Are TSE barrels any good?

[Duramax]

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Top photo is from a US manufactured barrel about to be fitted tomorrow. Bottom photo is a TSE barrel I refused to fit. Just not worth the trouble and it seems the same philosophy from the Graham Bugden era of MAB has carried on to the current owner. Graham told me years ago that the "chatter" was an accuracy advancement that was used to good effect by some South African mob. Well that and the continued use of 416 that was way too soft for chambers with thin tenon walls was the end for me. Graham did some very good rimfire barrels for me back in the day but only after insistence they be lapped to remove the corrugated road effect.
Why people are not using Alan Swan's barrels is beyond me. Very well priced, good lead time and the young lad has really put the effort into getting good steel and the latest technology. Neville still makes a great barrel but his manner at times and lead times has put a lot of people off. Many may not know that Neville's barrels have been fitted to some top name rifles in the US which has meant for a long time we here are fed what we can get if we can get it. Shame really as I consider his barrels equal to any US manufacturer barring Krieger.. They are without doubt the best barrel statistically I have used. Never had an ordinary one which says a lot about cut barrels versus pull or push button rifling.

[bigrich]

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Top photo is from a US manufactured barrel about to be fitted tomorrow. Bottom photo is a TSE barrel I refused to fit. Just not worth the trouble and it seems the same philosophy from the Graham Bugden era of MAB has carried on to the current owner. Graham told me years ago that the "chatter" was an accuracy advancement that was used to good effect by some South African mob. Well that and the continued use of 416 that was way too soft for chambers with thin tenon walls was the end for me. Graham did some very good rimfire barrels for me back in the day but only after insistence they be lapped to remove the corrugated road effect.
Why people are not using Alan Swan's barrels is beyond me. Very well priced, good lead time and the young lad has really put the effort into getting good steel and the latest technology. Neville still makes a great barrel but his manner at times and lead times has put a lot of people off. Many may not know that Neville's barrels have been fitted to some top name rifles in the US which has meant for a long time we here are fed what we can get if we can get it. Shame really as I consider his barrels equal to any US manufacturer barring Krieger.. They are without doubt the best barrel statistically I have used. Never had an ordinary one which says a lot about cut barrels versus pull or push button rifling.

sorry mate , you lost me . which barrel brand is neville associated with ? so that tse barrel is recently made ? as for swans , i stopped using them years ago after some p!ss poor workmanship on a 358win i had built , oversized chamber with chattering and a no-go gauge closed easily in the action , among other issues . once the workmanship issues were fixed , it was a extremely accurate , well made barrel . years later i decided to get my new smith to purchase a barrel from swanns to be fitted by him . it was a freakin copper mine , i've never come across anything like it . hand lapped my @ss ! i could say more about other customers disappointments , mainly to do with chamber and head space issues , but i've said enough already . thanks for your response , cheers

[Duramax]

Neville Madden of MADDCO. Agree that a few years ago Swan barrels were somewhat a lucky dip. His son does the barrels now, new gear, steel and process. Different outcome.
Was it a chromemoly or stainless barrel in the 358?

[Wapiti]

Just seems to me to show you can be lucky and you sometimes aren't... but inconsistency is not good.
I've only ever seen two barrels around here from a certain Ipswich maker, and the workmanship issues I've been able to see immediately when they are clocked does not give me any desire to ever have them fit something for me.
The rifles did not perform and I can only assume it was for the usual reasons that could have been easily avoided if a proper basic set-up job was done after the blank was made.
Speaking against the popular tide on forums can get you criticised but you can't help what your experiences are. But everyone makes a lemon, even the best of them.

[bigrich]

Neville Madden of MADDCO. Agree that a few years ago Swan barrels were somewhat a lucky dip. His son does the barrels now, new gear, steel and process. Different outcome.
Was it a chromemoly or stainless barrel in the 358?

Chromemoly for the 358 and the later 30 cal copper mine barrel . I respect your opinion, but I won’t touch Swann stuff with a barge pole after my personal experience with them. Ahh, Neville madden of madco was who you referred to. I have one of his barrels on my 222 rem 700, top notch accurate barrel. After a bit of research, im going to give a true flite barrel from NZ a go on a Mauser 98 in 30-06. Your opinion on the is disappointing, but thanks for the heads up .

[straightshooter]

How often has one tried a blemished fruit and found that it tasted fantastic or tried a perfect looking supermarket fruit and regretted it.
Same with barrels.
It's the first 3 inches and the last 6 inches that really count. The part in between can have slight dimensional deviations and cosmetic blemishes, within reason, and not be a problem.

[Wapiti]

Over the last few years I'd bought two Brno Model 2's.
I kept hearing how accurate they were. Don't doubt some are.
Both were beautiful looked after examples, but they would not shoot with any kind of hollow point ammo. After a tip from John Robinson in an article in the now defunct Guns Australia magazine, I slugged them. The last few inches of the barrel on both, the projectile just almost fell out. One had both tight and loose spots right through.
In his article he said that this was quite common, and yeah the guns had a great action, but needed an aftermarket barrel to really come up to scratch.
I just got rid of them, and finally found an as-new CZ 452 which doesn't do that. It can shoot really well with some brands of hunting ammo.
There's more to consistency than just a good barrel but without one, there's no point.