Barrel Length and Thickness Contour

[Viper1]

Gentlemen,

There comes times in each of our shooting lives when we must ask what may seem to others as ludicrously basic questions. Nonetheless, they beg answers and the truly stupid question is the one unasked.

My Gunsmith buddy, with whom I have been associated for 25 years, recently advised me on a sniper rifle purchase, my first non-sporting in 300 WM. On his suggestion I bought a new Remington 700 SPS SS in the above calibration. My questions do not involve the esoterica of loads and sighting but on the basic configuration of the rifle itself. Let me mention that I am a lifelong big bore shooter and enthusiast proud of saying that the .375 H&H is the smallest caliber I shoot. So, other than some involuntary "hunting" with the .7.62 and 5.56, elsewhere and as a much younger man, my hunting rounds over the last 40 years or so are and have been large calibers. Thus endeth the disclaimer.

The rifle I have, which I immediately re-stocked in a B&C Medalist, sports a 26" sporting contour barrel. I was about to buy the 26" Rem. 700 XCR but they were unavailable in the current market. My buddy said that that was ok as he reckoned the $1,250 XCR was overpriced for what amounts to, in our case, a barreled action. I must admit that the $638 I paid for the SPS was very reasonable but when I questioned the relatively slender profile of the SPS he replied "Barrel weight has little to do with accuracy in modern rifles and is mostly a holdover from black powder." He did acknowledge that the difference in contour does affect the barrel harmonics but otherwise has no measurable effect.

He said that barrel length only affects velocity while barrel weight only provides the immediately obvious: more weight forward for off hand shooting, damping of barrel harmonics for consistency (un-measurable) and a certain aesthetic.

He also said that the lighter barrel's contribution to easier handling and carrying more than compensates for any perceived increases in performance.

So, Oh Wizards of the long poke, what say you? I've downed a big old Eland at 500m with my 375 H&H out of its 24 in barrel and my wife and I compete, she as spotter, in long range BPCR competitions where we ring the ram at 500m with lead bullets over black powder using open sights. Do it all the time, so long range, so to speak, is not foreign to me but this barrel stuff begs education. Enlighten me, please.

With Thanks,
Viper1

 

[JimHanks]

"Barrel weight has little to do with accuracy in modern rifles and is mostly a holdover from black powder." He did acknowledge that the difference in contour does affect the barrel harmonics but otherwise has no measurable effect.

I would not completely agree - heavier barrels tend to be more stable during the firing process having an impact in the harmonics. The more consistent and stable the platform; the larger the benefits to accuracy. There is a trend toward slighter contours but those are still considerably heavier than the sporter contour that you mentioned. I am assuming that your contour is somewhere around a 0.830 tapered to around 0.660. For reference, I mainly use MTU 1.25 straight taper to 0.920.

In addition, it really depends on just what you are trying to accomplish with the rifle. 300 WM with lighter barrel, cold bore on an Eland @ 500 - not necessarily an issue. 300 WM with light barrel having to put 10 rounds on target @ 750 in 60 seconds, another story. Long story short - plinking and hunting the barrel weight more than likely will preform as advertised; running one hard - the heavier contour will out perform the lighter one.


Another benefit of the heavier barrel is recoil management. Again, really depends on what you are trying to accomplish. To me, it extremely important that I see impacts to correct for follow up shots. To some, that is not an issue. I will admit that I don't carry a 16.4 lb rifle when I go elk hunting - have lived long pass those visions of greatness

 

[Viper1]

Jim,

Many thanks for your insightful and quite informative response. Your assessment agrees with all I've learned in my 55 years of pitching lead and I was highly skeptical of my good friend's statement but I am always interested in learning new things and I thought that just perhaps barrel technology had far outpaced my somewhat dated knowledge. Good to know that the things I learned from Elmer, Jack and company are just as true today as when they wrote them.

Actually I have taken the issue into my own hands as it were and replaced that rifle with another 300WM. I scooped up a new from Remington "Creakote Tactical" which is a 700 action mated to a 26" fluted heavier barrel, 10"-1' 5R rifling [whatever that is] with a Leupold 3.5-14 X50 Tactical scope. The most interesting thing about this rifle, at least to me, is the stock. It is a Bell & Carlson copy of the original M40A1 fiberglass stock from 1971, a fit and feel with which I am, perhaps unfortunately, quite familiar. It does fit like an old glove as opposed to the B&C Medalist I put on the other rifle. I never got used to the comb bulge of that stock and, although this M40 style stock doesn't look as "cool" as the Medalist, it fits and that's it for me.

Thanks Again, See You Around,
Rob aka Viper1

 

[chopper duke]

Rob, while I don't have anything to offer I must say that I enjoy reading your questions and the discussion that follows.

 

[freq18hz]

Hi Viper1,

I'm sure there are many folks around here that can give you a much better answer than I am able to. Here's my meager attempt:

I agree with the advice of your friend, in that light weight translates to easier carrying and easier off-hand shooting. I think an important distinction to mention when considering off-hand accuracy however is that a heavier rifle (as long as you can point it, and maintain your POA with ease) will suffer less from body movement, heartbeat etc. This translates to more accuracy. So while a lighter rifle will be easier to shoot off hand, it may not be as accurate in your hands. This depends on how much is "too much" for you. Also, very heavy barrels cause the rifle to be nose heavy and unbalanced. This is great for shooting prone on a bipod, not so much for sitting or off-hand.

What a heavier barrel will net you is more latency between your first shot, and significant drift in accuracy due to heat after multiple shots. A heavier target style barrel will allow a shooter to string more shots before POI changes significantly. This is more noticeable on some rifles, than others. This may be more noticeable in a magnum caliber, given the additional heat produced. In real world conditions, with your average "accurate" hunting rifle, you should be able to keep your shots within a 12 inch circle out to about 500 yards for 5-10 shots (or until the barrel is too hot to touch).

If you want to be able to shoot 1 MOA or better after multiple shots, or are shooting at longer distances (1000 yards +) and want to maintain extreme accuracy you will need a non sporter contour barrel. Yes this will add an extreme amount of weight.

There is also some thought that a barrel with less material (especially fluted) will cool off faster than a heavier barrel. Yes the less mass, the faster they heat up. It's a trade off.

In regards to length: A longer barrel will give you increased velocities, which result in longer range.

Lot's of people love 12lb+ rifles, that weigh 15-16 lbs with scope + ammo. Others prefer a 7lb mountain gun. As you know all too well, In shape leathernecks can hump around a 16lb rifle all day long. Other folks can't.

Hope this helps,

-Freq

 

[ArmyJerry]

Is that all a Marine can hump these days,,, 16 lbs.????? I have a Featherweight 30/06, kicks nice, use for hunting, shoots very well, action is the smoothest non custom I have ever shot. SHTF the heavy barrels will get used, sustained fire is better in a heavy barrel. I think you made the right choice with the 700, shoot it a bit and see if you are happy, if you want a better barrel with any contour for it can be had for less than $350.