easy to clean. Don’t wanna be spending hours scrubbing.

PacNor for lightweight contours.

douglas will and can install usually a two week turn around
lilja will and probably a two week wait
hart will probably a 4 month wait
rock creek isnt taking orders
brux probably wont do stainless...check
benchmark will do button and cut rifling

they are all good pick your poison

I have had good results with Brux and Bartlein.

brux isnt making anything lightweight in stainless

Hidden in every long, fat barrel is the length and contour you want. Smiths have lathes.

They did when I asked them but that was 4-5 years ago.

yeah i just checked and they will in .264

That is what mine is for, one of my 260 AI's. It might be one of my most accurate .264 barrel.

I know a smith can turn it to what ever I want but trying to find a pre-contoured barrel to keep cost down. Lath time=$$ believe me I know I’m a recovering machinist.. I built race engines for a living in a former life LOL..

Nothing wrong with Lilja... Pac-Nor is another good source.

lilja is in stock...my recent .284 #2 lilja 3 groove shoots great

Lilja on my Montana, duped the factory contour and shoots great.

I just received 2 Lilja tubes that I ordered. I waited about 4 months. If its in stock....grab it.

Not many folks do skinny stainless barrels.

Lilja or Benchmark is where I go for that stuff. All the others mentioned are good as well. Lilja will cut barrels in a huge variety of contours and they just modified one of their existing contours for me so they get a lot of my business.

If I'm doing #3 or higher, I'm liable to just get a Bart or Brux from Bugholes or wherever.

It's pretty hard to buy a bad barrel these days.

I like Lothar Walther a lot.