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Gunsmithing 20" Barrel on 300 Win Mag

Don-n-Texas

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Apr 17, 2011
648
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Houston now in Denton County
I would like to get a Remington 5R. Then cut the Barrel to 20" and install a muzzle break. Would I lose a lot of performance?. Would you recommend cutting the barrel to 20"

Thank you for your time
 
You could buy a 20" threaded 308. Shoot that as is with a brake. Save you some blast . There are archived discussion of short 300's.
 
I had a Remington 700 5R 300WM that was 20". I was able to get Berger 230 Hybrids up to 2580 FPS +/- 22 FPS.
At 1000 yds that is roughly 1500 FPS and carries a FT-LBS energy of 1160. I was happy with it and I would do it again.
Not to mention, a 20" is very handy in the woods. I hope this helps
 
Why do you want it to be 20 inches long plus can? You are going to be burning about 70 grains of powder. That is a lot of hot gas for the can to handle. If you make it light, it is going to have a vicious recoil. Seems to me that a 458 socom would be a better choice for a door kicker. A 26-inch barrel would be better for long range and a 20-plus-can gives up something. You won't be able to swap ammo with another 300 WM shooter. What are you thinking?
 
Don,

I have a factory Browning Eclipse 2000 in 300 WM which has an 18 or 20 inch barrel, with the vented BOSS on it as I recall it's about 22 or 24 inches. I tested the same load in it as I do for other 300 WMs I have and get about 100 f/s less velocity compared to the other 300 WMs. Muzzle blast is much more pronounced than with the other rifles.

HTH,
DocB
 
The recoil wasn't too bad for me, at least in an XLR w/ surefire 7.62 brake. I could shoot that rifle all day without problems. Hell a couple of ladies got behind it and didnt have any issue either. A good stock(heavy) and brake make a huge difference.
 
I would like to get a Remington 5R. Then cut the Barrel to 20" and install a muzzle break. Would I lose a lot of performance?. Would you recommend cutting the barrel to 20"

Thank you for your time

What is the purpose of this rifle? Hunting? Target shooting?

Many people's initial thought is probably "why would someone want to do this?" It would be helpful to understand what you want to do with the rifle as shortening the barrel on a 300WM to 20" is not a common modification.
 
Long range target shooting and Hunting. I haven't bought one yet. I was going to get a muzzle break installed. I have a 20" .308 I like the length.
It looks like 24" plus break is the way I will go.
 
Long range target shooting and Hunting. I haven't bought one yet. I was going to get a muzzle break installed. I have a 20" .308 I like the length.
It looks like 24" plus break is the way I will go.

Ever consider a 24" 7 rem mag without a brake? What are you hunting?