Barrell Choices

Both good choices, I personally like and use all hart barrels on my custom guns. I have yet to get a bad one and accuracy has been phenomenal. Good luck!

Mac

I have customs with Hart, Douglas, and Shilen barrels. I have no complaints with any of them. I believe that Hart only makes stainless steel barrels, so if your looking for chrome moly that eliminates Hart.

Good luck, Tony

I have used Hart & Shilen on my custom stuff with great results. I also think Hart only has stainless barrels. I have 2 stainless Shilen barrels & 1 blued steel barrel from Shilen& all perform well.

I've had Lilja and Kreiger and still have Hart and Bartlein. The Hart and Kreigers shoot real good, the 5R Bartleins shoot fantastic. My Hart is on a hunting rifle and the others are on Benchrest rifles, it's hard to compare the Hart to the others but I am more than happy with it on the hunting rifle. All that being said all of the barrels are very accurate, I just think the Bartlein 5R is more accurate. Long wait, but worth it.

They are all good. What is nice about buying from Hart's is, you are supporting a Pa company who has the utmost respect in the industry for generations. You can still go there, go back in the shop and actually talk to them. You just don't find that too many places anymore. Numerous times over the years they have done simple repairs for me while I stood there and waited, that is unheard of in todays world.

I have had dozens of good barrels and between the 2 go with hart. Douglass is kind of on the bottom of the list and less expensive. However i have 2 Douglas and they shoot well. I actuall bought a used 25x284 from a buddy of mine that is total custom action and stock. Ultra lite arms 5 3/4 lb gun made by Melvin Forbes and has adouglass barrel on it. I talked to Melvin after i bought it and asked why didnt he use better barrels than douglass. Now i hurt the guys feelings and he didnt appreciate that comment stating Douglass was a top line. barrel. Keep in mind when this gun was made in 1990 it sold for $2,500.00 and now days they go for 4,500.00. I would still go with Hart they have always turned out match quality barrels.

Joe the Logger said:

They are all good. What is nice about buying from Hart's is, you are supporting a Pa company who has the utmost respect in the industry for generations. You can still go there, go back in the shop and actually talk to them. You just don't find that too many places anymore. Numerous times over the years they have done simple repairs for me while I stood there and waited, that is unheard of in todays world.

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Joe you talking about Wally and Bobby? Hart barrels are made in Layefete New York. RW Hart is in nescapeck pa. though.

the man putting the rifle together has just as much to do with accuracy as the quality of the barrel.

I meant the Nescopeck boys, I thought the OP was wanting a barrel as well as someone to do the work. Now that I read it again, looks like I oops! My Dad knew old Clyde Hart, I think he was Wallys grandfather ( The barrel boys)

Joe the Logger said:

I meant the Nescopeck boys, I thought the OP was wanting a barrel as well as someone to do the work. Now that I read it again, looks like I oops! My Dad knew old Clyde Hart, I think he was Wallys grandfather ( The barrel boys)

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Is Wally still with us?

All good choices. Douglas started the button-dye rifling years ago. They have different grades, so pick the top grade for better accuracy. Douglas is in WV, just outside Charleston.

One of the most accurate guns I own has a Douglas premium air gauge barrel. Its spooky good even at 200 or 300 yards.
Button rifling was around since the late 1800's. Lothar Walther was the first commercial gunmaker to use it, circa 1925. Remington was the first American company to use it, Savage made it a household term for gunnuts. Its a less expensive process than hammer forging, and often yields better results.

winchesterbob said:

Joe the Logger said:

I meant the Nescopeck boys, I thought the OP was wanting a barrel as well as someone to do the work. Now that I read it again, looks like I oops! My Dad knew old Clyde Hart, I think he was Wallys grandfather ( The barrel boys)

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Is Wally still with us?

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Last year 2012 at Harrisburg he was there with Bobby, 13 months ago.

I used to shoot with Wally years ago along with Jerry Hart who was the barrel maker at that time, thinking around late 80's early 90's.

Shilen, Hart, PacNor, Douglas and many others are button pulled barrels. Krieger, Bartlien, Brux, Rock, and many others are cut rifled barrels. I have had many of each type, but my preference runs to the latter. Unfortunately, not all barrels of any manufacturer are alike. Some simply will not shoot well. So, its a crapshoot. And remember, quality chambering by your gunsmith is just as important as the manufacturer of the barrel.

Have you given any thought to the 284 win, or shehane? Both great SA calibers.

Yes, Wally is still with us. the new york boys are relations of wally and bobby. I believe they send work back and forth between each other for different processes. that way you get big shop ability with a small shop experience. for as many times as I have been in and through the nescopek shop, I have never seen a deep hole driller. I think thats one of the processes done in n.y. I have many of their barrels on both rifles and long range pistols and have never had one that wouldn't shoot better than I can shoot it. my barrel choices would include hart, schneider ( which harts used in a 375 h&h ackley and 358 sta they did for me), kreiger, and lilja ( for 22 rf on my 40x sporter). I've personally seen bobby take a new customer, they called ahead and made an appt, to the range and let him shoot some of bobbys personal guns to show the customer what the barrels were capable of. who else does that? good luck in your search jim