Who makes the best barrels for air rifles?

[SilentSquirrel]

i noticed that LW sells air rifle barrel blanks on their site for $130. These are already chambered, choked and rifled. Would it be a case of just buying the correct die or tap to add the right threads for your action to finish the barrel or is there more too it?

@zebra
In answer to the blue text above

I've been considering a Lothar Walther barrel for a Duk Il 177
Here is what I learned from Skip at LW last week

Lothar Walther air gun barrels arrive from Germany at LW in the USA as true barrel blanks
They are rifled, and that is it
Also, LW USA does not do any machining on them
This leaves the buyer to either finish the machining or send the barrel out to be done
That work includes cutting to length, crowning, machining a leade, turning and/or threading to fit into the receiver, threading the barrel end (if desired).
& machining a transfer port.
I may be forgetting something as I am not a gunsmith or machinist
Others with more knowledge hopefully will chime in

Hope this gets a good conversation started on this aspect of buying a barrel blank

Ed

 

[extradrygin2001]

The barrel just like on powder burning guns is only what it is. Any of the top barrel manufacturers are no better than the other. Your load development is what makes you accurate. Pick a barrel stick with it for a couple thousand rounds, find out what weight and velocity it likes, and do your part on basic rifle fundamentals. That is where accuracy comes from.

 

[BK_SouthBay]

I've just been told by the guy from Mac1 that the Benchmark barrels were not accurate at all and the Lilja barrels were just ok. I think he is back to using LW barrels. He specifically mentioned the LW polygon barrels.

I've now heard from two sources that genuinely compete at the top level that LW barrels are the best for air guns.

The only issue with that for me, is that the top level of competition with air guns is almost exclusively .177 as far as I can tell. It doesn't mean the tooling is as good for the other calibers. If you were going to take extra care in one caliber, I would choose the one most people compete with to showcase the brand well.

I have no idea why the top barrel brands in America are unable to make an accurate air rifle barrel, given that the specs came from a top airgun smith and one that competes too.

Because the top barrel manufacturers like Bartlein and Hawk Hill are running 24/7 supplying F-Class, Benchrest and PRS competitors who purchase multiple barrels are year depending on caliber. If shooting barrel burners like the 6mm Creedmoor, a PRS competitor could burn through a half dozen barrels a year if he's shooting lots of events.

The cost of premium barrels from Bartlein are many times the cost of LW barrels and the material selection, cutting of lands (cut vs button) would probably face resistence from airgun shooters, not to mention special contours and threading for suppressors or muzzle brakes.

Prefit Bartlein barrels from from Stuteville Precision run around $750.00 with carbon fiber versions running around $1,200.00

 

[HogKiller]

Well, if you can believe a guy that makes ultra precision air guns... NOT ME....https://www.shilen.com/barrelGrades.html. IF their blurb is to be believed and until I hear/see otherwise, these are PRECISE barrels.

 

[BK_SouthBay]

Well, if you can believe a guy that makes ultra precision air guns... NOT ME....https://www.shilen.com/barrelGrades.html. IF their blurb is to be believed and until I hear/see otherwise, these are PRECISE barrels.

I have had Shilen barrels (.243 Ackley Improved) and they are precision barrels. If you look at current and recent past competitions in PRS, F-Class and benchrest, you'll see Bartlein is by far the top barrel used by competitors. Others, Hawk Hill are good as well.