Best barrels?

Krieger, Hawkhill, Brux, Bartlein, Rock Creek, Benchmark.

That's the order in which I look. We are lucky in the fact we have a lot of good options.

Plenty of others not listed that are outstanding these I listed I have cut on. So I'll stick with what I know.

I'm not a fan of proof CF barrels, if I need a CF barrel. I'll get one that Bartlein makes.
 
Benchmark made me a beautiful 6.5 x55 barrel for my SSG300. They were great to deal with.I can change the barrel in just a few minutes.
 
Do any of them make bad barrels today?

You can still get ‘bad’ barrels. I had a .325 that would not shoot five shots under an inch. I replaced it with a high quality match barrel and it shoots sub 1/2” now. I know I am very picky and 1.25” groups would never have cost me an animal, but I like accurate rifles.
 
See, I told you, you would end up with a bunch of answers. :ROFLMAO:
 
Lilja (choice of the finest bolt gunsmiths). 'Also have a Hart that's a 1-holer, and a few Douglass that are pretty close. Whoever Jaeger, Wby, Montana uses/used for barrels on their high end guns-they are shooters! One of the cheaper aftermarket barrels (of the proper length, contour and twist rate) will shoot better on a gun that's set up properly, than one not trued, headspaced properly, scope rings aligned, scope leveled, etc. It's more work than just a barrel. The entire action/stock/mounts/trigger should be considered at that juncture, if it's accurization you seek. (this is a 6.5 WSM w/ a Lilja bbl/HS Precision stock/Jewell Trigger/Timney mounts assembled by Bansner's, and this 6 lb mountain gun has made some spectacular shots out to 720 yds.) And then there's the proper handloading for your particular gun (likely the lowest cost step toward greater accuracy and tailoring loads to the game to be hunted.) All that said, I think it's finally time for a new barrel after 2,000+ rounds through that particular gun...257 AI, 757 AI, 300 WM, and .338 A-Sq are the current backup favorites for med. game.

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Weatherby has been using Krieger barrels on some special Accumark models.
I've had a couple and they ARE shooters!!! 'Knew it was a fine bbl (i've only had S/S from them.) Also burned out a couple .257 Wby bbls (after the magic 2,000+ rounds,) so stepped down a bit to 257 AI.
 
Weatherby has been using Krieger barrels on some special Accumark models.

At one time under Ed Weatherby, all Weatherby Accumarks used Krieger barrels. Not sure now under Adam if that's the case. I own 3 Accumarks and they are accurate for a non-custom gun.
 
For me in no particular order

Cut barrels then Bartlein/Obermyer/Brux/KP/Chanlynn/Proof/Rock Creek/Kreiger

Button barrels then Broughton (before Tim retired)/Hart/Lilja/Schneider
 

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Grz63 wrote on roklok's profile.
Hi Roklok
I read your post on Caprivi. Congratulations.
I plan to hunt there for buff in 2026 oct.
How was the land, very dry ? But à lot of buffs ?
Thank you / merci
Philippe
Fire Dog wrote on AfricaHunting.com's profile.
Chopped up the whole thing as I kept hitting the 240 character limit...
Found out the trigger word in the end... It was muzzle or velocity. dropped them and it posted.:)
Fire Dog wrote on AfricaHunting.com's profile.
2,822fps, ES 8.2
This compares favorably to 7 Rem Mag. with less powder & recoil.
Fire Dog wrote on AfricaHunting.com's profile.
*PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS FOR MY RIFLE, ALWAYS APPROACH A NEW LOAD CAUTIOUSLY!!*
Rifle is a Pierce long action, 32" 1:8.5 twist Swan{Au} barrel
{You will want a 1:8.5 to run the heavies but can get away with a 1:9}
Peterson .280AI brass, CCI 200 primers, 56.5gr of 4831SC, 184gr Berger Hybrid.
Fire Dog wrote on AfricaHunting.com's profile.
I know that this thread is more than a year old but as a new member I thought I would pass along my .280AI loading.
I am shooting F Open long range rather than hunting but here is what is working for me and I have managed a 198.14 at 800 meters.
That is for 20 shots. The 14 are X's which is a 5" circle.
 
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