Mark
I go through several barrels a year in competition shooting. Usually don't get over a thousand rounds on a bbl. Some of us Iowa shooters get together and place an order. My shooting buddy/gunsmith friend Dean and I are the ringleaders. I believe you get a discount after 20 barrels. We picked up 33 blanks the other day. All 6mm 4 Groove, .237 diameter, 13.75 twist, and made from 416 stainless. Shipping would have been around $660 so a 4.5 hour drive each way pays off. Along with getting a free lunch from Bartlein and a tour it makes a full day. I think that envelope full of Franklins gets us a tad better deal also. Tracy Bartlein started with very little resources 15 years ago, and today is THE premium cut rifled Benchrest bbl maker. He has contracts with the military also. He actually was coming back to the plant from a deer hunt in SW Iowa the day we were there. Tracy also collects GTO's.
PS for Floyd. You spoke about the dirty rotten business owners in this country on another thread taking advantage of the employees. Each year we pick up our order and pay cash in December. This dirty rotten business owner gives it to his employees for a Christmas bonus. This year over 9 grand. Maybe this is one of the reasons they have very little employee turnover.