Shilen AlterNut Drop-In Barrels

[Brian in Montana]

Any experience with these barrels? Not sure when they appeared on Shilen's website, but I'd think pretty recently. It calls them the "new AlterNut drop in... Patent pending" etc. It appears to be Shilen's answer to the Rem/Age barrels that a number of other companies are churning out - Criterion, McGowan, X-Caliber to name a few. I don't know a whole lot about this stuff but Shilen seems to at least have a bit more name recognition. Anybody installed/use one?

 

[sbhooper]

Not that brand, but I have five Criterions like that. It is an excellent system, as no lathe work is necessary to mount the barrel. Savage had their act together when they created that system and it just took a long while for others to realize its value. Shilen is good stuff, so I would buy that in a heartbeat.

 

[6mm Remington]

I don't have that barrel but I do have a Shilen match stainless barrel on my 280 AI and it shoots great.

 

[Doublecluck]

Not specifically but I got a Shilen select match on a savage that holds 1/4 minute at a grand that I plan on shooting at a mile this weekend. Same concept..

 

[ImBillT]

Any experience with these barrels? Not sure when they appeared on Shilen's website, but I'd think pretty recently. It calls them the "new AlterNut drop in... Patent pending" etc. It appears to be Shilen's answer to the Rem/Age barrels that a number of other companies are churning out - Criterion, McGowan, X-Caliber to name a few. I don't know a whole lot about this stuff but Shilen seems to at least have a bit more name recognition. Anybody installed/use one?

I’ve never used any of the barrel nut style barrels, and plenty of folks certainly get good results from them. That said, my preference will always be to have a good smith chamber and fit my barrels.

My dad has correct three chambers from “semi-custom” guns from friends. In one case, the barrel had been so badly indicated in at the time of chambering that the chamber was shaped like hour glass and was causing very difficult extraction, and unusable once fired brass. The other two had been chambered with reamers that were very badly worn. The first of those two had the throat portion of the reamer so worn out that bullets would get stuck in the throat causing very difficult chambering of factory ammo. The second of those two had the neck portion of the reamer so badly worn that the neck of the case did not fit into the chamber if it had a bullet in it, but the throat had been reamed separately. Will these things happen from Shilen? I very highly doubt it! But chambering is the most important part of getting accuracy from a barrel. If you own a reamer and have a good smith do the work, you’ll know your chamber is right. Also, a smith can make sure the barrel properly fits your action threads and correct any glaring issues of an action face or threads being out of square. A pre-fit barrel has to have the smallest threads allowed in the tolerance to make sure that it fits the smallest action in the tolerance. This makes for a loose fit in an action that has threads on the large side. Plenty of the barrel nut style barrels work out great, but having a good smith setup your barrel properly guarantees it. Not all smiths do equal work, so you want one with a great reputation. I’m lucky to get my work done free of charge.