Which barrel?

cherokee305

cherokee305

New member
Planning a rifle build using a Stevens 200 action. I'm planning on making it a 6.5 creedmoor. I'm still shopping barrels, just wondering what anyone things of ER shaw barrels, or stick to my original criterion barrel idea. Or who knows still rolling around the idea of just buying a model 16 savage and forget building. Im just not sure if I would be happy with the 22 inch barrel for prairie dogs. Hoping to make if in the 500 yrd club next year.


How about your 2 cents?
 
Put one of the chrome-molly Shaw Savage Replacement magnum heavy contour barrels in 6.5x55 Swede on a 200 Stevens late last year. At first, not too happy with groups. Nothing really bad, but disappointed with it. But after 60-80 rounds fired, accuracy improved, so 1/2" or so 100yd groups fairly common with it.

As to Criterion, gent I shoot with used a Criterion for his second 6XC build on a Rem-nut 700 action. First build was a 3 groove Pac-Nor barrel. He never could get it to shoot good. Matter of fact, put so many rounds thru it, trying different powders and bullets that he'd almost shot out the Pac-Nor barrel. Anyway, I've seen a fair number of his 200 yd groups with the Criterion barrel. Almost all are better than my 100 yd groups with the Shaw barrel. Needless to say, he is very happy with the Criterion barrel 6XC.
 
I have had particularly good luck with Pac-Nor. I will say that their polygonal rifling is just a "6R", but it works great. That said, my rifles have Obermeyer barrels, the original maker of the 5R. Never had a Krieger shoot bad either. In all honesty there really are no bad barrels out there. E.R. Shaw and Douglas can shoot just as good a group as everything else...they just dont have quite the resale value of the big dollar barrels.
 
Curious question? Why not ues a Stevens action? I built a 223 and a 25-06 off Stevens actions and had excellent results. As to the Criterion barrels, I have one on my Savage action and love it. The fit and finish were fantastic and so was the accuracy. I get half min. MOA groups put to 300 yds. I haven't shot it past 300. Yet! JMO
 
The rifle that I am holding in my avatar is an 20 year old Savage (essentially the same as the new Stevens) with an ER Shaw barrel on it. Chambered in .223 AI it has become a favorite varminter for me. I got the rifle on a trade (rifle that I traded I paid $250 for) and the Shaw barrel I got on a sale for $150 and that included the go/no go gauges and the barrel wrench.


Just yesterday I was popping tiny ground squirrels at over 300 yards (longest was 350) with that gun. Again. It will shoot the 50 grain Noslers Ballistic Tips into half inch 5 shot groups with boring regularity. Longest kills on prairie dogs are 670, 680, and 705 yards. You might say that I am quite fond of this gun. I have a 6.5-20X Zeiss Conquest that I keep on my most accurate rifle and it has been on this Savage for several years now.


Even though I do prefer a Krieger barrel to an ER Shaw, the fact that you can buy a ER Shaw barrel and if you wear it out you take it off, put another Shaw barrel on and do this for less than the price of one Krieger barrel.


Got another prairie dog hunt coming up next month. If I was only taking one rifle with me on this hunt can you guess which one it would be?
 
Originally Posted By: pyscodogCurious question? Why not ues a Stevens action?

Given the fact that some of my PM friends shoot a S200 with good luck, I'll not offend them with my thoughts.
If you like them that's fine. Dat's all I have to say about that.
wink.gif
 


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