Aftermarket barrels

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Paddyd

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Jan 12, 2026
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So far I've bought 3 aftermarket barrels. 2 Criterion and one Proof Research. All 3 shoot well, but I have issues with the Proof barrel. When I received it the first thing I did was clean it as I do all new barrels. Then I put the bore scope in and was SHOCKED. What I saw was a beautifully lapped bore that had pitting scattered through it. Of course I took pics and emailed Proof about it. First reply was I was seeing oil , not pitting. I emailed back and told them I was definitely looking at pitting and this isnt my first rodeo. They finally admitted they were pits but absolutely refused to take it back and replace it! I was told to shoot it and if it didn't shoot then get back with them. I was amazed at how flippant they were. I told them when I spend $600 I expect better. So, I will never buy another Proof barrel. Ever. The two Criterion barrels I bought from northlandshooterssupply.com seem nearly perfect and will shoot alongside anything I've seen for a fraction of the price.
Buyer beware.
 
IMO, Bore scopes are a shooters worst friend. Look at some Savage factory barrels, and you will wonder how a bullet even makes it out of the barrel with a jacket left on it. They look like wash boards, yet most of them shoot amazing.
Do like they asked, shoot it and see how it does. Then complain if it fails to be accurate.
 
All barrel manufacturers are at the Mercy of the bar stock they get. Due to recycling putting impurities in the steel.

The good ole days are gone.
 
foadlefty said:
All barrel manufacturers are at the Mercy of the bar stock they get. Due to recycling putting impurities in the steel.

The good ole days are gone.
Click to expand...
All I know is when youre selling so called premium
barrels at prices anywhere from 600 to 1k$ i dont expect to see pitting in the bore. It's called quality control.
 
You have every right to be pissed. I don't think that I've ever heard that from any non-factory manufacturer.
 
Had 6BR Criterion barrel I got from NSS a couple years ago. There were some tooling marks on the ramps of the of the lands and it was getting high SD's. Talked to NSS about it and they said I needed to call Criterion, which was a fair response IMO.
Called Criterion and they had me send it in. They specked it out and said they thought the marks would go away soon and suspected they weren't causing the high SD anyway. They told me they could send it back the way it was, or polish the throat, or give me a new barrel.
Criterion gave me options. I took the new barrel. The new barrel settled down quickly and has shot great for the last 2k rounds.
I just got a new 223 Criterion barrel delivered from NSS last week and I'm looking forward to shooting it.
Sounds like Proof could learn a few lessons from Criterion.
 
K9TXS said:
The Urban Rifleman

X-Caliber

I've been using the two companies above for my barrels. Takes 6-10 weeks, sometimes less. They shoot very good and clean up well. I have a 6BR on order now and should be here around the end of this month.
Click to expand...

X-Caliber barrels are very good. I've got three of them on my Custom action builds and they all shoot extremely good.
I have barrels from Bartlein, Kreiger, E R Shaw, McGowen, Wilson, Shilen, Rock Creek, Hart, White Oak, and a couple other companies.
The only bad barrel's that I've ever gotten were from AR Performance, and Seekins Precision, and both of those companies Customer Service really sucks.
 
I recently bought two Shilen Select Match 416R SS barrels from NSS, one in .223 (26-inch) 1:7 twist and one in 6.5mm CM (28-inch) 1:8 twist, and the are both wonderful shooters.
I expect that a new .308 will be ordered shortly, also in 416R SS.

After shooting a 416R barrel in my Les Baer .223 AR, I found it cleaned up so much faster and so completely, that I am now a convert.
I can't say I have been disappointed in Savage Factory barrels, since I have experience with 8 of them and have shot out three of them, working on the 4th in the .308.
So far, the .223 Shilen shoots 19.8% better than the 1:9 twist 26-inch Savage factory barrel and the 1:8 twist 6.5mm CM Shilen shoots 23.8% better than the 1:8 twist 26-inch Savage factory barrel.
Actually, I believe that is testimony to the quality of the Savage factory barrels.
 
What Ive found is a premium barrel makes all the difference. Sure I hear people bragging on their factory Savages that have shot small groups, but in my experience, they aren't consistently accurate. I have a 26" Criterion 1/9 twist in 223R on an early 12 LRPV action that doesnt have any cold bore fliers and will shoot just as small a week from now as it does today. I have never seen that in a factory barrel. Mine have all been erratic where that group in the 3s today is in the 6s or 7s two days later, etc. The factory tubes are more effected by all the variables than a good hand lapped and stress relieved barrel.
 
I've owned a few Shilen and a few McGowen Savage pre-fits and they all performed very well. The thing that we have to keep in mind is that if Savage had spent the time and effort that the aftermarket spends on the fine details, the cost of a Savage would probably be double. Savage was a pioneer in 'value engineering' providing an acceptable rifle at a little lower price than the competition. The barrel nut is one example. The floating bolt head is another. Those made manufacture faster with less scrap. Most of the Savage stocks were not that beautiful. Some had pretty nice wood, most were rather plain. I've owned several Savages and they would all shoot well enough to put meat on the table. Some shot even better!
 
Have shot quite a few Criterions and Shilens from NSS, all shot well.

Couple of years ago I switched to Bartlein and the difference is noticable.

Ymmv, Matt.
 
Paddyd said:
So far I've bought 3 aftermarket barrels. 2 Criterion and one Proof Research. All 3 shoot well, but I have issues with the Proof barrel. When I received it the first thing I did was clean it as I do all new barrels. Then I put the bore scope in and was SHOCKED. What I saw was a beautifully lapped bore that had pitting scattered through it. Of course I took pics and emailed Proof about it. First reply was I was seeing oil , not pitting. I emailed back and told them I was definitely looking at pitting and this isnt my first rodeo. They finally admitted they were pits but absolutely refused to take it back and replace it! I was told to shoot it and if it didn't shoot then get back with them. I was amazed at how flippant they were. I told them when I spend $600 I expect better. So, I will never buy another Proof barrel. Ever. The two Criterion barrels I bought from northlandshooterssupply.com seem nearly perfect and will shoot alongside anything I've seen for a fraction of the price.
Buyer beware.
Click to expand...
I hate buying from out of town.
I've used Shaw barrels. My pay grade and had two great ones for my distance anyway.
Then I bought one that is .308.
The chamber is oversized just in front of the head. The brass looked like they came out of a Glock 40 S&W.
Sized like they needed a bulge buster.
So I found a new take off fluted varmint barrel at Northland. Was just fine.
So did you shoot with the expensive one
Shaw barrels I've bought have good finish. That proof barrel would have chapped my hide.
New rusty bore R92 and one hacked up Savage barrel chapped my hide.
 
Mine is a Shilen Match, 28", Ratchet Groove, 7.5 twist, Non-threaded, Heavy Bull, 6ARC.

It is in a 110 Switchback now in a Boyd's At-One topped with an Athlon Argos 10-40. Trigger has had the Target spring added along with a shim kit.

Use it for shooting local match from 100 to 300yds.
 
KMW1954 said:
Mine is a Shilen Match, 28", Ratchet Groove, 7.5 twist, Non-threaded, Heavy Bull, 6ARC.
Click to expand...
I have a 6.5 Creedmoor Ratchet Groove Shilen barrel that I'm very happy with. Was thinking about getting one of their 7.5 twist Ratchet Grooved .224 barrels.
What was the turnaround time for your barrel?
 
Barrelnut, fortunately both of my Shilen Select Match barrels were in stock.
I talked to James at NSS and he gave me the list I could choose from.

Ordered the .223 on a Thursday on the first buy and it arrived on Monday afternoon.
Ordered the second one ( the 6.5mm CM) and got it in the same delivery time.
If either were not in stock, I would have had to wait for Shilen to make the barrel.
Hopefully the .308 I am planning on is in stock when I order it.
 
I too purchased one that was in stock at NSS and I too had it within that week. Will be going the same route, I also get a weekly newsletter email from NSS and in it they also list what is currently new in stock.

Unfortunate for me is the 22ARC isn't offered by Shilen. Darn it.
 
Show me said:
I hate buying from out of town.
I've used Shaw barrels. My pay grade and had two great ones for my distance anyway.
Then I bought one that is .308.
The chamber is oversized just in front of the head. The brass looked like they came out of a Glock 40 S&W.
Sized like they needed a bulge buster.
So I found a new take off fluted varmint barrel at Northland. Was just fine.
So did you shoot with the expensive one
Shaw barrels I've bought have good finish. That proof barrel would have chapped my hide.
New rusty bore R92 and one hacked up Savage barrel chapped my hide.
Click to expand...
All I can say is with my first Criterion I thought it might have been short chambered cause when checking to find the lands with my bullet it seemed far shorter than the M70 HV, also 223R was. I called CBI and they immediately emailed me a shipping tag and asked for it back. They had it back to me within a week or so explaining that the chamber was cut correctly and My old M70 probably had an eroded throat. I screwed it on and it shoots consistently small sub half MOA at 100 yds with Sierra 52gn and H322.
Proof fought me even with these photos and over the phone was told to shoot it and they weren't interested.
Show me said:
I hate buying from out of town.
I've used Shaw barrels. My pay grade and had two great ones for my distance anyway.
Then I bought one that is .308.
The chamber is oversized just in front of the head. The brass looked like they came out of a Glock 40 S&W.
Sized like they needed a bulge buster.
So I found a new take off fluted varmint barrel at Northland. Was just fine.
So did you shoot with the expensive one
Shaw barrels I've bought have good finish. That proof barrel would have chapped my hide.
New rusty bore R92 and one hacked up Savage barrel chapped my hide.
Click to expand...
 

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So many choices of chambers to work with. I like the idea of sending the cartridge samples you want so Shilen can produce your barrel just the way you want it. I have a .308 26" 1-17 bull barrel on order with them now and submitted my samples a couple of weeks ago. Looking forward to it's arrival. Whatta Hobby!
 
mattri said:
Have shot quite a few Criterions and Shilens from NSS, all shot well.

Couple of years ago I switched to Bartlein and the difference is noticable.

Ymmv, Matt.
Click to expand...
If I was a serious competitor I'd shoot a Bartlein or one of the other top tier barrels, but when the blank costs more than a good prefit with all the machining done I cant afford the luxury. For me, any barrel that will always shoot 1/2" at 100 yds and half the time well under that
is plenty good. I only shoot paper for fun against myself.
 
NF1E said:
So many choices of chambers to work with. I like the idea of sending the cartridge samples you want so Shilen can produce your barrel just the way you want it. I have a .308 26" 1-17 bull barrel on order with them now and submitted my samples a couple of weeks ago. Looking forward to it's arrival. Whatta Hobby!
Click to expand...
Hope your turn around time is shorter than mine! Upside for me I was waiting for, and had, rotator cuff surgery so turn around time didn't matter anyway.
 
I've been happy with the 2 Shillen barrels I've had. A .223 1/7 with 80gr Bergers, and my 6 Dasher with 105 Bergers. Both rifles can/have won many matches.
However, I was highly upset with a Criterion 308 1/10 barrel.
No combination of bullet/powder would less than 1" at 100yds. That's no good for F Class.
 
6Dasher4win said:
I've been happy with the 2 Shillen barrels I've had. A .223 1/7 with 80gr Bergers, and my 6 Dasher with 105 Bergers. Both rifles can/have won many matches.
However, I was highly upset with a Criterion 308 1/10 barrel.
No combination of bullet/powder would less than 1" at 100yds. That's no good for F Class.
Click to expand...
Did you ask them to look at it? They have good customer service. At least they did when I contacted them
 
My Criterion 26" 1/10 has worked out exceptionally well for me. Hit 9 out of 10 1/4" dots on a challenge at 100 yds. This is a fairly recent MR-31C shot with same barrel. Note: this target was shot using generic loaded ammo for another rifle and fliers were called. Whatta Hobby!

IMG_4258.webp
 
Txhillbilly said:
IMO, Bore scopes are a shooters worst friend. Look at some Savage factory barrels, and you will wonder how a bullet even makes it out of the barrel with a jacket left on it. They look like wash boards, yet most of them shoot amazing.
Do like they asked, shoot it and see how it does. Then complain if it fails to be accurate.
Click to expand...
My point was the price was over $600 and for 6 bills, one would expect to get what the item was advertised as, which was a top tier, premium barrel and not a pitted bore!
 

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