Bull Barrels

[Greg Schroeder]

Any thoughts on the best barrel to use.  I want to shoot 180gr bullets in .40 cal.

I have heard Bar-Sto barrels are very good, Kart as well.  I have also heard that Schumann barrels may be a bit soft.  

Any input

Thanks

[benos]

Greg,

I've used mostly Schumann barrels in my .40s. (I have one Nowlin, and one Briley, which both shoot extremely well.) I'm happy with the Schumann barrels, they shoot well and, in a .40, they last pretty much indefinitely. I've heard that in the high-speed calibers (super, etc.) that they do wear out a little quicker than say a Nowlin - for what it's worth. I've also HEARD that the new technology Schumann's are really sweet.

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[Detlef]

I broke down and got an AET indeed. Now... you probably need a barrel fixture to make definitive statements about barrel accuracy, but for what it's worth, it shoots 2" groups no sweat at 50 y off the sand bag out of my Para. I like it....

--Detlef

[benos]

Detlef,

Sounds not to bad to me! I saw the fixture that Sandy made at the factory to test the barrels when they (Sandy and Will) were doing  the testing. It was an (in typical Sandy fashion) an amazing piece of machinary. I had little doubt that it could remove all variables associated with the gun.

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[Patrick Sweeney]

Joe Cominolli makes a barrel testing fixture that you can haul to the range and bolt to a bench.  If I was building a Bianchi gun, I think I'd want to do some barrel testing.  Otherwise, I'd be happy with a bunch of different ones that I've tried.

You can make even an average barrel shoot decent with some load development.  The best barrels shoot well with a lot more loads, is all.  The bad barrels?  You need some pencil holders for your desk?

[benos]

BTW, according to Bill Wilson and Sandy Strayer, the "expansion ratio" of a BARREL'S accuracy and that same barrel fitted (very nicely) to a gun seems to be about 1 to 2. So, if the barrel shoots 1 inch, the gun MAY shoot 2".

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[Patrick Sweeney]

Any idea how much variability there is in the ammo?  By that, I mean, do some loads have an accuracy degradation of 2-1, while other loads have a 3-1 or 4-1?  (1" in fixture, 2", 3" or 4" in gun when properly fitted.)

We know that firearms have preferred loads, but do the preferences have a linear progression through testing and fitting?

Another magazine article.  You guys are a gold mine.

[benos]

Patrick,

I would say, definitely so. How about an article titled - "Loads that always shoot." Or some other equally silly title. Because there are a few loads for each caliber that "always shoot." If your gun doesn't shoot with these, it's got a problem.

You can send your contribution (for the "you guys are great&quot to:

http://www.brianenos.com/Qstore/p000004.htm

and don't forget to use the drop down menu to enter the correct (huge) amount!

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