Fedderson Barrel Questions

2193 Views 17 Replies 14 Participants Last post by GutWrench, 21 d ago

TuckerJ

Discussion Starter · 4 mo ago

Been reading quite a bit about barrels lately. Very very slowly working on upgrading a "graphite" 10/22 I got this summer. Next step is the barrel.

Searching the forums seems to show Fedderson barrels in a very positive light in the past. Often compared to Kidd barrels. It seems like they might have been somewhat comparable to Kidd in price in years past also.

I see now that Fed barrels are roughly the same price as Green Mountain with Kidd costing quite a lot more. Have also very recently read a couple reports of bad luck with Fed barrels and some suggestions that quality has dropped.

What's the general consensus of new Fedderson barrels? Are they cheaper than they used to be? Has quality dropped? Or has there just been some recent bad luck being shared lately?

Initially I was planning to get a 19" Green Mountain heavy taper or 20" GM sporter but both have been out of stock for forever it seems. The out of stock issue has been making me consider other barrel options. I like the heavy taper in 19 to 20 inch lengths but might consider 17. Kidd is too expensive and not sure how I feel about the Ruger LVT takeoffs.

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BCR1

· #2 · 4 mo ago

I live 70 miles from them and drove up there around five weeks ago and picked up an 18" taper for my 10/22. It was made in Sept of 2021 and shoots better/more accurate than the factory 18" my rifle came with. I have no issues with the muzzle/crown like reported lately on this site. RWS Rifle Match ammo is the preferred ammo I use.

I plan to use the rifle for 100 meter steel silhouette matches starting next month at our local club.

HTH,
Bill

naked_ballyhoo

· #3 · 4 mo ago

Love my 16.25 threaded bull. Fit and finish excellent. Just like I had read, the slip fit was easy, but no play. Used a tacsol v-block and it is perfectly centered in a victor titan. Factory receiver, bolt and trigger. Does have a volquartsen trigger kit in it. Regularly shoots .4 with CCI SV, prefers SK std and CMP bulk Eley with regular .3 to .35 inch groups. Was disappointed that it does not particularly like Tac.

TheGunNut

· #4 · 4 mo ago

I have a 16.25 fluted and am very happy with the results. I am going to purchase his 17 inch heavy contoured and an 18 inch contoured barrel. Both will be threaded for a possible future suppressor.

Nykus777

· #5 · 4 mo ago

I have them on 3 differant rifles. For the price point I think they are ourstanding. No issues chambering wolf, Eley, or lapua.

Goldstar225

· #6 · 4 mo ago

I purchased an 18" Fedderson contour barrel 2-3 months ago. Every aspect of the barrel looks good. It provided a definite improvement in accuracy over my factory barrel. CCI mini-mag HP, CCI subsonic HP, and CCI SV are all shooting well from it.

Range Junkie

· #7 · 4 mo ago

Watching this thread as I've been considering a Feddreson myself.

Reactions: 1

2500X

· #8 · 4 mo ago

When it comes to barrels "you pay your money and take your chances." It's just a fact that some barrels from any mfg will be better than others. Even barrels from some of the best custom barrel blanks can have significant differences in performance. The gunsmith who made my benchrest rifles would slug and reject barrels from just about all the major custom rimfire barrel mfg. What I can say about my one Feddersen 18" barrel that I put on my 10/22 is that I was very satisfied with the accuracy. I wasn't expecting custom BR rifle accuracy but what I got was very satisfactory.

EdSy

· #9 · 4 mo ago

I have a 10/22 "project" rifle, the standard, that's about 15 years old. I've polished the original trigger parts and installed a couple of lighter springs. Very crisp 3.5# pull. I cut the step-down tip of the forend off at a reverse slant and added a small pressure point near the new tip. That will be removed temporarily when I install the Feddersen 16.25" Contoured barrel that's on its way to me now. I have a good baseline of accuracy data on the original barrel, so I'll let you know how the new Feddersen shoots as soon as I get it on and have a range session with it. -Ed

Reactions: 2

TuckerJ

Discussion Starter · #10 · 4 mo ago

Sounds good EdSy. Thanks for the responses from everyone so far. Knowing that buying barrels on the lower/mid end of the cost range, I understand that it's a case of chance and playing the barrel lottery to a degree. With that said, I've always felt with any mid price item doing research can usually stack the odds of getting a good product more in your favor. Some things tend to be overpriced for their quality while others tend to be bargains.

The current situation of low or no stock on many items adds even another twist to making a choice!

Tucker

2500X

· #11 · 4 mo ago

If you look at my thread on the "Anything 10/22" forum titled "Good Outing Today" you will see an IR50/50 target that I shot last week at 25 yds with my 10/22 using an 18" Feddersen barrel.. It shoots way better than I expected.

Reactions: 1

EdSy

· #12 · 4 mo ago

I've had two range sessions with the Feddersen 16.25" tapered barrel. In the first, I had the barrel in the wood factory stock, just removed the original Ruger 18" and mounted the Feddersen. I left the pressure point that I'd installed for the factory barrel. Four samples of .22 LR ammo grouped around 1" at 50 yards, and one grouped just over 1/2" all 5-shot groups. Second session, I wanted to try "floating" the Feddersen barrel, so I installed it in a laminated wood stock with the barrel channel cut for bull barrels. The first 1/5" +/- ahead of the chamber was snug in the wood, and the rest of the barrel was well clear. I tried five ammo samples with one just over 1/2", but different ammo from the first session. Another sample gave two groups around 3/4", and the three remaining samples were just over 1" - again 5-shot groups. The larger groups all had some vertical stringing, while the smaller groups were more round. Seems like none of the samples repeated what they'd shown in the first session. I'll keep working with this Feddersen barrel to see what bedding it "likes" best. But at this point, I can't say that the Feddersen that I have is substantially better than my original factory 18" tapered barrel. You may get a better or (hopefully not) worse barrel than the one I have. I'll update when I have more info.

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TuckerJ

Discussion Starter · #13 · 4 mo ago

Thanks for reporting back EdSy. I hope you can find the ammo and bedding/pressure combo that gets that barrel performing for you. Keep us updated!

Tucker

unklchuck

· #14 · 4 mo ago

Thought I'd chime in with my observations on the Fedderson barrels. I recently put a 16" bull on a Charger project I've got going. Ordered online, no issues and delivered reasonably quick. Required a wee tap to seat in a stock Charger receiver. I was amazed at how clean the barrel was, usually a new barrel needs a good cleaning, this one needed 2 patches. Using a Gunsmither block and installed in an Enoch Deep Six Chassis, the barrel is completely free floating at this time and first groups were in the 1/2" range at 25 using yards CCI SV.
I'm satisfied at this point, more to do on this project.

Reactions: 1

majorpandemic

· #15 · 4 mo ago

Here is my perspective. I have owned about every barrel made including Hart, Shilen, Proof, V7 Beyer, WhistlePig/Acculite, TacSol, Volquartsen, Kidd, PWS, Summit, Douglas, Clark, Tactical Innovations, Tuned OEM, ... and many more.

The Volquartsen Match, Kidd, Feddersen and Proof in my option can tie each other on opposite sides of any afternoon. With that noted, The Proof and Feddersen are the only two which I can shove pretty much anything down the pipe and they will function reliably. The Volquartsen and Kidd though accurate, has been just a frustrating pinking effort of digging stuck rounds out of the chamber - They like good consistent ammo.

If you want off the rack precision go with Kidd or Volquartsen. I think Volq has a bit more style. If you want a barrel upgrade Feddersen all day long for me. I highly recommend the 17" heavy taper.

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Reactions: 2

Fatsoup

· #16 · 3 mo ago

majorpandemic said:
Here is my perspective. I have owned about every barrel made including Hart, Shilen, Proof, V7 Beyer, WhistlePig/Acculite, TacSol, Volquartsen, Kidd, PWS, Summit, Douglas, Clark, Tactical Innovations, Tuned OEM, ... and many more.

The Volquartsen Match, Kidd, Feddersen and Proof in my option can tie each other on opposite sides of any afternoon. With that noted, The Proof and Feddersen are the only two which I can shove pretty much anything down the pipe and they will function reliably. The Volquartsen and Kidd though accurate, has been just a frustrating pinking effort of digging stuck rounds out of the chamber - They like good consistent ammo.

If you want off the rack precision go with Kidd or Volquartsen. I think Volq has a bit more style. If you want a barrel upgrade Feddersen all day long for me. I highly recommend the 17" heavy taper.

The Fedderson 17" over the Volquartsen 17" than?

buckweet

· #17 · 21 d ago

I like my feddersen 16 bull barrel.. fluted.
Very accurate with just about anything I feed it.
Strangely?? It likes Remington golden hollow points.
I love that.

GutWrench

· #18 · 21 d ago

I have had good luck with my Feddersen taper barrell. I have never shot groups with it other than when I sight it in. So i don't know exactly how accurate it can be. I don't miss with it shooting critters and black birds. I can hit the 6" plate at 220yds.

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