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Is an MTU contour just TOO much Barrel...?

Re: Is an MTU contour just TOO much Barrel...?

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Re: Is an MTU contour just TOO much Barrel...?

The toilet has been flushed again and Larry is no longer in the building.
 
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Re: Is an MTU contour just TOO much Barrel...?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Voracious</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The toilet has been flushed again and Larry is no longer in the building. </div></div>

Hmm... any MTU/AMU floaters still in the bowl?
 
Re: Is an MTU contour just TOO much Barrel...?

To answer the OP's original question. It depends on what you intend to do with the rifle, for bench rest and prone, no problem. If you want to use it in the field, a 24" MTU barrel gets pretty heavy off hand. I had one once and won't do it again unless it is 20" or less. JMHO.
SScott
 
Re: Is an MTU contour just TOO much Barrel...?

Ill agree with Scott here. My 6.5 Lapua weighs as much as a small child, and while a small child could shoot it in the prone, you had better be very stable in the sitting/kneeling.

I cant get out past 300 meters on man-sized targets just because I get fatigued trying to stabilve my sight picture.

I have a 26" MTU, and if I could chop it to 24" or 22" overnight, I would.
 
Re: Is an MTU contour just TOO much Barrel...?

It depends on intended use, as does everything else.

MTU is fine for prone and bench shooting. Great for helping with recoil with rapid fire, and heats up slower with extended shooting. Nice for matches as well, as long as the length is reasonable.

Hunting is a completely difference objective, especially if you are going to pack and hike. Weight is a major factor.

One scenario you could shoot hundreds of rounds, and carry the rifle very little. The other situation, you carry the rifle for a long time, and shoot once, maybe twice. Stark contrast, thus different equipment for different intended uses.
 
Re: Is an MTU contour just TOO much Barrel...?

How are other shooters of a 24" + MTU doing in the sitting, kneeling and standing?

Has anyone had the ability to compare an MTU in a 24"+ vs. a 20" MTU or similar in positional shooting?

Rob01, I know you do alot of comps, and while getting as much velocity/barrel life is of importance, shooting in the sitting, kneeling & standing has to suffer atleast somewhat as compared to a 20-22" barrel.

Shooting with a hasty sling, in the sitting, man sized targets out to 300 is about all I can manage.
 
Re: Is an MTU contour just TOO much Barrel...?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Voracious</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I'd rather have a 20" 7-08 than a 26" 308. </div></div>
Hi,i'm thinking of cutting my 26" varmint barrel to 20 " on my 7-08;
how does it work for you?
 
Re: Is an MTU contour just TOO much Barrel...?

This thread seems to have been voraciously threadjacked, but to get back to the poster's question an MTU seems to me a little on the heavy side to carry around for long, but great for a range gun.

I have a Krieger 24" MTU fluted in .308, and although I like the setup I might go with a lighter barrel like a medium/heavy palma if I had to do it over again. There's a big difference between a 20" MTU and a 26" MTU as well, so the distance you'll be shooting is worth considering also.

John
 
Re: Is an MTU contour just TOO much Barrel...?

Waldo, next time you come out to the range we'll work on unsupported positions.

I have a 25" MTU on my 7WSM, I wanted to get weight up to help reduce recoil and I'm not a fan of muzzle brakes.

I shoot unsupported (sitting and kneeling) just fine (at least in my own mind), I didn't clean the lindy plates at ASC, but I came close. A Good position and practice will help more than just switching over to a lighter rifle.

Standing is more difficult with a heavier rifle, but a good sling and patience help.
 
Thinking about 21.75" MTU in a manners T5. Thoughts?

General purpose .308, prac/tac. S&B 5-25 on top
 
fluting: if metal is removed the -strength of the tube, as defined by its ability to resist Flexing will be decreased. Without getting into semantics, over the use of the word rigidity, but rather relying on the pure ability to resist flex, you can not remove metal and keep the same resistance to flex, in short it becomes less "stiff".
 
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i have a 27" MTU on my .284 and at the Cup this year the guys we were shooting with nicknamed it the Truck Axle. Yes its a heavy girl. My next match rifle is going to be a Rem Varmint +1
 
Thinking about 21.75" MTU in a manners T5. Thoughts?

General purpose .308, prac/tac. S&B 5-25 on top

I'd step down to an M24/M40 contour Bartlein, myself. I'd probably go 24" unless I planned to run it suppressed.

Also, you may want a T5A with the S&B 5-25x.
 
I think the MTU is a bit heavy in a longer barrel for anything other bench or prone. As far as a heavy Palma contour, what would that be comparable to. Checking the barrel makers websites, those barrel contour charts do not paint a good depiction of the different contours in my opinion.
 
Totally depends on what you're going to do with it. If you're out running around in the woods shooting critters or in comps...yeah, way too heavy, especially for the very little bit it buys you over a slightly smaller (but still relatively heavy) contour barrel. I just got one of my Crusaders back from GAP after a rebarrel back last week. It's now wearing a Bartlein 5R 30" 11-twist MTU contour barrel. With an LRA bipod, US Optics ACD, and a NF 12-42x56 it weighs in at 17.99 lb. Just about perfect for F-T/R where the weight limit is 18.18 lb. Like Goldilocks says, "Not too heavy, not too light it's juuuuuussssstttt right!". No chance would I have done the MTU contour if I had do do anything else with it besides just lay on the line like a lump and shoot holes in paper (LOL).
 
Damn - id have thought that rifle would weigh a lot more.

I have a 26" X 1.25" and its damn heavy
 
FWIW - the previous 28" GAP#7 (~M24 contour) barrel weighed 6.3 lb, the 30" MTU contour barrel weighs 7.5 lb, so 2" extra barrel and the thicker contour was worth about 1.3 lb extra weight. The MTU barrel has a muzzle diameter of 0.93", think how much extra metal that 1.25" straight pipe has compared to a tapered barrel, even in an MTU contour like mine. There is a lot of weight in a straight barrel, no doubt about it. My main point was that if you need portability and/or maneuverability for certain types of shooting, the extra metal in an MTU contour barrel is going to buy you very little that something like an M24, HV modified, or one one of the heavier Palma contours won't do, and at a substantial weight savings. As long as you're under the limit, weight means very little to an F-Class shooter lying on a pad on the ground, but it means a lot to someone carrying the rifle and having to maneuver it around for different shots.