I posted on another thread that I ordered one for a 358 Norma. Someone mentioned that they received very poor quality from Shaw. I would like to know who has used one and what the results have been. I dont expect a match grade barrel but I do expect to have a great shooter. I still have time to cancel.
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Shaw barrels
- Thread starter BoogieMan
- Start date
I have one that I bought a few years ago from Gun Shack before I got my FFL.
Savage prefit (they're a stocking dealer, with a lot of popular chamberings in stock) that I had no issues with, it's capable enough for 1000 yard shooting- but not as accurate as those from CBI in my opinion. However, for the price point, I'd buy again. It's a matter of whether 3/4 minute is accurate "enough"- or if you need better.
Savage prefit (they're a stocking dealer, with a lot of popular chamberings in stock) that I had no issues with, it's capable enough for 1000 yard shooting- but not as accurate as those from CBI in my opinion. However, for the price point, I'd buy again. It's a matter of whether 3/4 minute is accurate "enough"- or if you need better.
FrankenMauser
New member
See my reply in the other thread.
Bottom line:
It fouls like mad.
But it shoots 3/4" at 100 yards consistently. (And I've only tested one bullet. Further load development may improve that.)
I might buy one again for a rifle that only needs "hunting accuracy" but I'd buy from a better barrel maker for a precision rifle.
Bottom line:
It fouls like mad.
But it shoots 3/4" at 100 yards consistently. (And I've only tested one bullet. Further load development may improve that.)
I might buy one again for a rifle that only needs "hunting accuracy" but I'd buy from a better barrel maker for a precision rifle.
Only Shaw barrel I have (that I know of) is an AR15 in 5.56 - once I got it broke in and figured out which bullets it liked it's actually a tack driver. Wasn't real bad with other loads I tried, but I wanted better and was able to get it. Doesn't foul excessively either. I would buy another one for a hunting or other casual use rifle, but not for competition.
reynolds357
New member
Not great quality. I would say they are definitely sub-par to factory Savage barrels.
I ended up canceling order with shaw. I bit the bullet and paid the extra money for shillen on my 6.5 build. I may do the same for the 358 norma but I'm still hopeful I find a fair deal.
Shaw reviews seem to spotty for me. I don't want to risk spending the money and taking the extra time to polish the barrel in and maybe not even get the results I want.
Shaw reviews seem to spotty for me. I don't want to risk spending the money and taking the extra time to polish the barrel in and maybe not even get the results I want.
Well I don't know why you'd cancel the Shaw barrel. .358 Norma isn't a cartridge that you're going to be shooting in volume. I caught quite a bit of flack when I used an A&B barrel on my .375 Ruger, but you know what it shoots very well. Yes it fouls terribly and after 50 rounds accuracy goes to pieces, but guess how often I shoot 50 rounds through it in a year?
If you're looking for an in stock barrel call Penny at Pac-Nor. I hey have a .35 caliber barrel ready to ship right now for $310 in stainless steel super match in a Remington Sendero contour. Ask her how much extra it would be to thread it for a Savage action and chamber in .358 Norma as well as lead time.
Another option is to send your current barreled action to JES Reboring and in about 4-6 weeks and for around $300 you can have a rifle in .358 Norma. I'd change out your bolthead and magazine first to handle the magnum cartridge so he can check function.
If you're looking for an in stock barrel call Penny at Pac-Nor. I hey have a .35 caliber barrel ready to ship right now for $310 in stainless steel super match in a Remington Sendero contour. Ask her how much extra it would be to thread it for a Savage action and chamber in .358 Norma as well as lead time.
Another option is to send your current barreled action to JES Reboring and in about 4-6 weeks and for around $300 you can have a rifle in .358 Norma. I'd change out your bolthead and magazine first to handle the magnum cartridge so he can check function.
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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YhUZaAYsaGU
Look, why take a chance? At least that's the way I see it.
Look, why take a chance? At least that's the way I see it.
I don't own a Shaw barrel, but when I look at the prices of them, I have to ask why they are so cheap. When a ready to install Shaw barrel for a Savage is $180, considerably cheaper than an unturned blank from anywhere else (PacNor: $275, Douglas: Start at $225, Shilen: Start at $200, Hart: Start at $315, Krieger: Start at $345).
Some people swear by Harbor Freight tools. I think when the sole deciding factor for purchasing an item is "cheapest" sometimes it works out fine, sometimes it bites you in the ass.
Some people swear by Harbor Freight tools. I think when the sole deciding factor for purchasing an item is "cheapest" sometimes it works out fine, sometimes it bites you in the ass.
about 30 years ago a friend of mine said that my Remington 700 in 243 would be a lot better if it was a 22-250. we ordered a Shaw barrel ( I don't remember the cost) and it was a medium heavy barrel. we just faced and crowned the muzzle and chambered it. it ended up being 27 inches long. the first 5 shots out of the barrel could be completely covered with a dime.
Later when Remington came out with the 7 mm-08 we re-barreled a Remington 600 to the 7-08. this was the light barrel and it would do inch groups at 100 yards all day long. even with 24 inch barrel this rifle weighed in at barely 6.5 pounds with a Weaver all steel 6 x scope including the wood stock.
I wouldn't hesitate to use another Shaw barrel if the need arose
Later when Remington came out with the 7 mm-08 we re-barreled a Remington 600 to the 7-08. this was the light barrel and it would do inch groups at 100 yards all day long. even with 24 inch barrel this rifle weighed in at barely 6.5 pounds with a Weaver all steel 6 x scope including the wood stock.
I wouldn't hesitate to use another Shaw barrel if the need arose
emcon5 said:I don't own a Shaw barrel, but when I look at the prices of them, I have to ask why they are so cheap. When a ready to install Shaw barrel for a Savage is $180, considerably cheaper than an unturned blank from anywhere else (PacNor: $275, Douglas: Start at $225, Shilen: Start at $200, Hart: Start at $315, Krieger: Start at $345).
$180 isn't for a finished barrel, that's for a chrome moly barrel in the white that needs some kind of metal finish to prevent rust. A finished barrel from ER Shaw for a Savage starts at $228 for chrome moly either polished or matte blue, and as much as $295 for a matte stainless steel barrel. Let's put that in perspective McGowen is $295 for a blued chrome moly and $325 for a stainless barrel. Criterion is $300 for a stainless barrel through Northland Shooter Supply.
Do I think Shaw is as good as a full custom barrel from the names you listed? No I don't, but I do think they are better than the factory barrels you get on many production rifles today. My main point as to why I gave shaw a chance, and why I still will depends on the type of rifle I'm making. If I'm making a hunting rifle to where I'm satisfied around 1 MOA for groups, I know Shaw barrels will shoot at least that well. If I'm building a competition/varmint/LR rife then Shaw isn't the place I'm going to look.
FrankenMauser
New member
My .35 Whelen barrel was a stainless Savage pre-fit in the barrel change "kit".$180 isn't for a finished barrel, that's for a chrome moly barrel in the white that needs some kind of metal finish to prevent rust. A finished barrel from ER Shaw for a Savage starts at $228 for chrome moly either polished or matte blue, and as much as $295 for a matte stainless steel barrel. Let's put that in perspective McGowen is $295 for a blued chrome moly and $325 for a stainless barrel. Criterion is $300 for a stainless barrel through Northland Shooter Supply.
Total cost: $199
-Free shipping.
-Barrel nut wrench.
-Headspace gauges (cheap, but effective).
-Crappy cleaning supplies.
The way I see it, that was a finished stainless steel barrel for about $125.
Now that I know it will shoot well enough for my intended uses, I'll probably be putting a little more money into that barrel to remove excess weight (reprofile and chop a few inches), but it was still a dirt cheap stainless barrel.
Huffmanite
New member
FWIW, bought a chrome-molly magnum contour barrel directly from Shaw in 6.5x55. It does copper foul, but with right reload, it shoots fairly accurate. Shot it today, two or three shots will cloverleaf and one shot will be 1/2" or so away.
Bought a Shaw Stainless varmit contour 6x45 (6mm223Rem) a couple of months ago from "Gun Shack", here in Texas. Accuracy is very good with it. Ordered it after a fellow range member, that chases accuracy very seriously with his rifles, told me of his satisfaction with the two Shaw barrels he'd installed. Gun shack keeps a decent selection of Shaw and McGollwan barrels stainless savage replacement barrels for various cartridges with the Shaws being about $100 lower priced. As to copper fouling, well, none of our stainless barrels copper foul, but as I wrote, my chrome molly Shaw does copper foul. But it is not any worse than many of the factory barrels on my rifles.
FWIW, have a 6.5x55 Varmit contour Shaw stainless barrel on order from Gun Shack.....expect it around next Monday. I'm replacing a decent shooting .308 barrel. I live in Tx, so sales tax and shipping added to make final price of $233.78
Bought a Shaw Stainless varmit contour 6x45 (6mm223Rem) a couple of months ago from "Gun Shack", here in Texas. Accuracy is very good with it. Ordered it after a fellow range member, that chases accuracy very seriously with his rifles, told me of his satisfaction with the two Shaw barrels he'd installed. Gun shack keeps a decent selection of Shaw and McGollwan barrels stainless savage replacement barrels for various cartridges with the Shaws being about $100 lower priced. As to copper fouling, well, none of our stainless barrels copper foul, but as I wrote, my chrome molly Shaw does copper foul. But it is not any worse than many of the factory barrels on my rifles.
FWIW, have a 6.5x55 Varmit contour Shaw stainless barrel on order from Gun Shack.....expect it around next Monday. I'm replacing a decent shooting .308 barrel. I live in Tx, so sales tax and shipping added to make final price of $233.78
FrankenMauser
New member
Understood.FM, I was just posting what is listed on Shaw's web site for Savage pre-fit barrels.
I was just sharing that E.R. Shaw's web pricing isn't always the same as 'real world' pricing.
I have not, however, often come across barrels from better manufacturers that could be found for well below "MSRP".
The closest I can get to that are Shilen factory 'blem' barrels, which can sometimes be found in Brownell's inventory for as little as 50% of typical retail pricing.
FrankenMauser said:Understood.
I was just sharing that E.R. Shaw's web pricing isn't always the same as 'real world' pricing.
Web pricing is what you get when you're ordering a .358 Norma barrel which is what the OP ordered. Getting a .35 Whelen barrel kit from Midway or other online retailer for $199 which was purchased in extreme quantity to get the price down that low. Even if the OP bought your same kit he'd be looking at least another $100-150 to have it rechambered to .358 Norma and headspaced by a gunsmith, unless he had access to the tools to do it himself.
FrankenMauser
New member
If you call E.R. Shaw and ask what they have in their 'blem', 'overrun', or 'rechamber' rack, you can get a much better deal than internet list price.
Back in... April(?), I called about that .35 Whelen barrel. The guy on the phone tried for about 15 minutes to talk me into a stainless 'heavy magnum' contour .35 Whelen 'overrun' barrel that would otherwise be over $300, but he was offering for $175 with $7 shipping, or $250 with a barrel nut wrench and headspace gauges. He had had it sitting on the rack for so long that he was willing to drop the price on everything. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it - just the fact that they made nine of them when the purchase order was only for eight, and he wanted it to go away.
He tried (politely) to talk me into nearly every other option on the rack, as well: Rechamber a .35 Rem barrel with a bad chamber. Cut down a 26" .35 Whelen Chro-Moly barrel. Cut threads, chamber, turn, and crown a blem .358" blank. And on and on...
It ended up being a 55 minute call. (Informative, but exhausting.)
They seem to have quite the selection of blems, overruns, and barrels rechambered due to an error in the first chamber cutting operation. ...Should anyone care to ask.
Back in... April(?), I called about that .35 Whelen barrel. The guy on the phone tried for about 15 minutes to talk me into a stainless 'heavy magnum' contour .35 Whelen 'overrun' barrel that would otherwise be over $300, but he was offering for $175 with $7 shipping, or $250 with a barrel nut wrench and headspace gauges. He had had it sitting on the rack for so long that he was willing to drop the price on everything. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it - just the fact that they made nine of them when the purchase order was only for eight, and he wanted it to go away.
He tried (politely) to talk me into nearly every other option on the rack, as well: Rechamber a .35 Rem barrel with a bad chamber. Cut down a 26" .35 Whelen Chro-Moly barrel. Cut threads, chamber, turn, and crown a blem .358" blank. And on and on...
It ended up being a 55 minute call. (Informative, but exhausting.)
They seem to have quite the selection of blems, overruns, and barrels rechambered due to an error in the first chamber cutting operation. ...Should anyone care to ask.