douglas barrels??

Charles E said:
This is just an oddity. On the several of the recent "Douglas barrel" threads, much has been made of the notion that you don't see them in the top 10 of match reports. So I went looking in the 1,000 yard match reports (Stan Taylor is one of the 50 or so people with a Long Range Marksman jacket), and sure enough, there they were.

But that got me to thinking. You don't see "Hart" for barrel in the match reports very often either, these days. Back when I was starting out in benchrest, that's all I'd use, 'cause that's what the top shooters used. Quick! How many think Hart isn't as good anymore?

But wait, there's more. The next gotta-have barrel was Shilen. Everybody used them. Until that became Kreiger. Is it Bartlien now? Anybody got some new Hart or Shilen blanks they'll sell me real cheap? They sure aren't prominent in the match reports anymore, so aren't worth as much, right? To be a nice guy, I'll give you $100 for a new blank -- best grade -- of either. You can thank me later.
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Kinda sounds like, uh, what's those little rodents called.......it's on the tip of my tongue........I got it! Lemmings. :)

Wannabe's that scour the equipment lists to see what the winners use seem to be under the impression that it's the equipment that creates winners. It's the fastidious attention to detail in learning to tune their equipment and weeks of practice by the winners that puts the barrel makers name on the equipment list. I firmly believe that it's hard to find a bad barrel maker these days.

Bottom line; nobody knows what makes a barrel a great (hummer) barrel. You can buy 5 Kriegers, Bartleins, Harts, Shilens, Douglas, etc. and there will probably be one of every group that shoots better than the others. Otherwise why would Tony B. go through so many barrels a year just to find one or two great ones?
 
Charles E, I think you hit the nail square on the head. Barrel makers do tend to become "flavor of the week". I am old enough to remember when Douglas, Flaigs, and probably a few others were the only game in town in the 1960's. The firearms industry has grown immensly in the last 30 years and the choices we now have in all areas of gun-goodies is truly mind boggling! My Douglas barrel has not yet arrived but I feel my choice was a good one. It is a varmint contour barrel and I am not a competition benchrest shooter. I am happy if I can get 5 shots touching.
 
douglas barrels

I shoot NMC with M14/M1A platform for the last 40 years. I've use all the top name brands, i.e., Krieger, Hart, etc. I just never outshot my scores using them over the Douglas barrels that I bought from Gene Barnett. I have shot some <MOA groups/scores at 600 yds. using Douglas barrels. Even with the AR15 Service rifle with Douglas and the other barrels, same thing applies, just never out shot the Douglas scores. Oh, as far as break-in, the first time I fired the match SR AR15 I put 300 rds through it first outing at the range. It dripped blue/green for a week with Hoppes before all the copper was out. It was my best shooting barrel. I won the NJ State Championship with that gun that year. Just some thoughts and observations.
 
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I have had very good scores with Douglas XX barrels also. I have installed them on M14MN and M16NM for years. My personal guns have them also.
 
douglas barrels

Theres nothing wrong with douglas barrels they shoot just as well as most barrels.
you get what you pay for. There premium xx barrel is of benchrest quality.
Like most brands sometimes it the luck of the draw, a great barrel will only shoot as good as the gunsmith work. .
 
spfld said:
Anyone want to give opinions on Douglas XX barrels? I know they are not up to Kreiger or Shilen standards but they dont cost as much either.
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How do you know they are not up to Krieger or Shilen standards?
 
B.Johnson said:
Can you overdo a breakin?
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Of course; you could ruin a barrel by overdoing the tedious, dubious-benefit-at-best, barrel break-in. And IMO, overdoing a break-in procedure as it pertains to rifle barrels is doing one at all.
 
I will say that a Douglas 4 groove 30 cal will shoot with anything out there, at 1000 yds………. jim
 
Douglas has changed a few things for the better, you can get excellent 30 and 6mm barrels with out a doubt. So to bring back and old thread is good sometimes….. jim
 
spfld said:
Anyone want to give opinions on Douglas XX barrels? I know they are not up to Kreiger or Shilen standards but they dont cost as much either. Get what you pay for or can they be decently accurate.
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There's nothing shabby about a Douglass XX barrel. I've owned all three brands. My smallest 5-shot group [.084"] was shot with the Douglass XX. Although there has probably been more consistency with the Kriegers and Shilens that I've owned and now possess, in my humble opinion, I believe a hummer can show up within any well known brand. :)
 
douglas barrels

That is not true Hart did not go down to learn from GR Douglas.
Hart set up shop and learned button rifling from MIKE WALKER.

Mike walker was a partner with Clyde for some time.
He got the ok From Remington to let Clyde have Ross Sherman make the buttons for rifling.

GR and Clyde Hart respected each other , Clyde in his early years used Douglas barrels and had a good relationship with GR Douglas
 
Somewhere someone is/are using a lot of Douglas barrels. I was by there last Fall and they had a bunch ready to ship. We built all our 25/264 Win Mag Imp's on them and they shoot great.
 
abintx said:
There's nothing shabby about a Douglass XX barrel. I've owned all three brands. My smallest 5-shot group [.084"] was shot with the Douglass XX. Although there has probably been more consistency with the Kriegers and Shilens that I've owned and now possess, in my humble opinion, I believe a hummer can show up within any well known brand. :)
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To make a long story short, I think you will find that the ONLY difference between Douglas and everyone else is that their tubes are not lapped. Their tolerances are every bit as good as the rest of the barrel makers. I have been using their barrels since 1962 and have never had a bad one! This is more than I can say for another well known barrel maker! Back when Douglas was alive he was offering what he called (bore honed barrels) that were every bit as smooth as the lapping process used today. Don't know what the process consisted of but I believe it was different than Tim is doing today. Maybe Tim or Stan can shed some light on this issue.
 
Gerry, To set the record straight, You had better talk to Tim and find why The Hart's were down there then and it wasn't a social visit. ……jim
 
Wayne Shaw said:
So is the double button available for all calibers and twists?
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Wayne, I don't know for sure but if I were guessing I would say yes. Tim takes great pride in the fact that their barrels do not require lapping. I have borescoped, slugged and chambered several Douglas barrels that looked great and shot great.

Interestingly, Tims favorite 1000 yard chambering is a 20 cal!! He has shot some impressive groups with the 20. Tim's dad, Arleigh, started development with the 20 several years ago.
 
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