Pac Nor Barrel Questions

[oregonmuley]

Just a question for anyone that might know about Pac Nor barrels. On another post saw some good info from Jeff aka Rost495 - Jeff if you want to respond I'd sure appreciate it. Anyway, what can you tell me about Pac Nor. It seems they make a good barrel and seem to provide good service. I'm thinking about having my Rem 700 rebarreled and have checked all the aftermarket makers - Shilen, Krieger, Douglas, Lilja, Hart and so on. Seems they all do good work but I live in Oregon, and my girlfriends folks live about an hour from Brookings so I could go downt to Pac Nor directly. Anyway, after reading info on their website, they claim bore diameters end to end within .0003 inch, which seems really good but I'm not that technical. Just was reading Kenny Jarrett's website about his barrels and he claims his are within .0001, which he says you need for 1/2 MOA guns. I guess what I'm asking is how do I put together the best rifle without spending a small furtune which I don't have. Just would like an accurate rifle that is not like everyother one out there. Also, if I have it rebarreled, does anyone (Jeff) know if Pac Nor does it, or a good gunsmith in Oregon that would. Thanks and sorry for all the questions.
Thanks
Frank

 

[rost495]

Pac Nor makes good barrels. They have a bad one now and then like anyone but will stand behind it.

I have a buddy that had them rebarrel an 06. It shoots about half inch regular. So yes they'll do the work and for a hunting rifle they do good work.

Now I'm working on a 338 off the 300 RUM case. The smith I'm working with there used Lilja and gets great groups. I"m kinda shy of them as I know they had some barrels not last very long. Very accurate but in 223 they died at 1700 rounds which is not much.

But my smith tried the Pac Nors. One was a bit oversized and when he called PN they said, yep thats not supposed to be and sent him a new one. In the meantime he chambered a Lilja in that same caliber. The Lilja outshot the PN by a bit. Like maybe .3 vs .5 moa.

FWIW I'm probably going to let him use a lilja on that rifle simply because they are working so good in that caliber. And because I feel I can use that extra accuracy. I'm really wanting a PN in polygonal rifling on that gun, and the Army MTU at Fort Benning is having super luck with them, but then again it would be a risk to not go with something proven.

Its a really tough question to answer. In the mix of it all I know of a bunch of Shilens that shoot, as well as you can't go wrong with a Krieger. And all the good stuff about Hart though I've never shot one, the BR smith down the road has loads of little bugholes on the wall and uses only them even in 30 super, 30 jarret and the like.

End answer is I suspect you'd be really happy the way PN does it and their barrel out to say 500 yards. Just depending exactly on what you want to do with the round and rifle. And since they are close by, its a double plus.

Now if you are wanting a bughole gun, then I'd sit back a bit, research a bunch and decide which smith fits your bill in the US. Call him or her and let them put it together the way they want to with the components they want to use. If I'm looking at a varmint rifle I"d probably end up with a different smith than if I was looking at a 1000 yard rifle or a stopping gun or a magnum elk rifle etc..... No one does the best with everything.

Hope thats not to wishy washy and complicated.

Tell me more what you are after, caliber, game, distances, weight of gun and your exact accuracy demands (you'll almost have to reload) and maybe we can get a bit further.

 

[rost495]

Holy moly, I just now noticed that foul word you used in the barrel makers.

Take the delete button and get rid of Douglas( and ER Shaw, and maybe a few other cheapies I can't recall)

Plan on spending from 250 to 450 for just the barrel blank itself. More if super long or adding flutes etc....Anything much less than about 250 just is a crap shoot and not worth it if you are wanting a decent gun.

Jeff

 

[oregonmuley]

Jeff,
First of all thanks for the info you have already given me, I appreciate it. So, to let you know what I'm doing here is some additional info.

The gun I'm playing with is brand new, I just picked it up last week, have not even made it to the range yet so maybe it will be a shooter without needed to do anything. Its a Remington Model 700 CDL, in 7mm-08. I know the 7mm-08 got ripped on another post about being a loser of a caliber but I happen to like it. Its going to be a back-up rifle I will use for deer hunting, I hunt mainly eastern Oregon for muledeer so some shots can get out a ways but I don't really like shooting more than 250-300 yards. My main gun is a Rem 700 model KS Custom in 280 Rem that I really like, its what I use as an all weather gun and I know its shoots better than me. The reason I decided on a 7mm-08 is that I bought one for my wife, now ex-wife and she decided to keep it along with most of my money - don't get me started. Anyway, just thought I liked the 7mm-08, hers shot like a dream, and when I saw the new CDL line I really liked it, am a Remington guy so hope you don't hold that against me. Like I said, this will be a normal deer huntin rifle, I just wanted to make this a little more than an off the shelf gun. I had the trigger done already, so was talking to the gunsmith about stuff and started wondering about barrels, and saw your post talking about Pac Nor. Right now, the gun has a wood stock that is actually really a nice piece of wood for a factory gun so I think I will keep it. I thought that by upgrading to a nice after market stainless barrel it might make a pretty nice gun. I'd like it to be at least within 1 inch MOA gun at 100 yards, that way if I miss something its my fault and not the guns.

Based on the above info, if I went with a Pac Nor stainless Super-match grade barrel, and assuming the gun shot half way decent to begin with, do you think with the right ammo I could have a MOA gun? Again, I'm not trying to get a benchrest rifle out of this, just want a nice rifle that I can say is a shooter. Thanks again for any info or advice you can give me.
Best regards,
Frank

 

[rost495]

Frank

Maybe RELH will chime in too.

My opinion(probably not worth huge sums) is to take the 7/08( a great caliber in my books for what it can be used for-although I might lean towards 6.5x08 more) and since you did the trigger and like the stock take this route first.

Have the rifle bedded on pillars. Then shoot it. If not what you want, run the Tubb Fire Lapping system in it. If its still not what you want we'll have to do more. You dont' loose the bedding job but will loose the bullets of the firelap system.

Next guess is do you true the whole gun for really tack driving accuracy or just rebarrel. For your needs I'd just let Pac Nor stick on a match barrel. You wont' need the super match either. You'll end up with a .5 to .7 moa rifle with good loads IMHO. And good chances of .3-.5 moa even.

If it were my gun and I'm chasing what you describe thats exactly the way I'd spend my money. I have another friend gunsmith that I could get to do the barreling a bit cheaper than PN and I know would do a good job. And in reality the barreling is an issue you'll have to decide on yourself. I do know a number of folks with .5 moa guns done totally by PN FWIW

Jeff

 

[oregonmuley]

Jeff,
Thanks for the additional info regarding Pac Nor. I will be going to the range this weekend to see how this rifle shoots and decide at that point the direction I will go. Maybe its already a one in million out of the box shooter. Will let you know, and like you said maybe pillar bed it first before I start messing with the barrel. Again thanks.
Frank

 

[Boman]

I guess I'm a little late on this thread but I agee with everything Jeff(Rost) said. I haven't used a PacNor but know some guys that do and are very happy with them. I have always used Lilja and am very happy with them. The reason I've used them only is because my gunsmith prefers them. Like Jeff said above make sure your smith is familiar with the barrel you want or go by his reccomendations. I would also second Jeffs thoughts on using the Tubb system first on the factory barrel. You never know what you got till you try it. Good luck with your project you've got some very good advice so far (by Jeff I mean) To say he knows what he's talking about is an understatement. Good luck and Happy shootin!