Shilen Barrels

[RL338]

Is there any love of them here? I have several Krieger barrels and one of each McGrown and MullerWorks cut rifle barrel. I have only good thing to say about theses 3 brands.
Shilen does offer their Alternut prefits for the Vanguard. What do you say?

 

[JD338]

Both of my Nosler M21's have Shilen match grade barrels. They are shooters and easy to clean.

JD338

 

[jimbires]

that's what's on my grandsons 260 . I'll say that is consistently the best shooting rifle I've worked with . it shoots everything well , it's easy to develop loads for , it cleans easy , gives good velocity . I would not hesitate to buy one of their barrels .

 

[xphunter]

I am surely not opposed to Shilen-Good barrels!
They are not among my top picks.
For cut barrels in no order: Bartlein, Brux, and Krieger
For button I tend to use Hart, Lilja, and some McGowen

 

[grry10]

I can remember when Shilen, Douglas, Hart and McGowen were concidered the premium barrels to use. Since that time there have been so many more makers that have come to light that also make quality barrels. It has gotten to the point that it has become personal preference of which to use. It all starts with the quality of the steel that goes into making the barrels and none produce their own.

 

[RL338]

Both of my Nosler M21's have Shilen match grade barrels. They are shooters and easy to clean.

JD338

I didn’t know Nosler was using them. Good to know.

that's what's on my grandsons 260 . I'll say that is consistently the best shooting rifle I've worked with . it shoots everything well , it's easy to develop loads for , it cleans easy , gives good velocity . I would not hesitate to buy one of their barrels .

Thanks , that’s what I like to hear.

For cut barrels in no order: Bartlein, Brux, and Krieger

If I had a lathe , and knew how to chamber a barrel Krieger would be my first choice.

I can remember when Shilen, Douglas, Hart and McGowen were concidered the premium barrels to use. Since that time there have been so many more makers that have come to light that also make quality barrels. It has gotten to the point that it has become personal preference of which to use. It all starts with the quality of the steel that goes into making the barrels and none produce their own.

Another positive vote for a Shilen.
Their Alternut prefit barrel is a little different than others. They thread the tenon to match the receiver and the nut is threaded for Savage. 2 sets of threads on the barrel.
Thanks guys. The rifle should be at the FFL on Tuesday.

 

[6mm Remington]

When I had my 280AI built I selected a Match Grade Shilen barrel which my gunsmith put on for me. It shoots great and I am 100% happy with how it performs.

 

[PJGunner]

Throughout the years when I could swing doing a custom rifle, my choice of barrel was always Douglas. They've just plain flat out worked for me. Only one turned out to be somewhat of a problem. A 24" Douglas with what my hobby gunmaker said was 1 in 12" twist. I don't know. I had an FN commercial Mauser with a bad barrel and my friend Cal said he'd put the barrrel for $100. Turned out that $100 included the price of the barrel. Not only that but he made a custom stock for the rifle and threw that in as well. Now I've owned a Commercial Husqvarna 30-06 or two and they come with a factory barrel with a 1 in 12" twist and they shoot 180 gr. bullets just fine. Not the rifle Cal built. BTW, he had a reputation of being one of the finest metal men in the state of Nevada and I'm inclined to agree. My preference in the 30-06 was using 180 gr. bullets which will not group in that rifle. Off and on over the years I'd pull and rebed that rifle to no avail. Finally, one day with nothing better to do I drove up to the Phoenix area and stopped off at the Mc Millan's place of business. Talked a while about the problem and Mr. McMillan sold me a classic style stock for a reuduced price. The person who'd ordered it had cancelled out. I glass bedded it and after it cured for about a week took it and some ammo to the range. Still didn't group worth a damn. Worked with it off and on playing with loads and seating depth with no luck. One day, while having a discussion on the web, someone suggested trying a lighter weight bullet. What the hell, why not. I did a preliminary load work up using the 165 gr. Nosler Accubonds and some W-760 I had on hand. Nothing I shot that day went over one inch and the top load was consistent at .75". Methinks the twist might be as slow as 1 in 14". I and my gunsmith have tried to get a measurement to be sure but for some reason even very tight patched lose their grip before we get a full revolution of the rod. End result is I have a rifle that won'e shoor anything heavier than 165 gr. It's fair at best at 2" with 180 gr. Sierra round nose but not at the highest velocity possible. FWIW, I took it as a back up rifle on an elk hunt and when the scope turned toes up on my .35 Whelen it saved the day with a nice cow elk at roughly 100 yards. No complaints there. I'll be trying other loads with some of the other 165 gr. bullets. I have quite a few 165 gr.Partitions as seconds to work with so I'll see how they do.
Paul B.

 

[Brinky72]

Like JD338 my M21 in 300 WM wears one and, I also have one on my 35 Whelen Ruger Hawkeye M77. They simply shoot. It seems that whatever I feed them they shoot well it’s splitting hairs as to what charge shoots the best. I have to admit that my only other aftermarket barrel that I’ve owned was an E R Shaw which also shot well. But, for an example I loaded up my 35 Whelen in one grain increments with 250 Speers from 53 grains of RL15 to 59. Three rounds in every grain increment. You could have covered all of them with a fifty cent piece. I was sold.

 

[RL338]

I replaced my 30-06 barrel with a Shaw , no complaints.

 

[RL338]

From the customer support side , Shilen is an outstanding company to work with. Boy they moved my barrel through the shop. I was quoted 5-7 months and instead I got an 1 month turnaround. Ordered 2-27 shipped 3-23. They called me several times to confirm that they were doing what I expected. Tracking shows it to be delivered on Wednesday.

 

[gbflyer]

From the customer support side , Shilen is an outstanding company to work with. Boy they moved my barrel through the shop. I was quoted 5-7 months and instead I got an 1 month turnaround. Ordered 2-27 shipped 3-23. They called me several times to confirm that they were doing what I expected. Tracking shows it to be delivered on Wednesday.

Nice to hear.