6mm creedmoor barrel opinions

Patriot Valley Arms. Osprey prefit in 1/7.5 with the PVA standard freebore. They absolutely hammer. I've had two.

Also the prefits from LS Wild that are manufactured by Preferred Barrel Blanks have had great reports too, though I have no experience personally with them. They are definitely the affordable option.
Got a pic? What contour did you go with? Length?
 
my next 6 creed and 300wsm barrels will be PVA since I can get the most order options and best lead time. I’m usually relegated to always skimming websites to see who happens to have a “marksman” contour blank I can snag before I shoot out a barrel.
 
Anyone have experience with the Tikka Pre-Fit from Criterion Barrels? It uses a barrel nut, which I am not sure is a good or bad thing (not enough experience to know the pitfalls or advantages). I'd be interested in experiences with the Criterion, and if you needed a smith to install it? Seem that getting some go/no-go and an action wrench for an install might be worth it.

Insights are appreciated.
 
Anyone have experience with the Tikka Pre-Fit from Criterion Barrels? It uses a barrel nut, which I am not sure is a good or bad thing (not enough experience to know the pitfalls or advantages). I'd be interested in experiences with the Criterion, and if you needed a smith to install it? Seem that getting some go/no-go and an action wrench for an install might be worth it.

Insights are appreciated.
Been enjoying this thread and others as I begin building a 6 Creed.

Here's my 2 cents about barrel nuts and no-go gauges. I'm a novice at this. Take my observations with a grain of salt.

Barrel nuts: I've had a 7mm PRC prefit from Outlier for the last 6 months and found the barrel nut to be a hassle. I had to ream out the stock to fit it, and it's hard to get it tight enough. I used a torque wrench set to 45 ft lbs with a special head to fit the nut. The head extended the effective length of the wrench by about 1.5 inches from centerline, which increased the actual torque spec. The nut came loose after 40 rounds shooting suppressed. I then used the biggest crescent wrench I could find. Both times I had difficulty tightening the nut without stripping it (rounding off the flats with the wrenches). YMMV. I think Criterion may use a castle style nut. That could be easier to torque down. At this point, shouldered prefits are all I'm interested in.

Go/No-Go gauges: I followed Erik Cortina's video on YT about using a Go gauge, then a Go gauge plus one layer of Scotch tape. It worked great. I had a No-Go gauge to double check. There was no need for the No-Go gauge. The Go gauge plus Scotch tape left me with a tighter tolerance than the No-Go gauge, but enough room to cycle my Norma and Barnes box ammo. Not everyone wants tighter tolerances in a hunting rifle where rain and dust come to play. Also, you have to remove the extractor pin and claw for the Scotch tape method to work.

Again, I'm a novice at this. Don't take my observations as gospel. Hoping guys with more experience than me will chime in.

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I’m running a 16.5 inch proof on my Seekins 6 creed shooting factory 108 eldm. The barrel is speeding up, currently going 2700 fps. This is my do it all hunting rifle for a max distance set to about 550 yards.
Was that a prefit and did you have to do anything to the stock to get that barrel contour to fit?
 
Been enjoying this thread and others as I begin building a 6 Creed.

Here's my 2 cents about barrel nuts and no-go gauges. I'm a novice at this. Take my observations with a grain of salt.

Barrel nuts: I've had a 7mm PRC prefit from Outlier for the last 6 months and found the barrel nut to be a hassle. I had to ream out the stock to fit it, and it's hard to get it tight enough. I used a torque wrench set to 45 ft lbs with a special head to fit the nut. The head extended the effective length of the wrench by about 1.5 inches from centerline, which increased the actual torque spec. The nut came loose after 40 rounds shooting suppressed. I then used the biggest crescent wrench I could find. Both times I had difficulty tightening the nut without stripping it (rounding off the flats with the wrenches). YMMV. I think Criterion may use a castle style nut. That could be easier to torque down. At this point, shouldered prefits are all I'm interested in.
This was a bit of my worry. If I decide to go this way, I am just going to go with PVA. Good review and comments. Will be about double the Criterion barrel when all said and done, but I'd rather not deal with issues.

Thx for insight.
 
Been enjoying this thread and others as I begin building a 6 Creed.

Here's my 2 cents about barrel nuts and no-go gauges. I'm a novice at this. Take my observations with a grain of salt.

Barrel nuts: I've had a 7mm PRC prefit from Outlier for the last 6 months and found the barrel nut to be a hassle. I had to ream out the stock to fit it, and it's hard to get it tight enough. I used a torque wrench set to 45 ft lbs with a special head to fit the nut. The head extended the effective length of the wrench by about 1.5 inches from centerline, which increased the actual torque spec. The nut came loose after 40 rounds shooting suppressed. I then used the biggest crescent wrench I could find. Both times I had difficulty tightening the nut without stripping it (rounding off the flats with the wrenches). YMMV. I think Criterion may use a castle style nut. That could be easier to torque down. At this point, shouldered prefits are all I'm interested in.
Thanks. This is a bit of what I am afraid of. I don't need another "project" gun, I need one that just shoots. If I decide to go this route (re barrel), just going to go PVA I think.
 
Thanks. This is a bit of what I am afraid of. I don't need another "project" gun, I need one that just shoots. If I decide to go this route (re barrel), just going to go PVA I think.
I hear ya. My bad habit of tinkering with “project” guns has cost plenty.

From what I’ve seen, some gunsmiths will do the whole thing for around the same price as a prefit. Especially after counting the cost of an action wrench, barrel vise, torque wrench, and Go gauge. There’s also the benefit of having a gunsmith on your side if there’s an issue with the barrel.

I’m in the process of ordering an Ace barrel, to be chambered and threaded by Crown Ridge. This will be the first chamber they’ve done for me. I’ve had good experiences with them threading barrels in the past. He mentioned he has 6mm Shilen blanks in stock and his turnaround is about a week. I’m just stubborn and want an Ace even if it takes 2 months.
 
I just installed a 7.5t Criterion 6 cm on a Remington 700. This is my second Criterion as the first was a hammer. Here’s to hoping this one is as good.
 
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