Mcgowen Barrel Reviews

[eaglemountainman]

I had McGowen duplicate the contour of a Ruger M77 RL Ultralight and fit it to my action in 260 Rem with an
8 twist. It has shown better accuracy than I have a right to expect from such a soda straw thin barrel. And their workmanship was exceptional.

I would absolutely use them again.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I’m going to have them duplicate the tikka lite contour and make me an 18” 30-06 barrel that’s flared at the end so I can direct thread my suppressors at 5-8x24

 

[dirtytough]

I have an issue and have to send a barrel back. It’s their problem. They said it was probably because of their machining. But I have to ship it back on my dime. They’ll “take a look at it”.

Kinda pisses me off.

 

[Jimbee]

I have a McGowen 18 inch 300wsm tikkka lite contour barrel flared for 5/8 threads. It arrived and headspace wasn't correct, couldn't chamber a round. I sent it back and it was quickly returned and headspace was corrected. Now it's leaving rings on my brass from tooling marks I assume. I emailed pictures and didn't hear anything so I called and was told that the email was forwarded to the appropriate department. Didn't hear anything and called again and was once again told in a slightly irritated tone that I would be contacted when they heard something from the gunsmithing dept. It's been a week or two and still no response. It seems to shoot pretty good, but I pulled it expecting them to have me return it again. Now I wait. Sample of 1, but I had a good experience with Preferred Barrels.

 

[Tullis94]

I also sent a picture to McGowen of my brass from a prefit chamber. Crickets for 2 weeks now. They were also less than helpful when I called with some questions prior to ordering. Both prefit McGowens I've use have been very accurate. That being said I recently helped order 2 prefits from Preferred Barrels. Their customer service was WAYYY better. If the barrels are as good and I won't order from mcgowen again.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I also sent a picture to McGowen of my brass from a prefit chamber. Crickets for 2 weeks now. They were also less than helpful when I called with some questions prior to ordering. Both prefit McGowens I've use have been very accurate. That being said I recently helped order 2 prefits from Preferred Barrels. Their customer service was WAYYY better. If the barrels are as good and I won't order from mcgowen again.

Maybe I'll go through preferred instead. I don't really have time for nonsense.

 

[Rooggvc]

I actually had to send my Mcgowen 7 SAUM barrel back because the headspace was off.
Mcgowen was great to work with, and they corrected the issue quickly.

I haven't heard much about Preferred Barrels, but they have been one I am considering.

 

[Jimbee]

Who else makes a prefit? I don't want a carbon wrap.

 

[MuleyFever]

They were not originally in Hildale. They moved there for a bigger space. I believe they started in Hurricane? I've been to their shop in Hildale to pick up a barrel. I do not think they are pligs. At the very least they do not dress like them.

Good to know. Like I said, happy to be proven wrong.

 

[HandgunHTR]

I actually had to send my Mcgowen 7 SAUM barrel back because the headspace was off.
Mcgowen was great to work with, and they corrected the issue quickly.

I haven't heard much about Preferred Barrels, but they have been one I am considering.

I don't have any experience with Preferred, but I do have a lot with their sister company, Match Grade Machine. I have had 8 different Encore and Contender barrels made by them over the years. I only have 3 currently, but they are both very good shooters. I only had one dud and my experience with that barrel has prevented me from ordering any more from them. If they had made any attempt to actually make it right, I might have continued using them, but I got the run-around. I ended up having to have a local smith fix the issue (short-throated).

 

[z987k]

I’m going to have them duplicate the tikka lite contour and make me an 18” 30-06 barrel that’s flared at the end so I can direct thread my suppressors at 5-8x24

I'm tempted to do the same, but a little longer and have it twisted faster. The 1-11 in tikkas is why I'd never buy a 30 cal tikka again. Gun shoots fine, but I'd like to be able to run a heavier mono in it. If I ever shoot out the factory barrel, I would certainly "upgrade" it, but keep it an -06.

 

[z987k]

Maybe I'll go through preferred instead. I don't really have time for nonsense.

They don't offer many contours, and the ones they have are all really thick, so when you do the whole custom contour thing it starts to add up.

 

[gbflyer]

Who else makes a prefit? I don't want a carbon wrap.

I have a couple of prefits and several contoured blanks from X-Caliber. Also a Kalispell MT company, I think some of the crew came from McGowan if that tells you anything. They are good to go, in my experience. If they tell you 8-12 weeks, it’s 8-12 weeks.

 

[MuleyFever]

I'm tempted to do the same, but a little longer and have it twisted faster. The 1-11 in tikkas is why I'd never buy a 30 cal tikka again. Gun shoots fine, but I'd like to be able to run a heavier mono in it. If I ever shoot out the factory barrel, I would certainly "upgrade" it, but keep it an -06.

The new Tikkas are 1-10.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I'm tempted to do the same, but a little longer and have it twisted faster. The 1-11 in tikkas is why I'd never buy a 30 cal tikka again. Gun shoots fine, but I'd like to be able to run a heavier mono in it. If I ever shoot out the factory barrel, I would certainly "upgrade" it, but keep it an -06.

I don’t plan to ever really shoot anything other than 180g partitions and accubonds out of this gun but I hear you. It’s nice to have a rifle that can do things you may want to do later.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

They don't offer many contours, and the ones they have are all really thick, so when you do the whole custom contour thing it starts to add up.

Right, I’m mostly trying to not have to route out a stock to get shooting again. Heck, I may as well just send the barreled action to LRI and have them cut and thread it for 1/2x28 and shoot with a thread adapter until I figure out what I really want to do.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

The new Tikkas are 1-10.

I just got one and its 1-11. Maybe it was old stock or something. I have shot some 190g accubond long ranges and 200y partitions out of it with no issues, grouped just fine. I don’t really plan to shoot stuff like that out of it much anymore though, I have a 300wm for those.

 

[z987k]

The new Tikkas are 1-10.

I just got one and its 1-11. Maybe it was old stock or something. I have shot some 190g accubond long ranges and 200y partitions out of it with no issues, grouped just fine. I don’t really plan to shoot stuff like that out of it much anymore though, I have a 300wm for those.

Only the new 300wm is.

 

[Formidilosus]

They don't offer many contours, and the ones they have are all really thick, so when you do the whole custom contour thing it starts to add up.

What bullets do you think won’t stabilize from a 1-11” twist 30cal?

 

[JjamesIII]

I was wondering what you guys have experienced with Mcgowen barrels.

I bought a 7 SAUM from them. My load development with 162’s resulted in 3-shot groups that were over 2”.

I tried 184’s and ended up with 3 shot groups that were barely under an inch.

I had expected better performance from a “custom” barrel. However, my expectations may be unrealistic.

I would like to hear some others guys experiences lately, because I am debating about ordering another barrel from them.

I get good 1/4” accuracy out of the one McGowen I bought chambered in 260 rem. Berger and hornady eld-x are what I use. It was pretty finicky with load development, but once I found the right load I was happy. Most loads were 3/4” to 1 1/4” before I found the sweet spot.