Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Shilen Barrels

Any reason NOT to use one for a custom build? Apparently their wait times are far better than Krieger, Brux, etc.

Thanks

Personally, I'd wait for a quality point cut rifled barrel blank.

IMO, there is a reason for the long wait times....high demand for a great and proven product.

This could very well be true,however my first Shilen barrel(24",#2),shoots sub 1/4" groups in my new 6.5 Rem Mag.I'm more than pleased with it.Monashee

No reason, IMHO.

Have all three. They all three shoot great.

I've heard it said that cut filled barrels last longer. I don't shoot enough to comment on that.

I've have, or have had, several Shilens and would buy another without reservation.

If I was building another rifle, I'd go with the recommendation of my smith regarding which maker to use. Things change and yesterday's darling may not be in favor today. Rifle smiths know who's behind on orders, who delivers as promised and who best backs their product. We know what we read and what we've heard. That info is by nature, past performance and not present time reality. .

DF

I only have one Shilen so my experience is limited, but the one I have is a real shooter, 3/4" five shot groups are common and groups over 1" are very uncommon. Its only problem is it's a bit schizophrenic, a hunting rifle that thinks it's a target rifle. BTW it's a 270WIN

Only one Shilen as well, not a high round count rifle, but I have no complaints. It groups the same with 2 different factory loads...that are 50 grains apart in weight.

I will amend my previous post to add, in addition to listening to my smith, I'd give a bunch of credit to a top notch, long range rifleman who has shot enough over the years to render an expert opinion.

DF

I've used them in the past with good luck, but recently talked to two very qualified gunsmiths here in Canada that mention that the recent Shilens are not as good as they used to be and not being staight was the problem.

I stopped a 358Win job in the works that was to have a Shilen bbl.

Good question. I have both.

This is a Shilen button rifled #2 contour below, and I also have a cut rifled Rock #3 on a 308.



The cut rifled barrel is a better barrel; slightly more accurate, easier to clean, less affected by heat,etc. But the difference is probably less than you might imagine.

Here's a group from the Shilen at 300 meters:



And that entire rifle cost about a third of the other......

If I were only building one custom rifle ever, I would go with a cut rifled barrel.

But Shilen make some pretty decent barrels regardless....

My latest build is a 9.3x62 Mauser that Jkob put together using a Shilen blank. I haven't shot it that much and in a round like that, I don't think barrel life will be a major issue. So far, it seems accurate and time will tell.

DF

i've had at least three shilen barrels they all shot great.

Ed

My Krieger and Brux barrels look prettier thru the Hawkeye borescope. My Shilen has very faint tool marks, nothing like Rem and Savage factory barrels, but just not quite in the same league with these cut rifle barrels.

Now, how well a barrel shoots and how pretty it looks thru a borescope often does not correlate. It's an interesting observation, nonetheless.

DF

If there really was a difference, big or small, between a button and cut rifled barrel, there would only be one of them used in competition events.

+1 on competition barrels.

my custom mauser has a shilen barrel and shoots very well. have not cleaned it yet so i will have to see how smooth it really is

used many Shilens and they are Very good...the standard barrels work very well for a hunting rifle while the select matches are one of the best deals for the $$ out there.

check out the BarrelMan for very good pricing on them. heck of a barrel for $255

http://www.thebarrelman.com/


jerry is great to work with BTW

I've got two Shilen barrels. One is a Rem Varmint Countour in 6.5x284. Shoots well, consistantly in the .5 moa realm. The other is a #3 in 25-06 that I hope to have up and running this summer. All that said, I'm building a full custom .308 right now. I ordered my action yesterday and the barrel will be a Krieger or Bartlein, FWIW.

The way I read that he's referring to his cut being the more accurate of the 2 not that they are in general.

I have a handful of Select Match barrels on various rifles. Agreed, they shoot great, and are priced right, especially from TheBarrelman.

I have one in transit right now that will be turned into a 6x47.

I'm totally confident that the groundhogs this summer will be losing their heads over how well it will shoot.

I guess I read that wrong. Now that I read it again, I think you are right.