Of the Garand GI barrels which manufacturer is considered the higher quality?

Status
Not open for further replies.
FWIW, I have been delighted with my Criterion barrel on my AMC-built CMP Special. One of the nice things about them is that they are short-chambered so the installer can finish ream the chambers. This allows for nice tight chamber for match grade ammo. I have gotten 2 MOA accuracy with mine...substantially better than acceptance standard for military rifles. When it's time to rebarrel on of my other M1s, I'll be using a Criterion barrel...and having the CMP Custom shop do the work.

Harry
 
Why do you feel as though our barrels are not match grade? Earlier this summer a shooter set a national record with his Criterion M1 Carbine barrel, and a few years back the Vintage Sniper Match was won with a 1941 USMC build incorporating a Criterion Barrel. One of our prototype Lee Enfield No.4 barrels placed first in the New Zealand National matches earlier this year as well. Each M1 Garand barrel produced in-house is hand lapped and held to the same tolerance standards as our other vintage reproduction designs.

Just because our production model is more efficient than some other brands (allowing us to offer lower prices due to the ability to produce in larger volume batches) doesn't mean that we aren't able to produce barrels that meet the same performance criteria as the more expensive alternatives. The quality control measures and design requirements put in place are the qualifiers for whether or not a barrel can be labelled "match grade".
Nothing wrong with your Criterion barrels. Matter of fact with the exception of the higher cost Kreiger Match barrels the Criterion barrels are really the only draw in town anymore. Twenty five years ago when the M1 Garands were still popular in matches there were several choices for M1 Garand and M14 barrels. Today as for aftermarket barrels Criterion is about it and they make a fine barrel, ever popular with the CMP.

As to the term "Match Grade" I believe Bart explained the sorting process several post back. When cutting barrels the tooling wears. Those cut early will be likely the better barrels when gauged. When you broach a barrel it's like making Vodka, the first runs will be better than those that come later.

Criterion enjoys a nice niche with their not only Garand but other military barrels as well. One of these days I need to snatch another Garand and build a 308 Garand using that barrel I posted earlier. :) Then my life will be complete.

Ron
 
How are the Italian barrels?
They are good. Best served al dente with a light sprinkle of Romano Pecorino in a light tomato based sauce.

OK, seriously The Beretta barrels I have seen were all good. Keep in mind we are looking at standard military barrels. They all do what they were originally designed to do. That being my take on it anyway.

Ron
 
They are good. Best served al dente with a light sprinkle of Romano Pecorino in a light tomato based sauce.

OK, seriously The Beretta barrels I have seen were all good. Keep in mind we are looking at standard military barrels. They all do what they were originally designed to do. That being my take on it anyway.

Ron
Isn't all the PB stuff built on Winchester machinery?
 
There was a article a couple years ago in Precison Shooting Magazine that did accuracy testing on Criterion ,Douglas and Krieger rifle barrels.
The author used the same receiver on all three barrels and tried various brands of ammo.The cheaper Criterion barrel produced the smallest groups
 
Isn't all the PB stuff built on Winchester machinery?
The foreign stuff is getting away from what I know and what I have books covering but I remember rumor control saying that the original WWII Winchester machinery was given to Beretta by the US Government who actually owned it. Beretta deemed the stuff to be pretty much worn out and useless for making good rifles so Beretta built their own machining and tooling. Now I haven't a clue how much truth there is to that. Likely as a M1 Garand historian type Orlando may be able to shed some light on a correct or valid answer.

Ron
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top