Hello All, I know it seems Tantal barrel questions seem to get asked every so often, but never with any specifics on either side of it.  So I am wondering what would be the best and most correct Tantal barrel to get that is actually available.  I always see AK-Builder and Green Mountain mentioned but never much else about them.

An original Tantal barrel is probably not really an option even though that would be my number one choice, but I’m sure they are very hard/next to impossible to find and if you do it’s going to be pretty expensive and more likely to be an assembly or whole original barrel kit. I would like it to be as correct as I can get with what’s really available as I don’t see a good deal on a original polish Tantal military barrel as something that is really going to actually happen. Don’t get me wrong I would LOVE one but.......

So the two options that I see really being practical are:

Green Mountain- which is made of 4140 and chrome lined.  The thing that I like about them is I’m pretty sure they are a 4 grove pattern which would be more correct for this build. I also heard the pins are all already drilled except barrel pin which is another negative in my book.

AK-Builder- hammer forged and chrome lined(Which I really like the sound of) and also being 4150 steel the only down side is I’m not sure what number grove the barrel is? Does anyone know? I will email them to find out but while I’m here maybe someone knows.

I have an older AK-builder Tantal barrel chrome lined that’s not hammer forged and it is 6 grove rifling.  So I’m wondering if it would be worth it to find a better option that was more correct for a Tantal

Now I’m thinking that hammer forged out weighs the 4 groove correctness of the GM barrel, and the added barrel life and correctness of a hammer forged barrel far outweighs the rest.  Plus no pin slots already drilled.  So my question would be what are others opinions and has anyone else used these AK-Builder HF CL barrel, and how was the fit when building with it?

Last option hold out in hopes new production polish HF CL 5.45x39 are imported someday in the future, or at least barrel blanks.  The demand for them not being very high I feel that is doubtful.

Thanks in advance.....

I have built a pile of Tantals over the years, both with original barrels & replacement barrels after they started cutting the barrels up. The originals go without saying, but finding one of those is unlikely, especially @ a price we might pay. The first replacement barrels were from Interarms & built & shot well, chrome lined also.

The second group of barrels were from Green Mountain, chrome lined & well made. I built the last two Tantals with those barrels & found them very easy to work with but, due to health issues, have not been able to test them out on the range yet. I would go with the GM barrels for good barrel that shoots well & will stand up to corrosive ammo well if you don't clean your rifle well. The pin cuts lined up very well on the GM barrel with both kits, so that was great during the builds. You still have to drill the holes before installing the pins, but not as virgin holes.

Good luck on your decisions & build.

Thanks for the reply and input, I was originally thinking Green Mountain would be the way to go even more so than the Old AK builder barrel I have.  But with these hammer forged Tantal barrels AK builder has that’s kinda hard to not want to go with when the original Tantal was CHF.  Back when I bought the one I have they were not available.  I’m sure any one of them would be good to go but there definitely is something about having a hammer forged barrel like the original was.  Still not sure if it’s worth getting as I already have an older one non hammer forged barrel. Just want to do it as best as I can the first time.  That’s good to hear the pins being drilled didn’t give any problems.  Hopefully you will be able to shoot them soon.

Thanks