Trophy Room

Click the image above to see a You Tube video taken by one of our customers (Precision Rifle & Tool) of the interior of one of our barrels. It also shows at the beginning of the video the chamber that he cut into the barrel.

I would like to take a moment to encourage you to thank your barrel guys for an incredible product. I have enclosed a picture of some targets my little wife shot with your barrel blank. There is a picture of several very incredible groups, but specifically the center target was shot with a red/white/blue McGowen barrel mounted on a Savage Striker chambered in 338X300 Miceli. That center target was shot with two bullet weights and two different loads. The one hole group is with 225gr Accubonds at 2783fps (3 shots) and she will be using this gun and load on her upcoming Kodiak Brown Bear hunt. The two shots up and left of the one holer is actually 3 shots using 200gr Accubonds at 2870 something. I have to mention that the upper target she shot with the 30R Cooper express using a 150 grain Hornady at 2915fps in a break open Encore pistol. The upper right target was shot with a factory Savage Strike re-chambered 284 shooting at max load 140gr Accubond at 2740fps. She pretty well ate my lunch that day.
Again thank you for a very excellent product. Sure looking forward to putting that 6BR barrel on and seeing what it will do.

Respectfully Neal Cooper

Here is the pic of the test target. Thank you VERY much for a great barrel. I am looking forward to more of your fine barrels.

Mark Pinkston - Kailua Custom Guns

I just wanted to drop you a quick line to let you know how pleased I was with the first barrel of yours that I tried. I installed one of your stainless steel barrels in 6.5mm #2 Shilen contour, 1-8" twist on a blueprinted Remington Model 7 action. After breaking in the barrel with Remington factory ammo (1 shot clean), I tried handload with Sierra's 120 gr Spitzer Pro Hunter, well I think the target speaks for itself. There's no doubt in my mind with a target scope and a better shooter it would be better.

Thanks again for a great barrel

Rick Clearwater - Clearwater Custom Rifles

This comes to us from TTH of SavageShooters.com Forum. This was a 260 Remington @ 22" with a 1-8" Twist. He stated "it is very smooth and easy to clean". You can see his progression of groupings from left to right as he worked different loads.

The above photographs and text were taken from Savageshooters.com and submitted by Mike (Pdog06).

Everyone has been asking about how well these McGowens shoot, even me, so I finally got some bullets loaded up to do a ladder test on mine today. To say the least I am very impressed. My jaw is still draggin on the floor. Mine is a 26" 10 twist, 308 bull barrel on a single-shot "intermediate" action, sitting in a Richards Tactical stock. I loaded up some 168gr SMK's using Varget, starting at 42gr and going up to 44gr in .5gr increments. I want to go up a little higher to see what it does, but didn't have time to load more. Since I was starting out I seated them .025" off the lands, and will mess with that later. C.O.L. is 2.875". The third target had 4 shots in .202", the I pulled one to the right. I think I got me a winner.

Gentlemen, Got back yesterday from NZ. The .365 Siemens worked great. The goat was the first to fall to the new wildcat.I took the stag @ 144 yards with a 250 Nosler BT. We hunted with Aotearoa Safaris (www.aotearoasafaris.co.nz) for a few days when we took the trophies.

I have to admit that I was very nervous about sending you my beloved 7mag. I have only put 30 rounds down range so far and can already tell you without question that I will never shoot any other barrel! Even the very first three bullets went less than .4". With every shot in my 20 rd break I fell in love more and more. The target on the left was my first 5-shot group after break in and was fired from a cold, completely clean bore, with virgin brass. Then I switched to a Speer SBT 160 that has never once impressed me. I have been sitting on these bullets for the last 10 years but figured that with the 1-8 twist I should use them up until I get my heavy VLD's and A-max's. The first three of these ugly bullets looked like one single hole. You guys know how to get my heart pumping. That is five rounds there, number 25-30 through this 28" 7 contour that you folks at McGowen have blessed me with. Thanks a million! I'm sure I will be sending you more pictures and praise once I shoot some Berger's through her. Keep up the good work! My bench-rest .240 Page will be headed your way soon.

Just wanted to take a minuet to thank you for a quality product. This past winter I purchased one of your SS barrels and chambered it to a 6BR for my F-Class project. The barrel broke in, in just 6 rounds, does not foul and cleans like a dream. Preliminary tests at the range were expectable but not stellar, after around 100 rounds through the barrel things started to change. Last night we were shooting golf tees out of the target at 200 meters, think that says it all. The Sierra 95 gr. Match is doing a good job in the 9 twist with 28.7 gr. of H4895 so far, but I have much more load development to do yet. I hand build my own stocks and do all my own work, the walnut is 3 piece laminate with aluminum rails and pillar bedded in Devcon, the chamber is a no-turn .272 neck. Many Thanks....Rick

Jon, Remember that .308 Savage Contour Barrel I ordered from you a few months ago ? Here it is put together and a target that he has shot from it and the load. Thought you might enjoy the pictures, use them if you need to, I don't think that Matt will mind, and if he does, I'll fix him for sure. By the way, how is the receiver coming along ? Keep me posted.

"Hey Ron, I finally got a load worked up for this .308. I ended up with 175gr Sierra Matchking's and 44.5gr of Varget powder. I took some pictures for you. The target included is four shots(I pulled the fifth, totally my fault) that a penny will cover. It was a little breezy that day so that's why they're a little opened up horizontally. I shot Kirk's .308 and this doesn't kick anything like Kirk's does. I guess it's the extra few pounds. Mine is 12lbs, 11ozs unloaded. Kirk's wanting to go to that Badland's Tactical training place outside of Lawton to shoot a thousand yards so I'm trying to get a few hundred rounds loaded up. That place has targets from a hundred yards to a thousand so I'll be able to get my bullet drop figured out"

Hey Jon,
I am sending you this photo of a 338 win mag I just finished for a Customer about 2 weeks ago. He is in Africa now and just sent me pics of the first Animal that his 11 year old boy just killed. It is a Red Hartebeast and was taken using a 225 gr. Barnes Triple-Shok Bullet. The rifle is one of our thumbhole stocks with your barrel and a highly modified Howa Action. We are now changing the Thread pitch on these to Standard 1.062- 16 tpi from the Metric threads. We also bore the bolt bore to .750 and then shim the bolt. These modified actions are shooting great. We hope to have a 3 pos. Shroud mounted safety by years end but bussiness is incredible so it may be next year before it happens. We are still using the other actions that we have used for years but have found the howa to be a very well constucted action and have several target rifles in 6.5 x 284 shooting sub 4 in groups out to 1000 yds.
Anyway, Jon Keep up the good work and I may try to come see you this fall.
Best regards
James Mills - Master Gunmaker

THIS IS THE RIFLE THAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT. THE STOCK IS TEXAS MESQUITE WITH FISH SCALE CARVING BRACKETED BY GERMAN SCROLL. THE BARREL IS McGOWEN 26" 375 BORE. ACTION IS 1909 ARGENTINE

Pat Hamilton

Here's our good friend and customer, Doug Turnbull with his awesome bull he took with his 475 Turnbull using a McGowen Precision Barrel! Hunted on the Turner Enteprises with Montana Hunting Company and Rob Arnaud. Used the 475 Turnbull with 400 Barnes TSX at 2200 FPS. One shot at 110 yds through the heart.

This is what a 17" tapering to .750 at the muzzle looks like on a striker. With barrel break in and a middle of the road load it hasn't had a 5 shot group over 3/4 yet. It will shoot and it will be delivered on time. It will clean easily and did I mention it will shoot. You will be happy. Rick (nitemann from Specialty Pistols)

All three shot groups at 100 yards. They do not carry any H414 here at the gun shop so I took a piece of Slims testing and used the W 760.

Target speaks for itself. SInce this powder is faster burning (and cleaner) I am thinking its not far of the 414 velocities. No pressure signs. The one flyer was from a very tight case in chamber.

Well, after nearly 6 months and all the odd-ball setbacks I finally got to shoot some groups with the McGowen barrel. Not to shabby for the first time out considering I just pulled two loads off the net.

Brass was fully prepped, all charges hand weighed, all bullets were checked for concentricity, and rifle was cleaned after every 5 rounds.

Load 1 Load 2
Case Norma Norma
Primer CCI BR4 CCI BR4
Bullet 52 gr Berger 52 gr Berger
Powder BL-C(2) BL-C(2)
Charge 25.5 gr 26.0 gr
OAL 2.732" 2.732"
OAL Measured To O-Give
Group 1 0.472" 0.986"
Group 2 0.562" 0.667"
Average Velocity 2919 fps 2964 fps
E.S. 18.0 80.0
S.D 7.7 32.8

The 25.5gr load shows a lot of promise. The stock I'm using right now is bedded for another action and I didn't have my chamber gauge when I made these loads up. I think the main thing will be getting the bullets seated closer to the lands as that seems to be what Berger's generally prefer. (these were roughly 20-30 thousandths off)

You'll also see one group shot with Varget below (center of first target), but that was just a ladder test (24.2gr to 25.0gr) to see what kind of velocity I could get and to see where I'd start seeing pressure signs. Essentially the 5 rounds left over from the ladder test for the barrel with the bad chamber (no throat and off-center), which started showing serious pressure at 24.0gr.

Was going to try some groups at 200 yards but you couldn't see the target stands through all the weeds on the 100 yard berm and I didn't happen to bring a machete with me.

With a little tweaking I'm hoping it will consistently shoot in the mid to high 2's/low 3's, but we'll see.

Jon, about 3 months ago you all made us a SS 28" 6.5 1x8 twist barrel. We built it up for a customer in a 6.5/25 WSSM on a Bluprinted Remington action. Well here is what it will do! 5 shot .250" group @ 100 yards ....... I wish I had not pulled the one shot.

Hi Jon
Here is a CZ rebarreled with one of your barrels. Included is a pic of the before and after targets. Keep in mind the factory uses a ransom rest and several targets to be able to include one that meets there requirements. I shot off a two piece rest and only had 35 rounds including the sighters. This rifle should be capable of even shooting even better.
Kim Monthony
Chase Mountain Custom

Hi Jon (re: 338 Lapua Improved)thought I would send a target I just shot with your barrel.......it doesn't get much better than this.

Jon,
Here is some more info on the barrel testing ive been doing. Today i loaded up some 333 grn Lehigh solids, .950 BC i used 142grains of Retumbo, fed LR mag primers, bullet seated .065 from lands. Average speed was 3297 fps. All three shots landed on target at 700 yards about 1/2 moa to the right of center, vertical was spot on. The barrel is cleaning up real easy after about 15 shots during break in. I am now running 3 shot groups between cleaning. The group at 700 yds was 4.5" See pic. More testing this weekend with jacketed bullets.

Dave
Viersco Manufacturing/Black Diamond Rifles (408 Chey-Tac actions and rifles (long range shooting)

I just got done shooting my new rifle from Wayne York, Oregunsmithing. The rifle is a 284 Winchester with a McGowen Precision #3 contour barrel. The first day I shot it all groups were right at one inch. I adjusted my hand loads a bit and today all my groups are 3/4 inch to 5/8 inch. You can't imagine how happy I am.

I had ordered a 260 Remington from Wayne York to be built this winter with a Lilja barrel. I called Wayne just a bit ago and told him to forget the Lilja barrel and replace it with another McGowen Precision barrel. Also some of the credit belongs to Wayne York for building such a quality rifles.

"My McGowen (30-06) is way more consistent than my Shilen (6.5 x 47 Lapua) ever thought about being. Clean up seems about the same between the two. The McGowens handywork (first group ever fired I might add) (See above).

Hi Jon, Just a note to thank you for a fantastic barrel. This is a money winner… Joe Watson

Here are some shots of mine and another hunters moose. The one that I did not get a shot at had 3 paddles. Really odd, and if you look at the other hunters you can see them the right side had 2 complete paddles.
Great time and the rifle worked really well. One through the shoulder and the second as he was running away, I got about 4 feet of penetration on the second shot.

Here's some targets from another happy customer. Brandon De Boer said that these targets were shot while breaking the barrel in. He said that he was going to use another rifle for hunting until he shot these groups. In his words "it is really accurate". Thanks Brandon for bringing in this picture of your great shooting!.

First group, rounds 8-10 down the barrel using the factory remington 20gr loads. .13"!! (17 Fireball)

I posted a range report on my homemade 116SS 30-06 w/ McGowen 26" tube shortly after I got it together, but she made so proud again today, I had give some more props! I have been using Varget for everything, but I had to pick up some other powders for my 6.5 Rem Mag hunting rifle, so I decided to roll up some trial loads for my #1 pal 30-06. I got decent results out of 48. and 48.5 grains of 4064, but my jaw dropped after the first four rounds of the 49.0 gr load measured at 0.180"!!!!!! (measured outside to outside and subtracting .308) Then I got sooo excited, that I threw #5 when the shot broke on a heartbeat . As soon as it went bang I was saying things I shouldn't have as I knew I had just destroyed the best group I've ever fired to date, but there's always next time I guess. (next time I'll quit after 4!!!)

I am thinking that with groups like this one from Ross Schulers Savage with my new Neallam you may want to check into the guys at McGowen. I am thinking that they are making some super barrels. I haven't got to shoot my 338 X 378 from Scott because my stocks seem to have been lost in shipping from John. They were mailed priority two weeks ago!! This be really tough having a barreled action, loaded ammo,Bi-pod made just for the thing, New Horace Vision scope and nothing to hold onto while shooting. No Jon, one needs to have some type of handle attachment with a cartridge this big.

Picked up a 15 3/4" HV barrel for my Striker a few months ago.....6BR 1-8 Laupa. Shoots in the .2's--.3's (5 at 100yds) when I steer it properly. One powder (varget) Bullet weights 65 bergers--105 amax..... A couple guys at my club plan on rebarreling their strikers / xp's with your barrel after seeing how mine shoots. Plan on getting another in 6 TCU in the spring. Thanks for the excellent product.

Proud pappa Steve Davis brought in these pictures of his sons first hunting trip. Top picture is a cow elk he bagged with the Winchester Model 64 we rebarreled for him in 6.5-06, the cow elk was taken at 370 yards. The bottom picture is of a nice mulie buck he took the very next day at 210 yards. Both were taken with 1 shot. Good job!

Here's part of a post on Savageshooters.com from a customer known as ar15kittykat

" McGowen Precision Barrels - Machine work on the barrel is exceptional, barrel delivered less than 4 weeks, customer service & follow up emails are A+". More information can be found by accessing the post at http://savageshooters.com/SavageForum/index.php/topic,19305.0.html

A gentleman sent me some pictures of his gun and target post yesterday. He was pretty excited having never had, let alone built a bolt action target pistol before. The action is an undesignated Savage Target action. Barrel is a McGowen 18" chambered in 243 AI 7 twist. He was just shooting some Sierra 100 grain bullets for getting on paper and fire forming. This was shot with his last four bullets so it is not a five shot group. Range 100 yards! Scope though not pictured is one of the 7-30 X 50 Hi lux leatherwood scopes. I will post the completed gun when I have pictures.

I have something to share with you folks at McGowen. I chambered the 25 Cal barrel you sent me in 250 Ackley. It is on a Remington XP100R action 18" long 1.230 straight. This barrel shoots in the ones or twos consistently with a few groups like this one I shot today. 0.033 5 shots at 100 yards. Congratulations on a super job. I think this one is a keeper. Ross

While I was out shooting ELE today I took along a few other barrels to test out.

One is a McGowen blank chambered in a 338R Cooper Express. I was using a 160 Barnes T-TSX. First shot was a tad low so I adjusted and fired two more. One hole showing. Looking good guys to I fired a total of ten shots at this one diamond and you see what I saw.

Very excited doesn't explain it. 3000+ fps and a group like this? My wife has a new pistol for hunting.

This is one of two barrels that Chris welded the lugs on successfully. Very exceptional work!

Behind the gun is a target with five bullets shot through the
center of the big diamond. This is a new never fired till today barrel. SHooting a 450 grain bullet at 2500fps. First shot was a bit low and left. I corrected and fired four more shots into the same hole with a none match grade 510 diameter hunting bullet.

Well, went out and finally got time to chrono and shoot for accuracy, after having killed a few head of game with already! Not getting the velocity that I had hoped for but still pushing the 286 grainer just shy of 2500 fps. Fortunately these were just the first loads I had tried and have no pressure signs but plenty of powder capacity left so over time I’ll be able to determine what will constitute a max load in the rifle. I have only tried one powder (through the chrono) so now I start the lengthy process of loads with faster burn rates and of course larger loads with slower powder. The 286 grain load was quicker than the 250 with the same powder charge; there is plenty room for improvement in the velocity category, although really not needed, but I didn’t make a wildcat to do less than the existing standard cartridge.

When it comes to accuracy…..what can I say but was shocked all the loads but one, printed well below an inch! Sub ½ MOA should not be an issue once I have more experience with the rifle and loads! The two major contributing factors on this is the quality of barrel and work in chambering which was all done by you guys.

Kansas 2008 Whitetail shot at 482 yards with a custom 300 Win Mag by Flint Hills Gun Works (John Maike). The barrel is a McGowen #4 cm fluted that has been cryoed by 300 below Inc. This gun will shoot sub 1/2' groups all day long.

Thought you might be interested in the performance of a barrel I purchased from you a few months ago. It was a #5 CM that you deep chambered for .220 Swift. I fitted it to a 98 Mauser (VZ24) action and used a Hogue Stock. The top group is 3 shots. I adjusted the scope down and left to move the point of impact a couple of inches and immediately shot the bottom group - 5 shots that measure .513. These are not flukes; it seems to consistently shoot like this. (It might do better if I did not have so many miles on the eyes and nerves.)

Jon & Dan, This is a couple of targets with my 260 Rem on a Savage action, @ 100 yards, fireforming brass with 140 gr. Bergers. Would like to say I am very happy with my barrel to say the least! I like to thank Jim Briggs at Northland and Jon & Dan at McGowen for a great service and great shooting barrel. Thanks Walt Howard

Installed my new SST varmint weight McGowen barrel on my Savage 10FLP and felt the need to advise my initial impression. Obviously, the fit and finish were of the highest quality. As a mechanical engineer, my demand for precision is strong and your barrel met my expectations. After bedding, etc., my first test loads in the .260 Remington barrel fell into the first accuracy node at 0.59” CTC for three shot groups at 200 yds. None of the test loads over the first exceeded 0.9” groups for the same distance. Point of impact never varied out of a total sub MOA for all loads over a 2.7 gr span. Can’t wait to wring out some final loads and see what it can really do. This is a level of precision you guys should be proud of. I know I am.

I just wanted to write your company to say I am very pleased with the fine quality of your rifle barrels and your customer service is next to none. We have dealt with other barrel companies and to be honest they are missing the professionalism and courtesy I have gotten from your company. Thanks again for the fine service over the years we have done business. Carl Emmite

Our customers have come to expect a gun that shoots as good as it looks. The only barrel choice for our restoration work is McGowen Precision Barrels. Doug Turnbull Restorations

If you recall, ya’ll re-barreled a Weatherby Vangaurd in .416 Taylor for me. Just had a chance to get it to the range and try it. With out trying …shot a one hole six shot group at 50yards ….with a load of 65 gr. IMR 3031 and 400 gr bullet for a vel. of approx. 2250 ft/sec. and 4500 ft./lbs. energy at 25 yards. It might just be my next varmint rifle. Recoil is not as bad as .300 Win Mag.

Between SHOWERS yesterday, I was able to finally shoot the Barnes 120TTSX's in the 6.5 gun. They shot really well, and I'm attaching a pic that you might want to post on the website.

Richard Fosland

You recently made a second barrel for me and I returned to McGowen's without as much as considering other vendors because of the performance of my first barrel. That one is in .243 Ackley Improved and is a 27" stainless steel Douglas #5A that prints 0.356" five-shot 100 yard groups. That's one ragged hole! This second barrel was to be chambered for the .280 Ackley Improved cartridge and be 25" long in the standard Remington barrel contour. As I told you when I ordered it, my goal was "a very accurate hunting rifle." I couldn't be more satisfied!

The rifle consists of the barrel you fabricated and installed on an engraved Remington Model 700BDL/DM receiver I furnished and you "blueprinted." The scope is a Leupold 4.5-14x 40mm Longe Range VX-3. That barreled action was then simply bolted into a new Remington laminated stock - no bedding work was performed at all. When the scope was mounted, I sighted it in and seasoned the barrel per the instructions on your website with 20 Nosler factory loads and assembled three rounds each of four test loads in some of that once-fired brass. The results of that range session are illustated by the attached photo and I saw no reason to experiement any further. Load #2 will be my standard load for this rifle and a loaded round in shown in the photo.

Thank you for a superb product at a reasonable price delivered in a timely manner!

I recently ordered a pre fit savage barrel for my action, recieved it in less than a
week, barrel looked awesome! Shot about 30 rounds,cleaning between every first 10
shots, no signs of copper what so ever. Barrel cleaned very easy. haven't really
developed a load yet, but shot four groups of three shots, I could cover with a dime at
100 yds. Just wanted to drop you guys a line and tell you thanks for a great barrel.

I just wanted to share a picture with you. (attached) A buddy and I had Savage barrels made in a wildcat .358 WSSM for whitetail hunting. As you can see we couldn't be happier with the results. I have also shot a 1/2" group with 225gr Sierra GameKings.

The barrel you sent for Dave P. arrived and I installed it right away. I took a look at the inside with a Hawkeye bore scope and I was VERY impressed. As smooth a barrel as I have ever seen and very uniform. I told Dave that this barrel will be a shooter. Well Dave stopped by today with some targets he shot. Groups were sub 1/2 " with his reloads and some factory. These were not worked up reloads either. We were both impressed to say the least. I think that you will be getting some great publicity out of this. Once again thank you for your help with supplying the barrel so quickly. You are now at the top of my list for future purchases of barrels.

JC Blauvelt Gunsmith, Inc.
www.JCBgunsmith.com

Today was the first day I could get it to the range, and it was far less than ideal conditions at 61 degrees 44% humidity and wind gusting from 7 to 14 MPH, so I was not expecting great groups at this point. I fired 17 rounds to break it in and it took most of those rounds to get the scope zeroed in. so I thought I would shoot three final rounds before the target stand was blown over again and this is the final 3 round group.

The micrometer battery was too weak to show up on the photo, but it says 0.49 inch group, and the more I shoot it the tighter it’s shooting. There is nothing better than a McGowen Barrel.

The coin above is a dime and you can see the group can be covered with a dime with a lot of room to spare.

Dan,
I would just like to say I am very happy with the 6mmbr Savage pre-fit barrel you have sent me. After a long wait my action has finally come in and I put the rifle together with no fuss. With very little load development I have managed to shoot a group .338" ctc. I did even have a group in the one's, but one flier ruined that group to .5" With more tuning I am sure it will get even better.

Hello Dan,

The barrel work exceeds my expectations.

The .308 is a compact nifty little weapon but is capable of delivering the goods up to 400 yards and beyond. I load this with 45 grains of Varget and a 150 Hornady SST. As Varget is scarce I plan to try IMR 4320 as a substitute.

The 6.5-06 is able to reach way out there. I can blow the white paint off steel plates at 500 & 600 yards leaving a bare area the size of my hand. I load the 6.5-06 with 59.5 grains of Ram Shot Magnum and 120 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip's just seated into the rifling -- I am saving my modest collection of 120 Hornady AMAX's for spring rock chucks. Lee Precision will make custom 6.5-06 collet dies for me at a very reasonable price. I plan to try H4350 with 140 Hornady AMAX's for 1000 yards with the new die set. I turn the sized 6.5 necks down to .286 --neck tension holds the bullets well, they don't get stuck when I extract a loaded round from the chamber.

Both rifles appear to group well at my base line start range of 100 yards -- I can easily shoot out a 3/4 inch dot at that range with 7 or so rounds.

Shooting is fun, but you gotta have accuracy or it is frustrating. A new barrel for Lois' 22-250 will be in the works soon.

Pete P

For information on how to get barrels from him, go to Jerry's website address below:

Very pleased thank you for a well made product. The 2 targets on the right are 100 yd groups last Sunday and the one on the right is a 50 yard today. Last Sat I shot 200 gr hornady's and was very please with those groups also. You folks have been in contact with the guru's on Doug's for a 70 ML smokless build. So far I think all the discussion has been on 45's. Do you have the button etc to do a 50 cal.
thanks
Ron

Got one of your barrels in November! Been experimenting! This is a 4 shot group at 100 yards with the 300 win mag barrel on a Howa action! IMR 4320, 56 gr., 180 gr. nosler BT, .003 off rifling, .441" but the best is there are 3 shots in the hole on the right!!!! Edaurdo Channin out of Baton Rouge, LA was the Smith. Am i happy!!!!!!!!!!!

Cliff

Hey Dan.

JD Jones and crew did a great job on my Marlin 1895 in .50BMAK.

And you guys did a great job on the barrel. I shot it today at 50 yards and it averaged less than an inch for three shots with several loads, including the 500-grain Hornady . I'm getting just over 1900 fps with that bullet with no sticky extraction or lever pop-down whatsoever.

Look for my article on an "Alaskan Classic" in Shooting Times mag. Should be out in 3-4 months.

Best,

Layne Simpson

McGowan 338 barrel 1 in 10 twist 338-06 on a Ruger 77
It shoots!!!!

Michael J
Instructor
Colorado School of Trades

Would you please share my sincerest “Thank You” to you and all the fine folks at McGowen Precision? I have one of your 30” stainless, bull barrel .308’s on my semi custom Savage BVSS....and it is the most accurate .308 Win. I have ever owned. I know this new barrel will perform just as well.

Y’all help the average guy obtain high end custom results with your barrels. I cannot thank you enough!

Sincerely,

Wayne B. Janitschke Jr.

Willmar, MN

I just wanted to write and Thank You for the barrel donation you gave for our shoot.
The shoot was held yesterday and your barrel was a huge success. Everyone was saying they wanted to win the barrel. We gave it way during a raffle to raise money to help pay for the event, and there was so much interest in your barrel that we raised enough money from this alone to pay for the entire days worth of expenses(range fees, target and target backer costs, food/drink costs, etc).
Unfortunately I did not win the barrel(LOL!!), but my good friend and hunting buddy did win it, and I will be the one to help him build this rifle and hopefully get to shoot it. It will definately get put to good use.
We had a total of around 20 Savageshooters.com members attend, along with a few local shooters come out as well. From looking around at everyones guns I counted atleast 7-8 of them wearing a Mcgowen barrel, more than any other barrelmaker out there. That was great to see, and of course they were all shooting very well. Actually I believe 1 of them won one of our 300yd competitions we did, beating out some really nice guns with custom actions and big money barrels. Thats 2 years in a row for a Mcgowen at our shoot, as I won the 100yd IBS score match at last years shoot with my Mcgowen 6br gun.
All in all the day was a great success and we all truly appreciate the help and donation from you guys at Mcgowen barrels. All of us Savage guys really love your product, and seeing you willing to help us out just solidifies that feeling even more.

First off, thanks for the previous barrels I have ordered from you in 308 and 6.5cm, they have both been excellent in every way. After sight-in (5 rounds) my 308 barrel shot the next 20 rounds in 5 shot groups under 1/2" with Federal gold medal match 168 (see pic). Both my barrels will shoot better than I can.
Brad Gibbs

I would like to thank you for the .280 Ack Imp barrel your company made for me. All I can say is that I am impressed with how well the barrel shoots. It is excellent. The contour was perfect. It drives tacks. My family and I will be future customers as well.

I hoped your company was not so large that it just rubber stamped it's products and its customers. Some companies loose their roots and choose to sacrifice their beginning principles to mass produce. I personnaly will pay more money to avoid foreign companies of any type or American companies that feel they can treat customers harshley without provocation. That has not been the case here.

It has been one year since I purchased one of your barrels and I now have 400 rounds through it. It was fitted to a Savage Model 12 VLP DMB and it is now the most accurate rifle I have ever owned. The attached targets were shot at 100 yards while doing the final sighting in using Sierra Gameking 117 grain SPBT bullets (the flier's where me). This diffidently a 1/4 MOA rifle. Not bad for a 90 year old cartridge.
Keep up the good work, you make a top of line product and your customer service is the best I have ever dealt with.

I want to tell you how pleased I am with the prefit Savage 6.5-06 AI barrel I received from you. The barrel was/is very easy to break in with very little copper fouling first two shots. I cleaned after every round for the 1st five rounds, then cleaned after every five rounds for the next five times (I'll do it until 50 rounds are fired). Barrel cleans right up.

I have only tried one bullet (123 gr Hornady A-max). Both Hybrid 100V and Reloader 19 gave superb accuracy with 4 different powder charges - all shots (5 shot groups) touching or maybe one flyer about 1/4" out.

Great barrel I would recommend to anyone. As accurate as any Shilen, Lilja, Hart, PacNor I have. It was such a relief your barrel broke in so easily as I have had to clean after every round for up to 15 rounds with the others in match grade stainless in various calibers (not all the others, but many of them).

I have always been a fan of the blue printed Rem 700, but your barrel on the Savage is Superb.

Hey guys--love your barrels. Best deal on the planet these days. Have 2 specialty pistol rigs both shooting .75-.5 MOA consistently. Here's a pic of my 22-250 Savage Super Striker/16" 8-T McGowen/3.5-15x NF/65 JLK Low Drag @ 3240 mv. This is how I test my coyote rigs, by shooting 1 shot each at the longer ranges I may expect to shoot under field conditions and positions, once all R&D is done. These 3 shots are at 325, 400, and 525 yds. Finally ready for coyotes this fur season--OOOORAHHH!

I recently purchased 3 barrels from McGowen, 2 of the barrels were .257 Weatherby and 1 is a .264 Winchester Mag. I recently finished the build on the first .257 Weatherby, scoped the rifle, and shot it. To say I was impressed would be an understatement. After cleaning the barrel (very smooth for a brand new barrel) several rounds were fired to clear the oil. After clearing the barrel it took 9 shots to dial in the scope. After the scope was set a 3 shot test group was fired. The group measured .75". Not bad for a mediocre shooter. I am very pleased and can't wait to get the other 2 rifles finished and shoot them. All my barrels will come from McGowen from now on. Thanks for a great product.

My 27-300 WBY custom rifle was recently completed by Pete Underwood of Jims Firearms in Baton Rouge LA. Using a Lawton 7000 Action, Jard Trigger and Choate Stock along with your 32" barrel the results have far exceeded all other rifles I have ever fired. Enclosed is a target, the first group of the rifle after sight in, shots 5-6-7 and 8 ever fired from this barrel. the load used was 83.5gr of H1000, Barnes TSX 130gr bullet (yes seriously), BR2 primer, chrony @ 3755fps. C2C measurement is .766" and this was @ 420 yards. Pete Underwood is without a doubt the finest smith I have ever met and with your barrel and his craftsmanship there may be a new 1000 yard record coming soon.

I have to tell you how happy I am with the barrel that you built for me. It replaced the old shot-out original barrel that was on our family 1895 Mauser. As you can see by the attached photo, I added a Leupold VX-3 and built a custom laminate stock. I also had a wood-worker carve our family crest into the stock. He also added some deer bone highlights to the crest. Very cool.

I broke in the barrel according to your instructions. I'm very gald that I did because that old Mauser 95 is shooting 1" groups at 100 yards!!! Needless to say, I am very inpressed with your work!

I presented the gun to my 82 year old father. I rarely see him get excited, but when he saw the rifle, he did!!! He only hunted birds (and the occasional coyote) when I was growing up, so his first deer hunting trip was last year when I took him out. He bagged a doe with my Howa .308 and was pretty please with himself! This year, however, I took him deer hunting with the Mauser. He bagged a 4X4!!! This was the 2nd time in a month that I saw him get excited!!

Thanks for your quality work, Dan. You made an 82 year old and his 52 year old son very happy!

Gary Smith

I had the barrel installed on my revolver without a hitch and the first two
rounds freehand at 40 feet are as seen below. Great job and thanks again!