I'm about half way through the barrel life on my rifle and I'm looking for a barrel buying guide to start with for research. have had issues finding one and if anyone knows of one and can share a link I would appreciate it. I have plenty of time to buy I'm just looking for info at the moment so I can make an educated decision. Remington 700 short action rifle by the way.
anyone have a barrel buying guide?
- Thread starter psubond
- Start date
was more looking for a link for a guide that is already written, but here are answers to those questions:
intended use is punching paper and shooting steel. normally it will be at 300 but I do have access to a 1000 yard range when I visit my parents so it will see limited use at long ranges. going to stick with 308 since I am set up for reloading that and most of my shooting will be at 100-300.
I shoot 50-100 rounds per outing (another reason for the 308, is fairly soft shooting) and I take my time shooting so rate of fire isn't horribly fast. shoot 5, wait a bit and let barrel cool off and shoot 5 more. repeat as necessary.
I would prefer to stick with a 20 inch barrel, MAYBE 22. weight isn't a huge concern but I would prefer to avoid a long barrel.
also would like to avoid the ridiculously long throat of the stock Remington 700 chambers. I would like to be able to use 178 ELD-M so I'm thinking 1:11.25 twist
Get in touch with any of the great gunsmiths that support this forum, and start talking to them about your intended use: caliber/cartridge, bullet weight, your ammo specs (reloading vs factory) - etc.
Once you are ready to put on a new barrel, send your rifle to said gunsmith and he will chamber the barrel and torque it to the action.
Once you are ready to put on a new barrel, send your rifle to said gunsmith and he will chamber the barrel and torque it to the action.
The Remington varmint profile is a very popular all around barrel for balance as well as enough mass for sustained rate of fire within reason ofcourse without being overly heavy in case you end up toting it around for hunting.
If you are set on running a 20" or shorter barrel I would seriously consider a faster twist as it would give you more flexibility, a 1-10 or 1-9" twist would be my choice for a 20" 308. A faster twist isn't going to handicap you in any way but to slow and on the edge with stability definitely will.
The 308 I mostly shoot has a 26" 1-12 twist but handles up to the 190smk very well with the extra length.
As far as a do all guide for selecting a barrel I am not aware of one but you are in the right place if you ask the right questions. There are many on here with decades of practical and field experience that can answer your questions and give you the advice you seek.
If you are set on running a 20" or shorter barrel I would seriously consider a faster twist as it would give you more flexibility, a 1-10 or 1-9" twist would be my choice for a 20" 308. A faster twist isn't going to handicap you in any way but to slow and on the edge with stability definitely will.
The 308 I mostly shoot has a 26" 1-12 twist but handles up to the 190smk very well with the extra length.
As far as a do all guide for selecting a barrel I am not aware of one but you are in the right place if you ask the right questions. There are many on here with decades of practical and field experience that can answer your questions and give you the advice you seek.
I second the Remage suggestion; and this barrel coming up need not be the only one.
The .473" diameter bolt face fits a lot of other chamberings, and for most of them, the chambering swap starts and ends with just the barrel.
Just keep an eye on barrel contours, so no barrel channel complications arise.
There will probably be some minor inlet issues for the barrel nut, just open it up to clear the nut, and all is well after that.
The better barrels from the better makers will all be adequate enough that most of us can't shoot the difference anyway. Any barrel will benefit from good load development, and my suggestion would be to find accuracy nodes at or below the median charge weight range. If the chambering needs to run a hot load to do your bidding, that chambering is likely inadequate. Barrels are wear items, but there's no sense in exaggerating that issue.
Greg
The .473" diameter bolt face fits a lot of other chamberings, and for most of them, the chambering swap starts and ends with just the barrel.
Just keep an eye on barrel contours, so no barrel channel complications arise.
There will probably be some minor inlet issues for the barrel nut, just open it up to clear the nut, and all is well after that.
The better barrels from the better makers will all be adequate enough that most of us can't shoot the difference anyway. Any barrel will benefit from good load development, and my suggestion would be to find accuracy nodes at or below the median charge weight range. If the chambering needs to run a hot load to do your bidding, that chambering is likely inadequate. Barrels are wear items, but there's no sense in exaggerating that issue.
Greg
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Depending on which barrel nut you buy they are all generaly the same diameter as what the max diameter of a shouldered barrel would be, some run a few thousandth over.
The safest bet would be to ask MDT for verification.
The safest bet would be to ask MDT for verification.
Thanks @XLR308 and @spife7980 for tagging me on this one! To answer your question; maybe. As XLR308 said, it depends on which barrel nut you go with. Rifles that come factory with a barrel nut (Savage or Ultimatum Precision for example) keep the nut profile smaller or equal to the diameter of the action. if you go with an aftermarket lug that is larger than the O.D of your action, you could run into fitment issues.
In saying that, we often relieve a large section ahead of the recoil lug to allow for oversized barrels and barrel nuts. If you want, PM me or give us a call/email anytime for more specifics
- Josh
Hey @psubond no worries! I am no expert on the matter by any means, but a little bit of research showed that a Remage nut like this one (http://northlandshooterssupply.com/parts/nss-upgrades/) from Northland Shooters Supply should work awesome! Coupled with the info in this article from Accuracy Tech (http://www.accuracy-tech.com/remage-conversions-explained/), you should be able to switch out your standard barrel to a remage conversion with no issues.
The Northland nut link that I have provided above should fit our LSS-XL Gen1 chassis as a straight drop in, or maybe some minor fitting with a dremel
Barrel info:
http://bartleinbarrels.com/barrel-faq/ - as best I know, no prefits
http://criterionbarrels.com/prefits/Remage - prefits sold thru reseller
https://www.kriegerbarrels.com/ - "quick links" upper right; prefits
http://riflebarrels.com - products & services + articles; prefits
https://www.lothar-walther.com/drop-in-barrel/ - prefits
http://mcgowenbarrel.com - ton of prefits
http://bartleinbarrels.com/barrel-faq/ - as best I know, no prefits
http://criterionbarrels.com/prefits/Remage - prefits sold thru reseller
https://www.kriegerbarrels.com/ - "quick links" upper right; prefits
http://riflebarrels.com - products & services + articles; prefits
https://www.lothar-walther.com/drop-in-barrel/ - prefits
http://mcgowenbarrel.com - ton of prefits
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