Anyone make/supply Barrels for Ruger Precision Rifles in Au?

[Rod_outbak]

Folks,

Wondering if anyone knows of any barrel manufacturers/suppliers who sell barrels to suit the Ruger Precision Rifle platform, here in Australia?

I know the there is a 26" Criterion barrel in 6.5 Creedmoor sold through Brownells Australia, but I wondered if any of the local barrel manufacturers made barrels to suit the RPR yet?

My RPR is the 20" .308win with the 1:10" twist, but I'd like to explore installing a 6.5cm or .243Win to see if this better suits my needs.
[I have a mate who regularly swaps out barrels on his Tubb 2000, so the barrel change itself isnt an issue, once we source the relevant tools/gages.]

Any info appreciated.

Cheers,

Rod.

[bladeracer]

Folks,

Wondering if anyone knows of any barrel manufacturers/suppliers who sell barrels to suit the Ruger Precision Rifle platform, here in Australia?

I know the there is a 26" Criterion barrel in 6.5 Creedmoor sold through Brownells Australia, but I wondered if any of the local barrel manufacturers made barrels to suit the RPR yet?

My RPR is the 20" .308win with the 1:10" twist, but I'd like to explore installing a 6.5cm or .243Win to see if this better suits my needs.
[I have a mate who regularly swaps out barrels on his Tubb 2000, so the barrel change itself isnt an issue, once we source the relevant tools/gages.]

Any info appreciated.

Cheers,

Rod.

I don't think manufacturers generally make a barrel to fit a specific rifle.
They just make barrel blanks in various profiles. Your smith then chambers it, and installs it to your receiver.

[Rod_outbak]

Yeah; it's a different story for the RPR.

It takes anyone (with basic gunsmithing tools and skills), just under an hour to swap out a barrel on this rifle.
I believe the barrel locking system is similar to what is used on many AR rifles, and I have a suspicion the Savage Axis rifles use a similar system.

As I mentioned in the initial post, I can buy a 26" Criterion barrel for the RPR from Brownells Australia, but before I take that option, I wondered if there were any local barrel manufacturers who had already made up a barrel for a RPR.

Cheers,

Rod.

[bladeracer]

Yeah; it's a different story for the RPR.

It takes anyone (with basic gunsmithing tools and skills), just under an hour to swap out a barrel on this rifle.
I believe the barrel locking system is similar to what is used on many AR rifles, and I have a suspicion the Savage Axis rifles use a similar system.

As I mentioned in the initial post, I can buy a 26" Criterion barrel for the RPR from Brownells Australia, but before I take that option, I wondered if there were any local barrel manufacturers who had already made up a barrel for a RPR.

Cheers,

Rod.

Is it cheaper to buy one already set up for the RPR than to have a blank installed?

[Rod_outbak]

I dunno; the price from Brownells is very similar to what I paid for a barrel I had replaced on my Krico .243 some 4 years ago by a gunsmith.
So, purely from a dollars point of view, I'd expect it might be much the same cost either way.

Point is; I'd like to end up with 2 or 3 different calibre/length barrels for the RPR, and mess around with them to figure out the most appealing for my shooting.

The RPR platform is set up to swap barrels out easily, and if I was living in the US, I'd likely already have a couple of different barrels, as at least 5 barrel manufacturers over there are supplying exactly what I'm describing (drop-in pre-fit barrels for the RPR).
[Criterion, Carbon Six, Proof Research, McGowan Precision, Krieger, etc etc etc]

Hence my query if anyone else had previously invented the wheel in Australia.

Cheers,

Rod.

[Gamerancher]

There's a mob advertising a .308 RPR barrel on usedguns, maybe see if they have other chamberings.

[pomemax]

https://www.usedguns.com.au/Product.aspx?p=121861

[Rod_outbak]

Many thanks to Gamerancher and pomemax; That gives me the name of a barrel manufacturer in NZ who is producing pre-fit RPR barrels; in both carbon-fibre wrapped and steel; as well as 2 or 3 Australian distributors for their barrels.

I still have a few more rounds to punch through the .308 before I explore this option, but it looks like by the time I'm ready to take the plunge, there might be 2 or 3 options for suppliers.

Thanks again for the link.

Cheers,

Rod.

[straightshooter]

Make sure of the facts before you jump in.
Generally 'prefit' barrels are chambered 'long' and some simple machining may be required for correct headspacing in any particular action.
I am not familiar with this model but if it is based on their original bolt action then the above will be the case.

[Rod_outbak]

Straightshooter, if you re-read the posts I've made from the start of this thread, then you'd note that this particular platform takes 'Pre-fit' 'Drop-In' barrels.
They dont need machining to headspace them; headspacing is done by the adjustment of the barrel lock nut.

Similar to the AR series of rifles, the Savage Axis, the Tubb 2000, and I'd guess a few other makes/models, the RPR platform allows a barrel change with some simple tools:
An AR-Style barrel wrench (Magpul make a nice one)
A set of vise inserts to clamp a barrel properly (Brownells sell a few varieties of such)
A vise firmly bolted to a heavy bench
A set of headspacing gages to suit the new barrel/calibre
A set of Allen key wrenches to remove forestock etc.
Anti_sieze.

There are also a multitude of YouTube videos by people who have done this very same work on their own RPR's, of which I have watched about 4 so far.

As previously mentioned, I have a distance-shooting mate who regularly swaps out his Tubb 2K rifle barrel; a process VERY similar to the RPR barrel change. That mate also owns his own RPR, as do a couple of other shooting mates, who have all expressed an interest in the project(if/when we get it underway).

It is possible to buy a barrel blank and have the gunsmith fit it from scratch, but given I bought this particular platform because it was possible for any half-competent person to swap barrels out themselves, it seems kinda defeatist to hand the job over to a gunsmith. Where is the fun in that??
Besides; the option to have a series of barrels to suit, is rather appealling. Why stop at one extra barrel??

Cheers,

Rod.

[Simon101351]

It been a couple of years since this post but just wanted to know if there are any suppliers doing the drop in RPR barrels now
Thanks

[bladeracer]

Bugger, $550 for a barrel for the RPR .22LR looks like something worth investigating

[in2anity]

Bugger, $550 for a barrel for the RPR .22LR looks like something worth investigating

Priced well aye. Can confirm blade, without question that IBI barrel groups measurebly better than the factory.