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Gunsmithing 300 WM barrel length

264mag

Private
Minuteman
May 22, 2009
5
0
58
Centrevile, Alabama
How much velocity do you lose from a 26" barrel to a 24" barrel in 300 win mag? I'm wanting a good long range hunting rifle in 300 WM can't decide on 24" or 26" barrel somebody give me some guidance !!!
 
Re: 300 WM barrel length

It depends.
What are you going to shoot out of it?
Mine is at 29 1/4" for 210VLD's easily at 2975fps.
 
Re: 300 WM barrel length

mines at 26" also, i shot one a couple years back with a 22" barrel it wasnt enjoyable and the fireball was unbelieveable.
 
Re: 300 WM barrel length

What is long range to you?

150 Accubonds are not a very good bullet choice for true long range work. By using those your max range will be more limited by the bullet than a couple inches of barrel length... I personally like the 200 Accubonds in the 300.

Personally, I don't worry too much about bbl length. I am likely in the minority, as lots of folks feel that a 24" bbl on a 300 is a good compromise for an all-around hunting rifle, but true long-rangers see 26" as a minimum...kind of makes sense, doesn't it?

TC
 
Re: 300 WM barrel length

26"
 
Re: 300 WM barrel length

400yds will probably be longest shot,only reason i'm using 150's my buddy's have made me belive velocity equals distance. I'm still new to reloading & shooting got a lot to learn!!!! Thanks for info
 
Re: 300 WM barrel length

400 yards is a chip shot for a 300WM. For long range with a 300WM you want to look at more than velocity. You want to look at bullet weight and BC also.

For serious long range with a 300WM, which can go out to a mile(1760 yards), look at heavier bullets like the 208 AMAX, 210 VLD or 210 SMK. All have higher BCs around .630+ and can be sent out with decent velocities in the 2900-3000fps range. This is where the longer barrel comes into play with the slower powders used. 26-28" would work best at getting full powder burn and excellent velocity to send the heavier, higher BC bullets out.

That said if you are just planning on shooting it to 400 yards with 150grn bullets I am sure you can get away with a 24" barrel.
 
Re: 300 WM barrel length

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 264mag</div><div class="ubbcode-body">only reason i'm using 150's my buddy's have made me belive velocity equals distance. </div></div>

Build a 26" 1-10 twist 300WM and shoot either 208 Amax's or 210 Bergers out of it. 2,900 ish fps with either bullet will make good things happen. Forget the 150's, you'll be blowing up bullets left and right on game animals and you may or may not have a blood trail. Velocity means dick without BC and bullet weight unless your building a varmint rifle.
 
Re: 300 WM barrel length

Mine will finish at 28", 10 twist Krieger HV, set up to shoot 208 Amax.
 
Re: 300 WM barrel length

i had a rem 700 built by KMW , in a aics 2.0 ; 28" krieger
pushing 210 vld's at 3000fps , all day , 24 moa to 1000, and shot bugholes

but it was too long , too unwieldy,

GO SHORT , suppress it

that will give you your length back for speed , the suppressor will

trust me , its what remington MPD , ashbury Int'l group , etc., is doing with theirs

short barrel, suppressed
 
Re: 300 WM barrel length

They say about 30fps per inch but I see about 45fps out of the ones I have. I have a 28" with 10 twist for 210 Bergers using H1000 and a 24" 11 twist for 190 SMK using Retumbo. Both barrels are Krieger.

Jay Seaquist
 
Re: 300 WM barrel length

I'd look at the fps loss as a percentage of the total, unless you like having high velocities just cause. It's not like you're gonna run out of elevation, so velocity isn't the end-all be-all.

The way I see it, it's the errors in range and wind estimation that higher velocity will affect. So if a target you range at 400y is really at 375y, you'll be 4.1" high using a .300 WSM w/175gr SMK @3000 fps. If you said 1000y instead of 975, you'd be high 20.5".

If you chop the barrel down all the way to 22", you'd lose maybe 120 fps??? Given you send the same bullet @ 2880 fps (note both these velocities are higher than people normally see), at 400y a 25y misjudgment throws you off by 4.4". At 1000y you're off by 22.7"

You also gain an inch of wind drift at 400y and 6" at 1000y, assuming a 10mph crosswind. The extra wind is 11" vs 10" and 83" vs 89" at 1000. I'd take it as a 10% increased margin to add to wind compensation errors. So if wind opens your group up 3 inches, then add another third of an inch.

If you want a short barrel, I'd say go for it. The only thing I'd worry about is the powder burn. Numbers are from http://www.jbmballistics.com/calculations/calculations.html