Remington 700 barrel length question

[Shultram]

Hey fellas,

I'm getting into centre fire shooting and have decided on getting a new or used Remington 700 police in .223. The goal is to eventually put this into an Accuracy International stock. As far as I can tell the police comes in either a 20 or 26 inch barrel. My question is what are the pros or cons with the two different barrels? The rifle will be shooting targets, very rarely hunting. Apologies if this question has been brought up before. Cheers.

 

[gstaylorg]

How far do you plan to shoot? The 26" barrel is going to give you in the neighborhood of 100 fps (+/- 25 fps or so) higher muzzle velocity than the 20", at the expense of slightly more weight and slightly less maneuverability. Both have a 9-twist barrel. Although I've shot 77 gr projectiles quite well out of a 10-twist 21" barrel, an 8-twist would be a bit better suited than a 9-twist to the 77 gr loads you'll probably want to use for target shooting. Strictly based on your description, I would probably tell you to go with the 26" barrel. You can always have it cut if you decide you want it shorter, the reverse is not true. Having said that, "target shooting" seems to be the primary use intended for this rifle, with hunting on rare occasions. Is that general target shooting/range plinking? Or is there a specific type of target shooting you plan on using it for? Either will probably do just fine for the former, but it might make more of a difference if you have a specific type of target shooting in mind.

 

[Shultram]

How far do you plan to shoot? The 26" barrel is going to give you in the neighborhood of 100 fps (+/- 25 fps or so) higher muzzle velocity than the 20", at the expense of slightly more weight and slightly less maneuverability. Both have a 9-twist barrel. Although I've shot 77 gr projectiles quite well out of a 10-twist 21" barrel, an 8-twist would be a bit better suited than a 9-twist to the 77 gr loads you'll probably want to use for target shooting. Strictly based on your description, I would probably tell you to go with the 26" barrel. You can always have it cut if you decide you want it shorter, the reverse is not true. Having said that, "target shooting" seems to be the primary use intended for this rifle, with hunting on rare occasions. Is that general target shooting/range plinking? Or is there a specific type of target shooting you plan on using it for? Either will probably do just fine for the former, but it might make more of a difference if you have a specific type of target shooting in mind.

Thanks for the info mate, much appreciated.

I'll be doing general target shooting at varying ranges I guess. Iv got no idea what the effective range of that setup would get me. Any ideas or general goals when it comes to range?

Cheers

 

[B3dlam]

Personally, I would go with the 20" as you get a .223 to have a lighter more maneuverable gun for closer ranges IMO. If you want long range go with a different caliber .308 for cheap factory ammo or something in a 6.5 flavor if you want even longer ranges and don't mind reloading.

 

[Niles Coyote]

I have a 20 and a 24 from Remington, 26" gets a little long for my use (have one but in 308) the deal breaker for me would be the twist rate though... If you wish to use this past 300y be sure to get the 1-9 twist in the 223. This will allow the use of bullets for longer distances.

The below post is my success and failures with a 9 twist factory barrel in a 20” Remington tactical.
http://www.snipershide.com/shooting/showthread.php?t=108348

 

[kg4mon]

In a .223 go with the 20 inch. IMO.

 

[thrusty]

+1 on the 20" barrel option. .223 is a great calibler, but lacks the long-range ass to really justify a 26" barrel.
You will like a short rifle - love my 20" .308 - great with a suppressor and for short-range tactical matches.

 

[gstaylorg]

Again, barrel length utility will depend a lot on what type shooting you intend to do. I currently have a .223 bolt gun build at GAP that is close to being completed. It will be wearing a 26" 7-twist barrel. My primary intention is to use it as a "trainer" for F-Class comps, as it will be very close to my GAP .308s except for caliber and slightly shorter barrel length. However, if this gun shoots like I have every reason to expect it will, I will also use it occasionally in midrange matches (300-600 yd). Although I don't intend to use for LR comps (1000 yd), on paper it would be good to this distance using 80.5 gr Bergers. Along the same lines, if you have any thoughts of competing in F-Class (or similar) matches, you're going to want all the barrel and muzzle velocity you can get. Obviously the limitation in your situation is the 9-twist barrel, which will put a limit on the weight (length) of projectiles you can effectively use. I would expect you should be able to reach out to 500-600 yd fairly easily with your setup, even using 69 gr SMKs. If you only intend to shoot for fun out to 300-400 yd or so, by all means you could go with the 20" barrel. But if you want to do any shooting past that range, you may want to start out with the 26" pipe. As I mentioned, you can always cut it back later if you don't like the length. Best of luck with it.

 

[bobaguilar]

I like a 22" with a 1:8 twist barrel. A 20" would work all day as well, but I would get a 1:8 or faster barrel to ensure it can stabilize the heavier higher BC bullets.

 

[Tonmarchelli]

Agree with a shorter barrel.