Barrel preferences

N

noone

Guest
I am considering building a rifle for just F-class 600-1000. My two caliber choices would be 308 for a 30 cal, and 6.5-08AI for 6.5mm.

I am looking for input about premium barrels. In the past, I have used Hart, Kreiger, Schneider, and Obermeyer. Other barrels I have heard good things about are Bartlein, Lilja, Rock Creek, and I'm sure there are plenty of other top quality barrels.

What barrels seem to be in the winners circles most often?

Or is it the case that they are all top quality barrels, and there are many other variables like ammo, overall preparation, quality of the action, stock, and so on (and of course practice) that make the biggest difference? We will presume use of top quality glass, rings, base, and overall mounting system.

Thanks for the help and input.
 
What matters most? Assuming the build quality of the rifle and the capability of the shooter, it is either (1) barrels and (2) bullets, or (1) bullets and (2) barrels.

To your barrel question, with a few of caveats:

First, this is the benchrest portion of BR Central. There is an F-class forum. While you're quite welcome here, a number of us have never shot F-class. There are significant differences.

Second, in my opinion, 600 yards is not long range. It is mid-range, and in benchrest, I wouldn't use the same chambering for 600 as for 1,000. Yes, the smaller 6s and 6.5s will win at 1,000 yards, and sometimes spectacularly. But if you look at year-long averages, the bigger chamberings still hold sway. I wouldn't consider either of the chamberings you mention as anything close to "best" 1,000 yard rounds.

Third, I normally don't answer "what's best" questions, because if there really were a "best," everybody would use it and the question wouldn't come up. You might think that the number of appearances of a product that in the "top twenty" of shooters at big matches would give an answer, at least about consistency. Kind of, sort of. As a criteria, you have to use a number of years, and remember two things: (1) Most shooters are sheep -- let a Tony Boyer use a particular make of barrel and 90% of the rest of the shooters order one. (2) The long-time manufacturers of barrels common in benchrest were all themselves benchrest shooters at some point -- Hart, Shilen, Lilja. We were a tight crowd.

* * *

All the manufacturer's you mention make good barrels. For winning, the problem isn't finding a good barrel, but a spectacular one. You are as apt to find that from one manufacturer as another.

The safety net is, which manufacturer's have the most consistency? But now we're back to any of the manufacturers who make barrels you see in the winners column, with the caveat mentioned above.

In short range benchrest, Consistently good barrels seem to be (alphabetically) Hart, Kreiger, and Shilen. Consistency means a number of years in the winners column. If you shorten the "years" requirement, Bartlien is right up there. Moving to 1,000 yard brenchrest, for some reason you don't see many Shilen's -- though I have a 6.5 ratchet-rifled barrel that had gotten me a few points, which in our game come from wins at matches and high places at the Nationals. You also see a fair number of Broughtons, now made by Tim North.

Other manufacturer's also do well, but haven't quite gotten the number of "years" in. No doubt some will.

From my perspective, I'd repeat that you are as apt to get an especially good barrel from one manufacturer as another. Since I all to often leave things to the last minute, my barrel selection is usually determined by what has what I need in the shortest period of time. Seems to work as well as any other selection method.

FWIW
 
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