Best Barrel?

[Ironoutrigger]

I got an old Colt 70 series i'm gonna have work done on. Was just wondering who actually makes the best Barrel? Wilson Combat? Barsto? Nowlin? Ed Brown? They each say that they are the best leaving me confused. Any personal info would be much appreciated. :)

[Mtrclass]

Bar Sto......................but I might be basis'ed :D

[CTDinMT]

Bob's bias aside, I've never heard a bad thing about Bar Sto barrels. Plus, if you have trouble fitting it to your pistol, you've got Bob to help you out. I haven't seen any other barrel manufacturers represented on this site. Something to think about...
-Steve

[CJR]

Ironoutrigger,

I've installed a lot of barrels into 1911s over the years and now prefer KART CM4150 barrels for full size and Wilson 17-4PH stainless steel barrels for compacts. To me, they are outstanding barrels in quality and target group sizes. I will not use any 416 ss barrels and have posted comments as to why previously and will not elaborate again on that topic.

In the 1950s, when there were hardly any aftermarket barrels available, I welded up Colt barrels and refitted them. That is no longer necessary with today's large selection of quality barrrels. My barrel choices have evolved from my own personal experience of seeing a lot of the "recommended barrels" crack and let go.

Good luck on your barrel selection! Hope this helps.

Best regards,

CJR

[wichaka]

Bar-Sto, Schueman, Kart............I've also used Wilson,Nowlin & Brown.

The thing I've noticed the most.........as long as there's good quality in the barrel, it doesn't make much difference, its mostly in the fit.
80-90% fit, 10-20% barrel.

[Ironoutrigger]

Everyone who posted here, thank you very much for your input. Special thanks to CRJ. I dug down and found your previous post titled “416 Stainless Steel Barrel Failures and a Story Worth Retelling” and read the entire thread. With your story and the advice from other board members Supercomp and Wichaka I will not be purchasing a gun barrel made with T-416 Steel. I think the barrel I will get is either going to be a Kart or a Wilson. I spent some time on Schueman’s website and they struck me as company that’s heavily into the research and development thing. I’m not looking for anything bleeding-edge just accurate, durable, and safe. One out of three ain’t good enough when it comes to firearms. So no to T-416 SS Ultra Hyper Modified or whatever they choose to call it. Again, thank you everyone for your input.

[boatbum101]

Been more Kart & Bar-Sto barrels in the winners circle than all the rest combined.You can almost buy 2 Karts for the price of 1 Bar-Sto.Latest barrel testing shows the Kart's are outshooting the Bar-Sto's.Hope this helps.

[Hunter]

What about an original match grade Colt barrel? I don't think you could go wrong keeping it original. The Colt custom shop could help you in obtaining a quality barrel. I think that a Colt match grade barrel is as good as any and better than most aftermarket barrels.

[1911Tuner]

Having just used three of Kart's barrels recently...one hard-fit and two of their Easy-Fit barrels... I have to say that I've been very impressed. The Easy Fit system is good for a first-timer, but isn't the answer for every gun in every situation. Both the Easy-Fit barrels came with strange links that had oversized slidestop pin holes...and a report from another with the same dimensions. (.211 inch) I relinked the barrels and had no further issues.

HOWEVER...It's hard to do much better than Bar-Sto without going to the Scheumann...expensive...and IMO, not worth the difference in price unless you're chasing one-inch groups at 50 yards. Over the years, whenever I've needed to go to a full hard-fit barrel, Bar-Sto has always been my hands-down choice and I've never been disappointed.

Bob...Look for a PM later on. Gotta talk to ya about your extractors. :cool:

[John]

Schueman is what I would prefer, but as Johnny said, they are expensive.

Let me give you a little secret, to those of you who go to gunshows. Look around for barrels made by Tony Lissner. This guy is an Australian. He produced the best barrels I've ever tried in my life. Unfortunatelly, he got sick and is out of the business, but if you do find a Lissner barrel, do not let it go.

Rgds

[SAWBONES]

Schuemann barrels get my vote.
"Worth" it? Only you can decide, but I think so.