What is your opinion about McGowan barrels? Any input on quality and accuracy? They seem very very reasonable in their prices. I need some outfit that will do everything associated. How about pacnor? Any recommendations? Thanks

Of the two, I'd pick Pac-Nor for the barrels.. What exactly do you need re: "everything associated", and on what action??

Basically rebarreling a weatherby

I've used both, had great results with both. But, I'd recommend picking a barrel and having a good gunsmith install it.

Can't fault Pac-nor on their re-barreling abiity as well as the quality of their barrels. All three of mine have been more accurate than I can shoot them. Haven't had a McGowan so cant speak on them. I'd imagine nearly any of the big name barrel makers come out with good quality barrels.

An old gunsmith friend of mine used E.R. Shaw barrels exclusively. I have a shotgun with a Shaw rifled barrel that I have been very pleased with, Shaw did the entire job including bluing for a very reasonable price.

fotis you have a pm.

I had Pac-nor rebarrel a rifle for me this year.I'm very pleased with the way it shoots.I think they have the best deal going too.They put me on a 28" SS Super Match Grade barrel,lapped and also trued the action(I could see the bolt face was resurfaced so I know they did work on it)all for a total cost with mine and their shipping included,for just under $700.Total turn around time there and back was 12 weeks.

The last barrel Pac-Nor installed for me had threads cut so much undersized I could unscrew it one thread and the muzzle would move more than 3/8". I called them about it and ask if they would replace the barrel but not install it. They replaced the barrel. Oh yea, the reason I was taking the barrel off is Pac-Nor forgot to install the muzzle brake. I will continue to purchase barrels, but they will not see another rifle action of mine.

I have had several Pacnors. They didn't true or lap the action or bolt on mine. I also checked. Bolt face and lugs were the same with a parkerized finish as when I sent it to them. They did shoot pretty good though. I wouldn't send them a rifle for work, but i might use their barrel again. They lie, and I can't trust them.

Roger that!

For another 100$ a guy can go obermeyer and stop sliding in the gutter.

Just remember, you get what you pay for. I would NEVER go with ER Shaw. I had warranty problems with two Pac barrels, they would not stand behind them. That is my experience. I have NEVER had a a problem with Shilen barrels and use a bunch of them.

mcgowan barrel .have 2 ,great shooters

I have used Pac-Nor barrels, the most recent was a .270 WSM Super Match. Accuracy was only so-so, and it was very finicky about bullet weights. Action is a Wby. Vanguard.

I sent it off to Weatherby to be re-barreled, who still has a few stainless .270 WSM barrels in their stock, and it just shoots lights out- way more accurate than the Pac-Nor.

No experience with PacNor, but I do have a McGowan chambered in .243 Win. on a Savage action that shoots very well and cleans up easily.

I have 2 McGowens, both shoot just fine, no issues with either. I would use them again.

As in most things manufactured, a turd can leave the bowl on any given day.. In 19 years I've had exactly one Pac-Nor that wouldn't shoot. They asked for the barrel back to examine.. Long story short, they found an issue, made a new barrel for the customer and paid me to install it.. Only other barrel I've ever had that was a turd was a Krieger. Customer just wanted it gone and to be replaced with a Lilja.. Problem solved..

Only barrels I stay away from are Wilson, Douglas and Shaw.. FWIW.

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"

The barrel maker is only part of the whole equation..I have had great luck with both barrels....shaw.....not so much....I borscope every barrel I install....the ones with tool marks will most likely copper up....Douglass and Shelin were tooled but not really bad and proved to be good shooters and didn't copper much....the shaws I have seen looked like a bastard file...Mcgowen pacnor benchmark were all prelapped before rifling to remove tool marks...of the 3 I like benchmark the best...
The second part is a quality install...
And don't forget the 3 rd part....the jerk behind the trigger....

I’m m in agreement the benchmark Barrels are very good I prefer obermeyer but the three benchmark i currently have shoot well under 1/2 MOA.

Both of the above mentioned would be at the bottom of the list.... why would you shop for a "cheap" barrel???

A lot of good information and truth in this post.

A Krieger or a Rock Creek can be had for under $350..I see.no reason to go with a el cheapo tomato stake.

Some of my tomato stakes are as accurate as any other barrel I have ever used.

This is not the most accurate of the bunch by far, but it illustrates the point pretty well. This is fired with a 1930s vintage German M-98 Mauser barrel cut to 19" at 107 yards and this load is NOT the most accurate one I have used in this carbine, but it's one I took a pictures of. The best ones were shot with 170 grain Hornady SSTs and those groups are half this size.
This Tomato Stake was free to me. I made a 270 for a man on a Mauser he brought to me. I re-barreled the action and he gave me the barrel I took off. I turned it down to a light sportier and cut it 19" long. 8X57
PC070001 by Steve Zihn, on Flickr
PC070002 by Steve Zihn, on Flickr
Here is one I took a photo of because it's the best I ever shot with irons. 4 rounds in the group. I was zeroing irons and the last sighter hit the corner of the spot. My friend Bob was on the spotting scope. He said come up one click and left one click and shoot me a group. I did with the remaining 4 round in the mag and this is what I got. I have fired many groups this size in my life and many even smaller, but this is my very best ever, shot with iron sights.
Barrel is a Green Mountain tomato stake I made from one of their blanks for my 6.8SPC AR15. I bought about 10 of them back then and I think I paid about $60 each.
6.8 at 100 by Steve Zihn, on Flickr

So why indeed would anyone use a tomato stake?

I can't even guess................. other than the fact that sometimes (and more often than you'd think) they shoot as well as any barrel you can buy at any price.

Other than that, there is no reason at all.