Mcgowen Barrel Reviews

[snowtoy83]

After my experience(s) with McGowan, I went to X-Caliber for my next barrel and had zero issues whatsoever.

Did they do a shouldered prefit for you?

 

[Tullis94]

Ok so update, I must have hit a nerve because they are refunding my money on PayPal but they still owe me half that I paid with my debit over the phone. If you are going to do business with them I would highly suggest doing it all through PayPal. That was the only way I was getting responses. Has anyone had good luck with preferred barrels?

I have 2 tikka barrels from preferred now. Both have 50ish shots through them and they are shooting very well. The fit and finish of both barrels has been excellent! I recommend giving them a shot.

 

[HandgunHTR]

Did they do a shouldered prefit for you?

As far as I know, X-caliber doesn’t do shouldered prefits for Tikkas. They will do a barrel nut version.

 

[snowtoy83]

As far as I know, X-caliber doesn’t do shouldered prefits for Tikkas. They will do a barrel nut version.

That’s what I thought, and why I was asking.

 

[Newtosavage]

Did they do a shouldered prefit for you?

No just a standard Savage prefit.

 

[Sled]

That’s what I thought, and why I was asking.

I have a smith that I've used who has xcaliber blanks he'll shoulder with your action in hand. His costs be are very reasonable and turnaround time is faster than anyone else I've heard of.

 

[Old-Cat]

Y’all have me a little concerned. I received one in March, I haven’t screwed it on yet, still waiting on a stock I ordered.

Now mine is for an ARC action. It does sound like tikka’s are the challenge but still. I guess I’ll go headed and spin it on as soon as I get time to make sure all is well.

 

[Old-Cat]

Whelp. It won’t close on the Go gauge, son of a blah….
And the indexing is off. “Haha. Sucker”


Edit. I’ll call them tomorrow and see how they handle things. I’ll say this, they were fantastic presale, really helpful w finished weight calculations etc. I hope they are as good on the backend.

 

[Old-Cat]

I spoke with Dan this morning. he said to send the barrel and the action to him, and he would correct my challenges at no charge. Now, he is a little surly, but I can't complain about his willingness to make things right, temperament doesn't matter to me as long as a person keeps their word. He also told me it would only take a week to get it spun on and heading back to me. *thumbs up*

I'll post an update when I get it back and look at the chamber etc.

 

[amassi]

Somewhat against the grain of this thread but I'm now batting 1000 with mcgowen tikka prefits.
#3 sporter in 22cm. Torqued right on and headspaced perfectly

 

[kswaterfowl]

Honestly, I would have bought more barrels from them is Dan wasn't such a jacka$$. Because my 6 creed barrel shoots awesome after I had to pay a gunsmith bump the shoulders back, so it headspace would headspace correctly.

 

[ChaseingTheOutdoors]

I have had 2 bad experiences with them. When I ordered a 270wsm and got a 270win I called to let them know what happened and I got a rude response that it was how I ordered it and that's what I got. I then reminded him that I was looking at my order confirmation email that clearly stated WSM. Dan gruffly said to send it back and he'd take care of it. I pressed my luck and asked for him to please check the threading before the new one ships out because it was pretty rough. Long story short, the next one was worse and he gave me a story that they sometimes just come out that way. To his credit, after much defensive posturing he gave me a full refund. It's been more than a year and they're both still available on their site:

https://mcgowenbarrel.com/shop/270-win-8-tikka-t3/

https://mcgowenbarrel.com/shop/270-wsm-8-stainless-tikka-t3-threads-armor-black-cerakote/

If you do choose the WSM, the tennon threads are rough and won't spin on an action without a wrench. The muzzle end was pretty rough too.

Edit: on further inspection it seems someone else rejected the WSM barrel too. It was re-cerakoted to armor black from cobalt.

I stumbled across that 270 barrel and ordered it, sounded like it would be a sweet setup. Then I discovered this thread. Should I try to cancel my order before it ships or let it play out?

 

[TMKSHOOTER]

Ordered a 22 creed barrel in 7 twist, barrel shows up marked 8 twist. Call up McGowen to see what’s up, dude acts like it’s no big deal and says the barrel is indeed 7 twist because that’s what the computer shows. Claims it was just a mistake that they didn’t change the numbering when they stamped previous barrels. The threads are a bit rough but if it screws on and headspace’s I’m not to concerned. If the twist is actually 7 I’ll keep it if not I’ll just sell it outright instead of trying to deal with mcgowen on a refund. The black Friday price was 365 shipped but I think I’d pony up for a preferred or pva on my next prefit.

 

[Sled]

I stumbled across that 270 barrel and ordered it, sounded like it would be a sweet setup. Then I discovered this thread. Should I try to cancel my order before it ships or let it play out?

No clue if they fixed anything. The first barrel was the 270win, which I didn't order. The muzzle threads were bad. I did not even try to put the action on it. You might give it a try but it was recently online for more than I paid. Good luck

 

[ChaseingTheOutdoors]

No clue if they fixed anything. The first barrel was the 270win, which I didn't order. The muzzle threads were bad. I did not even try to put the action on it. You might give it a try but it was recently online for more than I paid. Good luck

Doesn’t sound too promising. But it is almost exactly what I’ve been wanting to do. I have a ton of 270 primed brass that begs to be shot in a handy little rifle. I’ll roll the dice and see what shows up, and fight them for a return if I have to. Thanks for your input.

 

[gbflyer]

It is not difficult to produce nice threads even for a farmer like me on an India lathe. “They just come out that way sometimes” is crap. If that is acceptable, what about the things we can’t see or measure, like the bore diameter in the middle of the barrel?

Take a look sometime at who’s barrel competitors are using. It’s always listed.

 

[Ryan Avery]

I hope you guys quit buying them… more for me

Just got back from cow elk hunting.

Tanya’s shot hers at 630 yards with a 6CM with a 22” Mcgowen. This 6CM might be the most accurate rifle I’ve ever shot.

I shot mine at 640 with a 6UM with a 20” Mcgowen.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Formidilosus]

I hope you guys quit buying them… more for me

Just got back from cow elk hunting.

Tanya’s shot hers at 630 yards with a 6CM with a 22” Mcgowen. This 6CM might be the most accurate rifle I’ve ever shot.

I shot mine at 640 with a 6UM with a 20” Mcgowen.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

You’re short changing yourself- 636y for hers, and 646y for yours. Geez.

 

[Fatcamp]

Our range is snowed in so we can't get in to shoot. Interested to see how it shoots.

 

[Rooggvc]

I hope you guys quit buying them… more for me

Just got back from cow elk hunting.

Tanya’s shot hers at 630 yards with a 6CM with a 22” Mcgowen. This 6CM might be the most accurate rifle I’ve ever shot.

Was the 6CM kill with the 115 DTAC with Nosering also?