Mountain Rifle Build - Need a Barrel Rec

[huntnful]

On the other side of the coin, why pay a gunsmith to do all the same work that a prefit takes care of that will still net a sub-moa build?

I could get a trash prefit from a reputable manufacturer, I suppose. And I could also get a good, reputable gunsmith who does less than stellar work on a barrel and action.

I guess my question is, what are the odds of either?

You won't get a great gunsmith that does sub par work. That's what you're paying the extra $$ for.

A mass production of chamber jobs and thread jobs is how you get sub par work.

I just personally wouldn't do it after seeing the effort that needs to go into cutting a perfect chamber.

 

[hereinaz]

Loose threads. Wrong Headspace. Wrong threads. Rough Chambers (extraction issues). Crooked Chambers.

TS or another very reputable gunsmith is your best bet at a "prefit". Which means they're cutting everything without YOUR actual action in hand. But you're not going to save any more. It'll just be the cost of the barrel, plus the cost of the smith work. These dudes have over $60-100k in machinery most of the times. My gunsmith takes meticulous care to make sure the barrel is PERFECTLY centered in the lathe before cutting the chamber. And then cuts the chamber within .001 guaranteed by using headspace guages and the action in hand the whole time. Probably a 4 hour process or so to set everything up and cut both ends of the barrel. I happily give him $400.

Can’t argue with a good smith, if you want no questions and someone to blame.

I am OK with prefits and have never had a bad one. I have had/seen better and worse smithed barrels.

 

[SDHNTR]

I recently put together a rifle for a friend on an
NBK and a Proof carbon prefit. KS1 stock. Bix N Andy trigger. $3200 all in. You aren’t getting that done at a gunsmith without spending at least another $1-2000.

And not all of us have good gunsmith’s near us. I trust myself more than I do an unknown possible hack.

 

[huntnful]

Can’t argue with a good smith, if you want no questions and someone to blame.

I am OK with prefits and have never had a bad one. I have had/seen better and worse smithed barrels.

Great first hand info here. You'll more than likely be fine with a prefit.


These guys do excellent work and stock a lot of great barrels. Here's a bartlein 8 twist #3 in stock. They can cut it to whatever length you want and prefit it "shouldered prefit" $325

Bartlein 6.5mm 8 twist SS #3 27''

www.bugholes.com

 

[loadsandlattes]

Loose threads. Wrong Headspace. Wrong threads. Rough Chambers (extraction issues). Crooked Chambers.

TS or another very reputable gunsmith is your best bet at a "prefit". Which means they're cutting everything without YOUR actual action in hand. But you're not going to save any more. It'll just be the cost of the barrel, plus the cost of the smith work. These dudes have over $60-100k in machinery most of the times. My gunsmith takes meticulous care to make sure the barrel is PERFECTLY centered in the lathe before cutting the chamber. And then cuts the chamber within .001 guaranteed by using headspace guages and the action in hand the whole time. Probably a 4 hour process or so to set everything up and cut both ends of the barrel. I happily give him $400.

I appreciate that feedback, and you aren’t wrong for using your gunsmith.

You’re also correct that the barrel manufacturer doesn’t have my action on hand. But assuming that the action manufacturer - precision impact, for example- gives a good example of their action to the barrel manufacturer and that the action manufacturer operates on incredibly tight tolerances… there should be no issues.

I’ll submit that errors would be occasionally made by both barrel and action manufacturer.. but goodness. I bet it’s very infrequent.

 

[Sacrvrrat72]

Loose threads. Wrong Headspace. Wrong threads. Rough Chambers (extraction issues). Crooked Chambers.

TS or another very reputable gunsmith is your best bet at a "prefit". Which means they're cutting everything without YOUR actual action in hand. But you're not going to save any more. It'll just be the cost of the barrel, plus the cost of the smith work. These dudes have over $60-100k in machinery most of the times. My gunsmith takes meticulous care to make sure the barrel is PERFECTLY centered in the lathe before cutting the chamber. And then cuts the chamber within .001 guaranteed by using headspace guages and the action in hand the whole time. Probably a 4 hour process or so to set everything up and cut both ends of the barrel. I happily give him $400.

What is the lead time for your smith? Prefits are mostly about convenience (no shipping) and not waiting 8-9 months. Would love a month turnaround from a good local smith.


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[huntnful]

I appreciate that feedback, and you aren’t wrong for using your gunsmith.

You’re also correct that the barrel manufacturer doesn’t have my action on hand. But assuming that the action manufacturer - precision impact, for example- gives a good example of their action to the barrel manufacturer and that the action manufacturer operates on incredibly tight tolerances… there should be no issues.

I’ll submit that errors would be occasionally made by both barrel and action manufacturer.. but goodness. I bet it’s very infrequent.

You're absolutely right. Small percentage chance of having much issues, if any at all. I'm just recommending that if you're getting a "prefit" don't cut corners on who does it. And research they work quality first. And that a good quality gunsmith having your action in hand is always the best route to go when possible.

 

[huntnful]

What is the lead time for your smith? Prefits are mostly about convenience (no shipping) and not waiting 8-9 months. Would love a month turnaround from a good local smith.


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He lives 1 hour away and did my last chamber in 1 day lol.

 

[huntnful]

What is the lead time for your smith? Prefits are mostly about convenience (no shipping) and not waiting 8-9 months. Would love a month turnaround from a good local smith.


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That link I sent from southern precision rifles say 6-8 weeks on prefits if they have the barrel in stock. That pretty good, from dudes that do first class work.

 

[loadsandlattes]

What is the lead time for your smith? Prefits are mostly about convenience (no shipping) and not waiting 8-9 months. Would love a month turnaround from a good local smith.


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All this to say, Huntnful isn’t wrong - I’d love to run this through a gunsmith. It’s likely more probable to get better results from a gunsmith vs prefit, but I don’t think that prefit is nearly as daunting as some might portray.

When you consider lead times and cost, prefit actually makes quite a bit of sense assuming you go with a very good manufacturer. Especially if you’re building a hunting rifle instead of a ELR laser beam. I just need <MOA accuracy.

 

[loadsandlattes]

He lives 1 hour away and did my last chamber in 1 day lol.

What’s his number, and how many bottles of bourbon do I need to send his way?

 

[hereinaz]

I recently put together a rifle for a friend on an
NBK and a Proof carbon prefit. KS1 stock. Bix N Andy trigger. $3200 all in. You aren’t getting that done at a gunsmith without spending at least another $1-2000.

And not all of us have good gunsmith’s near us. I trust myself more than I do an unknown possible hack.

This is my problem, I wouldn’t trust an unknown local.

I do have a smith that does more for me than barrels. He isn’t local. I know him and his work personally.

The very best shooting guns I have were done by a smith.

Find one of a good rep from the forum and have the action shipped to him and he can ship the finished product to your FFL. It’s worth it going with a well known smith if you are wanting rhst level.

 

[huntnful]

This is my problem, I wouldn’t trust an unknown local.

I do have a smith that does more for me than barrels. He isn’t local. I know him and his work personally.

The very best shooting guns I have were done by a smith.

Find one of a good rep from the forum and have the action shipped to him and he can ship the finished product to your FFL. It’s worth it going with a well known smith if you are wanting rhst level.

Exactly. They just need the action, and then they can ship it directly back to your house if the action is already register. It doesn’t have to go back to and FFL. So it’ll show back up to your house, chambered perfectly and torqued to 80lbs or so. My smith also clocks the curvature of the bore to the vertical position of the action. Not sure why, but he does it haha.

 

[Shortschaf]

+1 on getting a blank of your choice and finding a gunsmith to get to know and appreciate

variety is the spice of life

 

[Ryan Avery]

Prefits are cool until they aren't then you will wish you just had a Gunsmith to blame.

 

[Decker9]

I’ll be an ofd guy out. When I built my mountain rifle I had the same debate (between carbon or steel). Very glad I went with a #1 benchmark, now having used it, I can’t see a carbon on my lightweight, ever. Jmo

 

[TaperPin]

Not every prefit shoots good. One of my shooting buddies replaced his factory barrel with a prefit that didn’t shoot any better. $400 down the crapper. He’ll never get another. Being a prefit or shouldered barrel doesn’t matter - gunsmiths have chambered and shot a shouldered benchrest barrel, then cut it for a prefit nut with no change in accuracy.

The difference in the chamber is what separates a good barrel from a great one. Barrels aren’t straight - the bore is drilled and rifled in what looks like a lazy corkscrew - production barrels line up the ends, cut threads and run the reamer in - even if the reamer follows the bore, the barrel threads don’t.

It takes more time to actually align the threads and chamber with the corkscrew, and clock the muzzle so it doesn’t shoot to the side. A good gunsmith will do a quick check on the action threads and bolt face - not all actions are straight enough, even custom actions. Torquing it on your action is 2% of the job.

Gunsmiths like Alex Wheeler, who‘s rifles have set numerous long range records charge around $400 for fitting, so you’ll be in a top of the line barrel for around $1k that will probably shoot less than 1/4 moa groups. $1k is expensive, but it’s cheaper than a $400 barrel that shoots 1-1/4 moa.

If you want a 1/4 moa get a Brux, Bartlien or Kreiger
For 1/2 moa get at least a Shilen, Douglas, Shaw
If all you want is 1 moa most aftermarket barrels can usually do that, but not all of them do.

 

[hereinaz]

Not every prefit shoots good. One of my shooting buddies replaced his factory barrel with a prefit that didn’t shoot any better. $400 down the crapper. He’ll never get another.

The difference in the chamber is what separates a good barrel from a great one. Barrels aren’t straight - the bore is drilled and rifled in what looks like a lazy corkscrew - production barrels line up the ends, cut threads and run the reamer in - even if the reamer follows the bore, the barrel threads don’t.

It takes more time to actually align the threads and chamber with the corkscrew, and clock the muzzle so it doesn’t shoot to the side. A good gunsmith will do a quick check on the action threads and bolt face - not all actions are straight enough, even custom actions. Torquing it on your action is 2% of the job.

Maybe something else sucks about that set up and the factory and prefit were fine. I have seen that.

Not that all prefits are perfect. No system is perfect. Even the best smiths turn out a lemon despite all the do.

The odds of a bad shooting prefit seem pretty low IMO.

 

[Kimber7man]

He lives 1 hour away and did my last chamber in 1 day lol.

Shaen?

 

[Mike D Texas]

You won't get a great gunsmith that does sub par work. That's what you're paying the extra $$ for.

A mass production of chamber jobs and thread jobs is how you get sub par work.

I just personally wouldn't do it after seeing the effort that needs to go into cutting a perfect chamber.

Yep, this is what keeps me from doing a prefit. They sounds good from a convenience standpoint but I buy all my own barrels, my own reamers and other parts.

That leaves the only variable as the machine work, but pick a quality, reputable smith and you’ll have a great rifle.


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