Comment on Barrels

Doug Penttinen

Doug Penttinen

"TESTED TEXAS TUFF"
Just got my new Precision Magazine in the mail today and was flipping thru it and was noticing that a BIG portion of the shooting world has and is using Kreiger and Bartlein barrels such as the 2014 Cactus classic, the matches in St. Louis VFS, the Sahuaro 1000,the Tomball 4 gun.

I'm probably going to get pounded for this and I'm not looking to get my fingers "WHACKED" either but what the heck, cant be any worse than the topic of the March scopes...

My question is , What is going on down at Shilen?? I'm sure there is a thousand different answers for this. Since I had not been very active in the BR shooting for the last 3 years I know things change and I still have new Shilen Barrels on my guns and they do shoot well, I call them new since I have not shot but it seems as though Shilen is seemingly not in the drivers seat from what I'm seeing. I have been a total Shilen guy for the last 10 years

Is it just cause or is the boat only being paddled with one oar....

After I post this I may not want to re-open it...
 
shilen barrels shoot very well. Ive chambered a few of them over the past few months and im not looking forward to shooting against the fellas I chambered them for. Lee
 
Doug, I think it's human nature. Everyone wants to shoot what's winning. When you see certain makes of barrels in the equipment lists, it makes people want to shoot those barrels. it doesn't mean that another make of barrel isn't just as competitive. Then the more of those barrels that are being shot, the more the odds are that they will be in the equipment list. The more those barrels show up in the equipment list, the more people don't want to shoot the barrels that aren't showing up in the equipment list. Before the last match at Seymour, I chambered a new Shilen barrel and put it on my rail gun and was one group away from winning the 200 UL. I guarantee it wasn't the barrel that lost a couple of shots out on the last group. I remember a quote from L. E. Wilson that if he won a match with a wheel on the side of his rifle that at the next match there would be more rifles there with wheels on the side of their rifles. I heard of a well known current benchrest shooter that has a little rubber anti-vibration knob mounted on his rail gun similar to what is used in compound bows. When asked what it did, his answer was not a thing, but that it gave him a lot of pleasure when he saw other shooters with the same thing mounted on their rail guns. I think that's pretty appropriate about benchrest. People try to follow what's winning. If you'll look up and down the line sometime at the nationals, you'll see that most of the rifles there are very similar. Same stocks, same scopes, probably same barrels, shot on similar front rests. Another post called it lemmings, but I don't think it's lemmings. I think it's just human nature.
 
Shilen donated a barrel for a prize to Tacoma for the winner of the 3 gun shoot season before last. (Thank you Shilen!) I finally got caught up enough last off season to chamber it up for my heavy, and it is a hell of a good barrel! One of the best shooting barrels I have had for some time.
 
A lot of Bats on the equipment list, but if I bought another it would be a Panda or a Stiller drop port. Nothing wrong with the Bat, but I got caught up in the equipment race.
 
In all honesty that's kind of the way I was leaning. "More of what you see is what I want"... Or a nice way to say monkey see monkey do... I believe that's also probably why makers of barrels, actions, stocks want the big top shooters to win...Not to mention the guys can shoot in the first place but a hummer never hurts !!!

I understand the game I was just hoping that the barrels coming from down South of Dallas were still shooters...A bad word always travels faster than the good.. Appreciate nobody hanging me out to dry on my question..

Mike hope to see you in Seymour...
 
Doug, the barrel I have on my rail gun came in from Shilen about in August or so, so is current manufacture. One of the nice things about Shilen is that Wade and David are still shooting benchrest. I'm sitting at the range now getting ready to put up my rail gun. I got it shooting with some sample bullets that Ronnie brought for me at Seymour. I had enough to get it to shoot them finding a good seating depth and powder charge combination. Have enough of them left to shoot a couple of groups. Switched to some old flat bases that were probably made on the same die and they shot just about as well. By the way, I was doing some chronographing day before yesterday working on a sporter rifle. I had part of a jug of T322. Set up my measure to dump 27.3 gr and chronographed 3225 fps. Kicked it up to a common load for T powder of 27.8gr and it chronoed 3300 fps. Dumped the powder out of my measure and switched to LT32 lot 2. Weighed what it dumped at the same measure setting as what it was set with T and it weighed 27.8 gr. and chronographed 3305. I thought that was pretty amazing. Practically identical in weight to volume and accuracy as well. One thing I've seen about the LT32 is that at 27.8 it's below the neck using Norma brass. I'm so used to just about putting as much as you can get in it, that it seems strange. It's a little faster burning than 133.
The group below was shot with Ronnie's bullets and LT32 this morning in the Shilen 1.45 barrel.
image.jpg
 
Barrels

Hey Mike,

I can tell you that a weekend warrior shooter like me wouldn't know what to do with a group like that. Is it 10 shots..... ???

I have been playing with lot 3 of LT and have been very pleased with it... I used it in Denton and the first leg of the 4 gun that will finish in Seymour next weekend and it shoots better than me... So I will be sticking with it and Ronnie's 67.4 gr flat base and see if I can hold my own...

Are you going to Seymour...
 
Doug Penttinen said:
Hey Mike,

I can tell you that a weekend warrior shooter like me wouldn't know what to do with a group like that. Is it 10 shots..... ???

I have been playing with lot 3 of LT and have been very pleased with it... I used it in Denton and the first leg of the 4 gun that will finish in Seymour next weekend and it shoots better than me... So I will be sticking with it and Ronnie's 67.4 gr flat base and see if I can hold my own...

Are you going to Seymour...
Click to expand...

Yes, planning on it. It's too bad that Raton is shooting the same classes the same weekend. I'd like to make both. The group is 10 shots. The first several were in a wad and as always the last few shots were what made it larger.
 
Dad and I have been shooting Shilens since the early 80's and we've yet to have a bad one. Yes, some shoot better than others but we've never had one that didn't shoot strong (and that includes blanks fit to our Ruger conversions). But that said we've had Kreigers too and have always been pleased. Haven't tried Bartleins yet but hope to in the near future.

-Lee
www.singleactions.com
 
Plus one what Bryant said what ever is popular at the time.
I've shot Shillens that were really good and also Harts that were just as good. Take your pick.
Bartlein or Kreiger barrels are also winners.
So far its a Hart bbl for a button barrel and a Bartlein for a cut barrel.
I can Honestly say I have Never gotten one that won;t shoot with the right loads
 
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