Maddco Vs Swan

[Mitch]

Morning

Just curious peoples opinions on the above barrel brands. Not others.

Who makes the better barrels?

Will be a 6x45 and both maddco or Alan Swan can supply and fit chambered barrel, just unsure which is likely to be more accurate and reliable?

Cheers

[Gamerancher]

deleted

[Supaduke]

Well .. . That certainly shot this thread in the foot (pun intended)

[Mitch]

I think you will find that Swan does't actually make barrels.

Well that depends who you talk to? Ive heard both yes and no?

Either way woukd people prefer swan chambered + fitted, or maddco

[deye243]

just look at the gear list at the benchrest event and there is your answer

[TheDude]

His website says he does http://www.allanswangunsmithing.com/barrels

No idea on quality compared to maddco

[straightshooter]

Last time I enquired with Allan Swan, which was a while ago, he was still making barrels but his 5.56 rifling button was broken. At the time he only made .224 and .308 barrels. You may need to determine whether the 6mm barrel is made by him or bought in.

I suspect that the real question the OP is asking is which of the two will provide the better "package" for much the same price.
There is no question that Maddco is capable of delivering the highest quality if the customer is prepared to pay.
Although I have never had any actual dealings with Swan I suspect a buyer who wants a replacement barrel for a minimum outlay will have a better experience dealing with him rather than Maddco.
The OP might care to read my post in a nearby thread regarding TSE barrels.

[Mitch]

Money is not the problem.

In fact maddco is only $100 more.

I have heard a few people who have had issues with maddco work. Not necessarily with the barrel.

Swan seems to have an awesome rep hence why they were an alternative

[Tripod]

Yes Allan Swan does make his own barrels, I find Allan's barrels are perfect for what I do but that isn't benchrest just general shooting and a lot of hunting (And I build a lot of wildcats) I have just ordered a .40cal barrel blank from TSE but only because 40cal is one size that Allan doesn't do but it will be going to Allan for profiling and fitting. I have quite a few of his barrels up to .50cal. I also have a couple of rifles getting done at the moment and I will be dropping a few more rifles in to get done in May when I am up there.
I can tell from the fact he is only $100 cheaper that you want a S/S barrel and yes his S/S barrels are dearer than his Moly barrels.

[Mitch]

Yea mate staino barrel. Might as well

[Tripod]

Yea mate staino barrel. Might as well

I built my 6x45 with a Moly barrel and still need to finish some load development but it is already shooting extremely well and definitely knocks the ferals flat. I built mine mainly because I have a large amount of 6mm projectiles to use.

[duncan61]

The swan website is cool

[deanp100]

AS Tripod said, Allan most definitely makes barrels and very good ones. He makes a lot for bench rest shooters and I have seen a few of them ready to fit on his front counter and they are impressive.

[Smiley]

I'll never own another Maddco.

[Mitch]

Why?

[Smiley]

Why?

The short version of the story,
I've had a few after market barrels, the quality of the barrel and service was by far the worst.

[Mitch]

Service seems to be a common complaint with maddco. Quality of their barrels isnt too common, quality of their chambering and fitment does however

[Shanestokes]

If got both Maddco and swan barrels
Maddco barrel 375 cal shoots great bug holes at 100 meters all day
Swan barrels 243 ackley best barrel iever owned shoots 1/4 moa all day (if I do my part)
260 ackley shoots 1/2 moa consistently have shot it to 800 meters
Very impressed with swan barrels won’t waste my time going anywhere else

[SCJ429]

I'll never own another Maddco.

I have had the opposite experience, the best barrel I have ever owned was a Maddco, it shot in the .100 and I have bought Maddco as my first choice. I have seen Maddco barrels win National competitions and been beaten by guys using these barrels. I have never used a Swan barrel but have used Pac Nor, RDT, Hardy, Benchmark and Shillen.

[Bill]

Had a TSE barrel installed by Swan and it shot 3 shot 0.5moa allday

Had TSE put a few of their own barrels on and work was top notch just took a bit longer than I woulda liked

Never bothered with Maddco

[Homer]

G'Day Fella's,

Mitch, I'm probably biased about this, and I have never owned a Swan barrel.

There is a reason why MADDCO barrels are so difficult to obtain ................ there is a long back log of orders for them.
This is because they are so good (One of the Best barrels made), and everybody wants them.
This leave to door open to others, to fill the void (enter Mr Swan, etc).
Accuracy International made their name using MADDCO barrels, and a whole heap of other people (like myself), have used them for years.

I could go on but I'm sure you get the picture (they are worth the wait!).

Doh!
Homer

[SCJ429]

What calibers do you chamber your Maddco barrels in Homer and what do you use them for?

[rustypic]

Here's my 2 bobs worth. I was quoted $1200 for a Madco barrel and another customer in the shop told me not to touch them, so I did a lot of googling. The result was about 50/50 for Madco, not a bad comment about Swan barrels, in fact a lot of great comments re accuracy and quality, so I went for Swan. I was quoted $650 for a chrome/moly barrel that I requested with no frills, I want to keep the rifle as original as possible. Here's the kicker, they have had the action for just on 5 months and not a single word from them, I have been sending them little reminders but nothing. If I ever get my barrel I will post my findings after I test it but if you want a Swan barrel don't be in a hurry and request a time frame !!!

[SCJ429]

You were quoted $1200 for the barrel? Was that chambered and fitted? My gunsmith charges me under $1000 fitted and takes less than a week once I drop off the rifle.

[bigrich]

You were quoted $1200 for the barrel? Was that chambered and fitted? My gunsmith charges me under $1000 fitted and takes less than a week once I drop off the rifle.

If you can get a one week turnaround your very lucky. Trying to get any gunsmith work done around Brisbane is a big lesson in patience. I rang one and was told ring back in three months to see if they could take on my rebarrel job ! I’ve had work done by swan, and yeah, it’s a bit a wait as they are always very busy

[SCJ429]

I get that everyone is busy but I cannot be without a rifle for three months. They would just have it sitting around for most of that time. If you have your new barrel and the reamer does it still take months? John Gilles is in Brisbane and his turn around must be better than that. You might have to book months ahead but assuming it is just metalwork the time your rifle is in his shop must only be short.

I give my smith the specs for a new barrel and pay for it, he rings me when the barrel arrives and he has time to fit it. This process may take months. I drop the rifle off with the reamer and pick it up a week later

[Sergeant Hartman]

Was taking to someone about john Giles, he recons it will be a 12 month build for his benchrest rifle.

Maybe gunsmiths should do is take a deposit, and enter your name in the book, when they get say 2 weeks away then ask you to post it down to them. But maybe that will increase the wait times when more.

[bigrich]

I had a rebarrel done on a model 70 222 done by swan before Christmas. I was told a 6-8 week turnaround, it did take 8 till it was ready for pickup. When there is more involved smithing involved, it can take a lot longer. Allan’s expertise is in demand, especially for older stuff like martini and m17’s and such, so he’s usually got a mountain of work in front of him. He’s over 70, and does well to go at the pace he does. His son grant does the barrel work. This might be more info than is necessary, but I thought I would put the human side of this into perspective for some of you who haven’t had the opportunity to meet and talk with these fellas. Cheers

[Sergeant Hartman]

Mate sorry I wasn't appearing rude, I got a barrel done by Alan and I a.m very happy it shoots like a laser. The blueing matches the gun just perfect. For the price it cost me including shipping you can't even get a maddco barrel let alone fitting.

He has mad skills and reasonably priced, no wonder he's got a wait time.

[bigrich]

Mate sorry I wasn't appearing rude, I got a barrel done by Alan and I a.m very happy it shoots like a laser. The blueing matches the gun just perfect. For the price it cost me including shipping you can't even get a maddco barrel let alone fitting.

He has mad skills and reasonably priced, no wonder he's got a wait time.

All good mate, I didn’t take ya for being rude, I can understand the frustration of waiting, I’ve been in that position a few times. I just wanted to put a human side to what goes on with this particular family business.