Shilen Octagon barrels

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garrisone

Guest
I would like some of your input on a Shilen octagon barrel. W:cool:hy do you think this barrel would be a good choice to put on a new rifle. Where can I get a look at this barrel before ordering one. last -what are they running as far as price. Thanks for any replies. garrisone.
 
Butch Lambert said:
I would go to their website first. Aren't they polygonal?
Butch
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Sir : I did go to their sight first but found nothing I was looking for. I don't know if they are polygonal and I was hopeing to get some answers from some that have the barrel on their rifles. thanks for your reply . garrisone.
 
Butch, they are both Polygonal and Octagon. I had to look this up, but here is what I found
"Polygonal rifling (pronounced /pəˈlɪɡənəl/, us dict: pə·lĭg′·ə·nəl) is a type of rifling wherein the traditional lands and grooves are replaced by "hills and valleys" in a rounded polygonal pattern, usually a hexagon or octagon. The barrel on the left is traditional rifling, and the one on the right is the polygonal."

250px-Polygonal_vs_normal_rifling.svg.png


The idea behind this is Calfee's term of minimally invasive. They are shooting well, but just not enough of them on rifles yet to really catch on. They have only been available for a couple of months. I do have them in stock and ready to ship. They are the same price as the other Shilen Barrels, $275.
 
Strangely enough, the Polygonal rifling is not new. I believe Shilen produced an sold this style back in the 60's or 70's.
 
Fred J said:
Strangely enough, the Polygonal rifling is not new. I believe Shilen produced an sold this style back in the 60's or 70's.
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They sure did - in centrefire anyway. The Shilen agent was right here in my home town and he got a few of those polygonal barrels through in both 224 and 6mm. That was in 1978/79. We noticed that they were very accurate and seemed to give just a little more velocity for the same loads. When I met Alan Hall in 1980 he told me that they had stopped making them. One of the reasons was that too many shooters ruined them when cleaning - you needed a very tight patch and brush to make them follow the odd twist of the barrel.

Never did see one in rimfire though.


Brendan Atkinson
in South Australia
 
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I have 2 of these barrels that shoot very well. I also have a Shilen ratchet that does well. You are welcolm to look at and shoot mine. Very good choice.
 
We installed one on an older 1411 and it is shooting very well. I have another one sitting here waiting for a silhouette project. Ed stated that extra care does need to be used for cleaning in that a low-quality rod can harm the barrel by not letting the brush rotate.

Dan, I do not recall the reason behind Ed and Wade starting up these in production again, but I'm confident it wasn't due to Bill's direction. I heard that Ken has been shooting one for a year or longer and it worked well for him.
 
Yes Steve that is correct. Randy Leger built 2 rifles with the barrels for Ken Harper. I am not sure whose idea it was to give it a try, but it sure worked for Ken. Ken won several matches across Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas shooting that barrel. That then started a frenzy of people calling Shilen to order them, so Shilen put them into production.
 
Could anyone comment on how long the barrel life is on these barrels. I have heard that excessive cleaning will shorten the life of the barrel but then it will do the same with any other barrel. why were the barrels stoped being manufactured after they first came out. garrisone.
 
garrisone said:
Could anyone comment on how long the barrel life is on these barrels. I have heard that excessive cleaning will shorten the life of the barrel but then it will do the same with any other barrel. why were the barrels stoped being manufactured after they first came out. garrisone.
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It's likely going to be the primer induced pitting that's going to dictate the lifespan on these more than anything else I'd guess.
 
Yes, R5, R0, and .900 straight
R5 is 1.200 for 4" then quickly tapers to .870 straight
R0 is 1.200 for 4" then quickly tapers to .920 straight
 
tim said:
It's likely going to be the primer induced pitting that's going to dictate the lifespan on these more than anything else I'd guess.
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I have a friend who has one and I have asked him to let me know how it performs. I have heard that these barrels because they are not made like regular barrels tend to wear out sooner . At any rate I will not buy one until I have more data about them -pro or con. garrisone.
 
At the rate that ammo changes, a new barrel from time to time is a good investment. I can't see where the octagon barrel will wear out any quicker than a standard rifling.
 
Yes ! You are right about the investment in a new barrel once in a while. The Octagon barrel and the standard barrel are made very diferently. The Octagon is what Bill Calfee calls miniumly invasive while the standard barrel has lands and groves. The Octagon is polygonal and has no lands or groves. Acording to Dan Kelough's illustration the barrels has hills and valleys. I have heard you must clean these barrels and keep them clean in order to keep them shooting well . Excesive cleaning will ruin a regular barrel so what do you think it would do to the barrel of the octagon that has no lands or groves. You will be polishing the hills and valleys and this would give the bullet less to grab on to. Like I said in another post I will not buy one until I have more information on how long they last and how well they perform. Thank you for your reply. garrisone.
 
What is there to wear out? Not being a smart alec, but I don't get it? I've read that you need a tight fitting brush if you are going to brush 'em so the brush will follow the shallow rifling.
Now of course, most brushes drag to some degree in any of the barrels. If you don't believe me, try measuring the twist with a tight brush, and then use a lead lap and see what the difference is.
 
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