barrel options

[hogmister]

I'm working on a replacement for a .308 that i sold a few years back. it's a k98 action. what i'm looking for is help in choosing a barrel. as always i'm on the cheap for this. the question really is... anyone have good or bad to say about the adams & bennett pre-threaded barrels from midway? heard they were made by e.r. shaw for midway. anyone use one in the past? thanks in advance.

[O.S.O.K.]

Well, if they're ER Shaw barrels then I would suspect that they are good ones.

My .338-06 ER Shaw shot one of the two first handloads that I cobbled together for it, under and inch at 100 yards. This was my Steven's conversion that I did.

I would buy another ER Shaw in a heartbeat.

Do they have any comments on midway site? They usually have comments by previous buyers.

[deth502]

ive installed a few short chambered a&b bbls on mauser actions. never had a problem.

your not going to get $600+ match bbl performance out of it, but your not spending $600+ either.

[hogmister]

Well, if they're ER Shaw barrels then I would suspect that they are good ones.

My .338-06 ER Shaw shot one of the two first handloads that I cobbled together for it, under and inch at 100 yards. This was my Steven's conversion that I did.

I would buy another ER Shaw in a heartbeat.

Do they have any comments on midway site? They usually have comments by previous buyers.

thanks! i read your post about the .338-06. some reviews on midway's site, just figured those were only the good ones.

[hogmister]

ive installed a few short chambered a&b bbls on mauser actions. never had a problem.

your not going to get $600+ match bbl performance out of it, but your not spending $600+ either.

not expecting "match grade" for cheap, but a nice shooter for a good price would be great!

[deth502]

not expecting "match grade" for cheap, but a nice shooter for a good price would be great!

all of them have made great hunting rifles. i dont "expect" any better than about 1-2 moa for a decent hunting rifle. these do that. im not saying that they couldnt do better with more work to the action, or working up special loads, ect.., but they perform adequately for the job dedicated to them, so i dont delve into it any further.

i would not hesitate to buy another to build another hunting rifle. if i were going for a tack driver, id likely choose something different. of the 4 rifles im working on building now that are being built with accuracy in mind, 2 of them will be turned from blanks. the ar will be bought because theyre so plentiful, and ive managed to secure an original german psg-1 bull barrel and trunnion for the g3 build, otherwise that build would likely be using a barrel blank as well.

[hogmister]

deth502. how much do you expect to pay to have a blank turned and reamed?

[deth502]

i expect to pay nothing, other than perhaps the cost of some cutting oil.

i probably should have asked beforehand how in-depth you were looking to get. if you dont have a lathe, your options get limited quickly. im guilty of thinking that since you were doing things yourself that you had the equipment. thats not always the case. even with the machinery to do it, its still nice to get those ready to run barrels and just turn them in. profiling and threading a barrel in a home shop is no where near as quick/easy as in a factory custom tooled to do it, but its much more rewarding, imo ,when finished, and allows you options that you dont always have with off the shelf barrels.

afa paying someone else to do it, i have no idea what it would cost. typically, any kind of specialized labor will run $40-60 an hour, and for me to thread and chamber a barrel, its probably a little under an hour, adn profiling, depending on how much your taking off, can be anywhere from a 10 minute cleanup cut for a heavy bull barrel, to 2-3 hrs for a thin pencil profile from a large blank. im sure a professional might have larger equipment to do this faster than i can though.


either way, you will need a 308 finish reamer to set headspace once you screw it in.

where in pa are you?

[hogmister]

i expect to pay nothing, other than perhaps the cost of some cutting oil.

i probably should have asked beforehand how in-depth you were looking to get. if you dont have a lathe, your options get limited quickly. im guilty of thinking that since you were doing things yourself that you had the equipment. thats not always the case. even with the machinery to do it, its still nice to get those ready to run barrels and just turn them in. profiling and threading a barrel in a home shop is no where near as quick/easy as in a factory custom tooled to do it, but its much more rewarding, imo ,when finished, and allows you options that you dont always have with off the shelf barrels.

afa paying someone else to do it, i have no idea what it would cost. typically, any kind of specialized labor will run $40-60 an hour, and for me to thread and chamber a barrel, its probably a little under an hour, adn profiling, depending on how much your taking off, can be anywhere from a 10 minute cleanup cut for a heavy bull barrel, to 2-3 hrs for a thin pencil profile from a large blank. im sure a professional might have larger equipment to do this faster than i can though.


either way, you will need a 308 finish reamer to set headspace once you screw it in.

where in pa are you?

i don't have access to a lathe any more. :crying_small: if i did i would go the same route and do it myself.
as for my location i am in south western pa. 20 min north of pittsburgh. you?

[deth502]

well, i wont be an help for you out here. im over 4 hrs east of pitt.

[hogmister]

well, i wont be an help for you out here. im over 4 hrs east of pitt.

deth502, i've made plenty of trips to carlisle. that's not too bad of a ride! think i'll call e.r. shaw and see what their blanks go for. they are only about a half hour ride from my place.
you might know... is there any way to hand lap a barrel in the "home shop"? or is fire-lapping your best bet?

[O.S.O.K.]

I didn't do schit to mine - no break-in or fire lapping - it shot great from the get-go.

[deth502]

ive never done any lapping to a barrel either, other than once trying to fire lap a rifle that was giving me less than expected performance, and it didnt do anything anyway. traced it to a lose ring on a weaver base. i HATE weaver/picitinny bases and rings.

[deth502]

i do try to break in though, nothing special, patch the bore every shot for 5 shots, then every 5 to 50.

[hogmister]

ive never done any lapping to a barrel either, other than once trying to fire lap a rifle that was giving me less than expected performance, and it didnt do anything anyway. traced it to a lose ring on a weaver base. i HATE weaver/picitinny bases and rings.

even if lapping doesn't improve groups, i would spend the time just for easier cleaning and less fouling. i do find it hard to believe that it would not make any improvements in accuracy.

[Schuetzenman]

even if lapping doesn't improve groups, i would spend the time just for easier cleaning and less fouling. i do find it hard to believe that it would not make any improvements in accuracy.

Lapping isn't probably going to do squat to most modern rifle barrels. You lap a barrel wrong and you can totally ruin it. Lapping is best left to those that know how. The process is meant to lower high spots in the bore and make it uniform in size end to end. Given modern barrel making techniques this is not necessary in most barrels. Hook rifled barrels can possibly benefit from this as this it the OLD way of making barrels. Button rifled barrels IMO not so much, broach cut or hammer forged, probably not going to help much. The inexpensive barrels you are talking about should be button rifled and a button will smooth out and burnish over most roughness in a drilled reamed hole. How do I know all this, I use to work in for a gun barrel maker in the early 1980's.

[hogmister]

Lapping isn't probably going to do squat to most modern rifle barrels. You lap a barrel wrong and you can totally ruin it. Lapping is best left to those that know how. The process is meant to lower high spots in the bore and make it uniform in size end to end. Given modern barrel making techniques this is not necessary in most barrels. Hook rifled barrels can possibly benefit from this as this it the OLD way of making barrels. Button rifled barrels IMO not so much, broach cut or hammer forged, probably not going to help much. The inexpensive barrels you are talking about should be button rifled and a button will smooth out and burnish over most roughness in a drilled reamed hole. How do I know all this, I use to work in for a gun barrel maker in the early 1980's.

good to know. won't waste the time and money.