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Preferred barrel blanks (the company)

Just threw some rounds together to try the barrel out.

17" barrel 6.5 creedmoor
Thunderbeast CB7
Howa 1500
Vortex PST-2

72° fairly sunny
15-20 mph winds coming from the 2:00 direction
??? any "friends" on the range contributing to your round count?
 
Not that I saw or noticed. Though the guy a few benches down had a killer looking "tactical scope" with quad rails on it. Lol

I plan on loading up more of those rounds, and test out to 500 yards and see what happens
 
The ranges near me opened yesterday so took at the 308 to get it zeroed and see how the new reloads grouped. Found out that shooting the 6mm rounds have definitely spoiled me because of the lack of recoil they have compared to the 308. So will be shooting this more from now on.
 

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Man the amount of Fudds at the range was scary!

Have you guys seen any fps gain after a barrel break in? I am under 100 rounds yet, just currious if I would see any speed.

That 130 was avg around 2660, and SD of 7 and an ES of 21. Was shocked at the difference the starline brass made when compaired to the hornady.
 
Man the amount of Fudds at the range was scary!

Have you guys seen any fps gain after a barrel break in? I am under 100 rounds yet, just currious if I would see any speed.

That 130 was avg around 2660, and SD of 7 and an ES of 21. Was shocked at the difference the starline brass made when compaired to the hornady.
I got lucky at my range no fudds but the range officers. Was a total of 6 to 10 people there shooting for the 2 hrs I was there plus the few that were taking a gun safety and shooting class. Did though at the end have the idiots with the binary triggers and 100 rd mags show up and start doing mag dumps right when I was heading out.
 
Funny enough I just got a fuzion and I live near PBB so I dropped off my action for them to confirm dimensions and threading for a 6 GT barrel they are spinning up for me. So hopefully that’ll help you if you haven’t already sent in your action. Bummer about the extended wait times Cause of covid, but can’t wait to have it in hand and do some testing. They even agreed to laser a picture of joe exotic on the barrel for my 6 gay tiger
Interested in seeing how your 6GT barrel from them shoots.
 
I've got a 6mm barrel blank on order with Preferred, it's for my personal rifle in .243, I want to evaluate it to see if I can use them for a vendor for custom builds. The low price has me sceptical but I don't charge an arm and leg either. I'm encouraged by the posts here, so why not give them a go.
 
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I know it has been a while since your comment but I am in the same boat for my Lone Peak Arms Fuzion. Once they have spun up a barrel with my action in hand, they will be able to offer prefits.

Did they charge the same amount for this as they do for the ones they offer on their website for pre-fits?
 
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They said it would be the same price and they will leave the barrel attached for free. However, I ended up not going with PBB. I went with PVA.
Oh cool. Curious why you chose to go with PVA? I was debating between the same two and ordered one from PVA mainly due to the longer history and their recent sale. So curious what made the final decision for you? I could definitely see myself using PBB at some point as well.
 
Oh cool. Curious why you chose to go with PVA? I was debating between the same two and ordered one from PVA mainly due to the longer history and their recent sale. So curious what made the final decision for you? I could definitely see myself using PBB at some point as well.

Not having to ship my action was the #1 reason. The sale helped too... barrel + brake was $564.
 
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Not having to ship my action was the #1 reason. The sale helped too... barrel + brake was $564.
Exactly what I did, I went with a jetblast. I do want to try one of these PBBs someday though. I'm guessing their options will continue to expand.
 
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Yeah. I'm really hoping to get into a few carbon prefits for under $800 soon lol.

Ultralight Jet Blast here :)
I didn't see ultralight as an option while on their website. Did you just call them and ask for the swap out? I know they're the same price.
 
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I didn't see ultralight as an option while on their website. Did you just call them and ask for the swap out? I know they're the same price.

Long story short, yes I spoke to Josh. He said to just leave it in the comment box. I would just email them with your order # and ask if they can adjust it for you.
 
This barrel shoots great.

Was able the last shooting session was able to get some good groups and numbers with the hornady 130 grain eld bullets. Got ambitious and made up 50 rounds. Got a chance to get out today and shoot some. Target at 100 yards, 2 inch low 2 inch to right. Simple adjustment and hitting center with the next 2 shots.

Had some steel I just threw out at 295 yard, 1/3 shiloute target, 375 yards an 8" gong. All shots on target. The target at 375 got 5 shots with all 5 hitting damn near the same spot. The shiloute target got two for fun...both with solid hits.

So all in all very happy with the new barrel. Cant wait for another decent day to get out further

Howa 1500 6.5 creedmoor
17" barre
Thunderbeast CB7
Vortex PST-2
 
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Do they make AR barrels as well or are they exclusively bolt action? I know they make barrels for uintah precision uppers but idk if those are bolt style barrels or AR types
 
Not sure if the 6mm 3R rifling question got answered?

I’m curious to know if they are hammers as I’m considering putting one on a Origin
 
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I never got a definitive answer on the 3r only option. Based in the pricing I decided to buy one anyway. I'm on week 4 of waiting for my 6creed origin barrel.
 
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Man the amount of Fudds at the range was scary!

Have you guys seen any fps gain after a barrel break in? I am under 100 rounds yet, just currious if I would see any speed.

That 130 was avg around 2660, and SD of 7 and an ES of 21. Was shocked at the difference the starline brass made when compaired to the hornady.
Dont know if you got this figured out, but I had about a 45fps or so speed up around 100 rds and then I noticed at last months match I had to bump my velocity up another 30 FPS with about 350 rds on it. Mines a 260 rem launching 140 ELDM at 2915 now. 42.6 gr h4350
 
Nah, today is day 76 if I counted right. And yes i am, but they told me it was gonna be a long wait when I called and for the price and results people are getting I’m not gonna complain. It’s give and take, for the amount of money I paid (around $400 for everything) I would rather it be slow to arrive and quality vs paying less and getting a shit quality barrel on time. If I paid a lot more I wouldn’t be so laid back.
 
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Nah, today is day 76 if I counted right. And yes i am, but they told me it was gonna be a long wait when I called and for the price and results people are getting I’m not gonna complain. It’s give and take, for the amount of money I paid (around $400 for everything) I would rather it be slow to arrive and quality vs paying less and getting a shit quality barrel on time. If I paid a lot more I wouldn’t be so laid back.
You get any extras? Doing a brake or anything like that? I hear Uintah precision is using their brakes, curious how they compare to some of the better known ones.
 
I’ve never used their brakes, but I’m local to the company and shoot competitions with the guys who work there and they all run their own brakes fwiw. They seem to really like them, I already use area 419 stuff so I’m not looking to change
 
I’ve never used their brakes, but I’m local to the company and shoot competitions with the guys who work there and they all run their own brakes fwiw. They seem to really like them, I already use area 419 stuff so I’m not looking to change
Worth a lot IMO. If they weren't using them I would be much more concerned, haha, thanks for the info.
 
I’ve never used their brakes, but I’m local to the company and shoot competitions with the guys who work there and they all run their own brakes fwiw. They seem to really like them, I already use area 419 stuff so I’m not looking to change
When I talked to Josh ? and questioned about their 3R 6MM rifling, part of his answer was that a couple of the people that worked there were shooting their 3R 6MM Bbl's in Comp. how are their 6 's doing ??
 
When I talked to Josh ? and questioned about their 3R 6MM rifling, part of his answer was that a couple of the people that worked there were shooting their 3R 6MM Bbl's in Comp. how are their 6 's doing ??
Well it’s not a national match that I’ve shot with them, but they’re always on top.
 
Well it’s not a national match that I’ve shot with them, but they’re always on top.
Good to know, and from their web site they must make some of their Bbl's with larger OD's that some because they offer savage prefits for those of us cursed with actions requiring a Large shank . One of "what were they thinking at savage, a Lg. shank for a 6.5 CM"
 
Past 12 weeks but received another email that I'm nearing completion and should receive another update in 3-6 days. Tomorrow's Friday so maybe it'll ship next week 🤷🏼‍♂️

If it shoots like @verdugo60's barrel or as well as the Criterion that's on there now at 4k+ rds I'll be happy.

Just going to have to order a lot farther in advance next time.
 
Has anyone talked to them about shouldered pre-fits for a Stiller action? It's not on their website, just curious if anyone has sent them one.
 
Why don't they have a heavy varmint as standard? When I get serious I'll call them on it.
 
Nah, today is day 76 if I counted right. And yes i am, but they told me it was gonna be a long wait when I called and for the price and results people are getting I’m not gonna complain. It’s give and take, for the amount of money I paid (around $400 for everything) I would rather it be slow to arrive and quality vs paying less and getting a shit quality barrel on time. If I paid a lot more I wouldn’t be so laid back.
So how did it turn out?
 
So how did it turn out?
Honestly, I haven’t gotten a chance to shoot in a while, Life has gotten crazy busy for me and I haven’t been able to get out. I’ll try and get some time together next weekend to give you guys an update
 
I had a downpour while shooting so I don't have any pictures but my new barrel is shooting well. I bought a bunch of Berger's 6mm creedmoor 105 grain ammo to break the barrel in and get the brass for future use, and it hammers in mine. I don't think I had a group over 3/4 MOA and 1/2 and under was the normal. I did wait longer than I would liked, but with the performance so far and the price, the timing is just the trade off required.

My one thing I would change about my barrel is the profile I picked (so it's purely my fault). I got the straight .900 no taper contour, and personally I don't think it is a very attractive look. Something with some taper looks much more visually appealing. Again this is all personal preference and obviously doesn't affect performance.
 
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I had a downpour while shooting so I don't have any pictures but my new barrel is shooting well. I bought a bunch of Berger's 6mm creedmoor 105 grain ammo to break the barrel in and get the brass for future use, and it hammers in mine. I don't think I had a group over 3/4 MOA and 1/2 and under was the normal. I did wait longer than I would liked, but with the performance so far and the price, the timing is just the trade off required.

My one thing I would change about my barrel is the profile I picked (so it's purely my fault). I got the straight .900 no taper contour, and personally I don't think it is a very attractive look. Something with some taper looks much more visually appealing. Again this is all personal preference and obviously doesn't affect performance.

Pictures of the rifle? That is the contour I am looking at in 6GT.
 
No problem. I'll get some when I get he from work. The issue with my rifle may be the large barrel channel making it look funny. Regardless, I'll be sticking with m24 contour from here out.
 
Here are a few pictures of the .900 straight taper.
 

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WTF, that's ~80-90 days, are you a paying customer?
I remember when they were fairly new, I could get a barrel in several week (2-3). When they can fulfill orders again in that time frame is when I’ll reconsider them in the future. It’s interesting how a poster here said they’d be willing to wait for something they paid because it’s so good...makes no sense when Barrel turners are now a dime a dozen. It’s not like PBB won any matches or titles to their name that I’m aware of. What I don’t like about their taperless contours is that the shanks are so long making it hard to use anything other than chassis stocks without modifying. The last few barrels I ordered from them I specifically ordered without their large lasered PBB logo and stupidly canted caliber and twist markings. (They really need to get rid of that whoever came up with that, it looks like shit) and I really think they need to offer a better crown option because the ones they’ve been sending appear a little off. I have about 4 of their barrels. A 6Dasher that I got in 2 1/2 weeks after ordering which shoots very well but have since had PVA rechamber to 6GT, a 6.5 Grendel which took an awfully long 4 months to get but also shoots well. The 1st 224 Valkyrie I ordered they goofed the twist rate and sent me a 1/8 twist instead of a 1/7 twist but they did offer to buy it back I’ll give them that even though I had to pay return shipping. Lost time and money there. Then I finally ordered a 224 Valkyrie 6.5 twist which took about 5 weeks to get and it’s finally really started to shoot 400 rds in. Logan, their resident CS and everything else guy is a bit awkward socially...very flat affect. I’ve since moved to Patriot Valley Arms as Joe and Josh are very good at speaking to your concerns and they average 3 - 4 weeks on orders with amazing machine work. All of my PVA’s are a work of art. All of my PVA’s outshoot the PBB’s so I suspect part of that is the machining capability of the individual operator as both do button pull barrels but PVA also offers cut-rifled if you’re willing to pay for it.
 
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Just threw some rounds together to try the barrel out.

17" barrel 6.5 creedmoor
Thunderbeast CB7
Howa 1500
Vortex PST-2

72° fairly sunny
15-20 mph winds coming from the 2:00 direction

Pics of the rifle, please!
 
This company has given me nothing but headaches. Ordered a howa prefit on may 26th while talking with them on the phone and being assured that it would be in my hands in under 5 weeks. Average being 3. Its August 27th and still no Barrel. I called them at 8 weeks and they hadn't even starte. Then received an email on the 28th of July saying the raw materials where just being pulled. Called again on the 28th of july and was told it only takes two weeks from that point. Now its the 27 of August and they tell me it will "most likely" be shipped next week. Im about to report the issue to my credit card company if it doesn't show up. I guess what im saying is... If you want a company you can trust, go elsewhere.
 
Finally got a chance to breathe and go shoot tonight. I loaded up and shot the last 100 rounds of my planned 200 round break in on my 6 GT barrel. Most of the 100 wasn’t a serious competition load. I had some StaBall laying around from another caliber and used that along with various bullets to quickly get to the 200 round count without using my reserves of H4350 I’m saving for competition loads. Some of the powder and bullet combos worked well, some were hit and miss. Here are the best groups of the afternoon.
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Finally got a chance to breathe and go shoot tonight. I loaded up and shot the last 100 rounds of my planned 200 round break in on my 6 GT barrel. Most of the 100 wasn’t a serious competition load. I had some StaBall laying around from another caliber and used that along with various bullets to quickly get to the 200 round count without using my reserves of H4350 I’m saving for competition loads. Some of the powder and bullet combos worked well, some were hit and miss. Here are the best groups of the afternoon.

Looks decent. I’ve seen some posts elsewhere with stellar 1/4” groups, but mine seems to hover in that .6-.75 area. Literally the best group I’ve shot was the very first 5 rounds through it. I have about 500 rds on my barrel now and just did a good copper scrub so I’ll see how it shoots now. It was opening up to just under moa. Plus, I picked up some of those new 144lrht from Berger, gonna try some varget which gives me great groups and sd but slow speeds, and h4350 out of my 260 rem. One thing I’ve really enjoyed on my origin is I get absolutely zero poi shift when I pull the barrel and put it back on. My christen arms barrel chambered by my smith doesn’t shoot nearly as well and shift .3-.5 mil when taking it off and on. I’ve been thinking of getting a 6 variety from them, but it seems they’ve raised their price a bit and is no longer a stellar deal, I have seen pva sales cheaper. I’m extremely interested to see what your load and velocity finish at. What contour did you get?
 
Looks decent. I’ve seen some posts elsewhere with stellar 1/4” groups, but mine seems to hover in that .6-.75 area. Literally the best group I’ve shot was the very first 5 rounds through it. I have about 500 rds on my barrel now and just did a good copper scrub so I’ll see how it shoots now. It was opening up to just under moa. Plus, I picked up some of those new 144lrht from Berger, gonna try some varget which gives me great groups and sd but slow speeds, and h4350 out of my 260 rem. One thing I’ve really enjoyed on my origin is I get absolutely zero poi shift when I pull the barrel and put it back on. My christen arms barrel chambered by my smith doesn’t shoot nearly as well and shift .3-.5 mil when taking it off and on. I’ve been thinking of getting a 6 variety from them, but it seems they’ve raised their price a bit and is no longer a stellar deal, I have seen pva sales cheaper. I’m extremely interested to see what your load and velocity finish at. What contour did you get?
Ya I’m waiting on some matchburners to come in the mail that I’ll do competition load work ups with. I’m hopeful that those will perform well. I did the MTU contour at 26”. And my speeds noticeably jumped from the first 100 to the last 100. I saw about 50 FPS increase with the same powder charge yesterday. I’ll let you guys know when I get some good load data up.