BlackStar Barrels

Q

Q-Wagoner

New member
Has any one had any experience with the BlackStar barrel company? I have read many conflicting statements about their barrels and their electro polishing. Is it worth the extra cost? What are the pros and cons?

Thanks.

Q,
 
about 4 years ago I had them do a SR25M barrel for me, did both the Cryo and electro-polishing. It was on pretty new barrel (new as in not many rounds through it) They were cool about letting me send in the entire upper, and dissasembling and reassembling it for me since I didnt have the tools at the time.

I forget how much I spent, so it couldnt have been too much. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif , they do engrave "Blackstar Accurized" on top of the barrel. Im not really sure how much it really improved the rifle's accuracy though in my case, but at least I dont regret it I guess...
 
I have to agree with Steve. There are quite a few custom barrel makers who have almost perfect reputations.

I never call anything "perfect" because that is an unobtainable goal. Although Jewell triggers are so close!!!!

Jack
 
Actually I have used several different barrels and was just looking for a better wheel so to speak. BlackStar seams to have a dark cloud fallowing them. They are in business their not in business their website is up and then its down. Other barrel manufactures don’t seem to be convinced that their technology is all that its cracked up to be but then again they have an obvious bias.

My .220 is almost ready for tube #3 and “of course” I want to put on the best barrels for the chambering. What about the Schneider? I don’t have one of them yet. If I were smart I would screw on another Krieger. During load development I shot several groups that would make even Tony Boyer and Walt Berger green with envy.

Thanks

Q,
 
I have seen them all and if I were you, would stick to the Kreiger, Hart, Lija, and Shilen mainstay. However, there is a gentleman at (www.cutrifle.com) that is suppose to make a hell of a barrel too!! I am not too impressed with the Schniders. They seem to be a hit/miss thing. David Tubb does very well with them(just won his 10th Hi-Power championship) but that is David.
 
Yes, he does, but only because he buys the whole litter!

Between what he wins and what he buys, Mr. Boyer ends up with a lot of new barrels to choose from every year.

- DAA
 
Hi boba,
I have seen some mighty fine shootin Douglas barrels in my time too!!! A friend of mine had one on his Ruger NO 1V in 25-06. It was awesome.
 
Fellas
I forget, but isnt Blackstar that company that makes a barrel so hard that only a few smiths with cobalt reamers and through-bore flushing can cut it?
 
Yes, special reamers are needed, which limits the number of gunsmiths who work on the Blackstar barrels. It also limits the cartridges because each chambering reamer is a significant investment.

Last I heard, the basic barrel is a Lothar-Walther that Blackstar works on.

Also, last I heard they were out of business, so my information may be out of date.

Being a writer, I have to be a somewhat politically correct. There is a lot I cannot say (and desperately want to). Having said that, I would buy a custom barrel of another brand.

Steve
 
Mark Stouse, the "old" owner of Blackstar, who I "think" ended up having it again at the bitter end, always used to maintain that special reamers were not neeeded, but that particular machining practices (rpm, feed rate etc...) were. The CEO of Lothar has always maintained the same (and he's a pretty sharp tack in my opinion). My riflesmith says that Blackstar barrels are no more difficult to chamber using "regular" reamers than any other make of barrel, as long as the instructions (which used to come with them) are followed.

I wouldn't and am not suggesting to get one, but I do know a couple regular BR competitors who tried them (and had them chambered by the same guy I use - with regular PPG and Henrickson reamers) and reported them to be just as good as any other custom make. But no better. There are some very good reasons aside from the quality for not using one at this time though, and I wouldn't.

- DAA
 
A sniper buddy of mine has one on this .308 and it shoots pretty well. However, the Krieger on mine is no slouch either! I have been told by smiths over the years about them being a pain in the butt to work with. However, they as with the rest of us, may have been guilty of not reading the instructions that came with them as DAA has said. I believe they are still in business but don't know anymore about them. My rule is, "when in doubt use something I know works!"
 
HI; I am having a Blackstar barrel in .17 cal and chambered for .17 Rem. fitted to one of my trued 700LH short actions. CPR is doing the work. My logic is the extreme smoothness of the electropolished bores helps to keep any fouling to a minimum. I will keep all posted on how this works out. The gun has been gone three months and will be back within another three months. The quality of the work is well worth the wait.
Using the Blackstar barrel for the larger calibers probably will not give any real advantages. I read an article some time back by a respected source which stated that too smooth a bore is counter productive. In a normal bore the bullet procedes down the barrel in a series of jumps, jerks and leaps. If it just slides down the bore smoothly there are some unusual pressure patterns and also a lower pressure which causes a lower velocity. As I said, it has beena couple of years since reading the article, but...... scooter
 


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