Assistance with Barrel length & contour

[Anonymoose]

Howdy. I went down the rabbit hole of finding a cheap rifle then upgrading it. I have a Mossberg Patriot in 6.5 creedmoor that I've put into an MDT LSS Gen2 chassis. I am going to replace the barrel as I feel it's the real weak spot. I'm shooting >0.75MOA for the first 6-8 rounds or so then the rifle becomes pretty inconsistent opening up to 1.5-2MOA. If I let it cool the groups tighten back up. This rifle has a 20" light sporter barrel. Intended use is target, plinking, maybe hunting, and building an accurate urban sniper style rifle useful out to 700yds or so. A sort of heavy Sig Sauer Cross that doesn't have trigger problems. My initial thought was to go with a 24" straight barrel similar to a Savage Bull but I'm rethinking that, I may want something a little lighter. The media I've seen on 16.5" 6.5 creedmoor barrels has piqued my interest. I'm now thinking about an 18" straight or MTU/M40 contour that I will run braked or suppressed depending on the situation.

All thoughts, comments, and insight welcome.

 

[Steel head]

Quality of barrel has a lot to do with that, more so than profile.
I really like the Palma contours in 24”-26”.
Heavy Palma for my 7mm
Light or medium Palma for my 260.

 

[b6graham]

i think you need to decide on two things. then there will only be 1-2 contour options

rifle weight

rifle length

nothing wrong with a 20" MTU or a 26" heavy palma but they are very different barrels even if they weigh the same

 

[Anonymoose]

Thanks for the replies. As for preferences. Weight fully kitted 14-16lbs it is 11 now. Length is less of a concern but I would like it to be less than 42".

I guess I won't have a typical contour anyway because the patriot is similar to a Savage Small Shank with a 1.06" diameter thread and a similar barrel nut. Something like a savage varmint. I'm not sure I'd want to pack a bull barrel around.

 

[loveha]

I would go with the Savage Varmint you mentioned. I'll weigh it when I get the chance tonight, won't be till late.
24" 300WSM, Oryx, Savage action.

Not the most pleasant thing to sling anywhere. But, not bad.

 

[Anonymoose]

I would go with the Savage Varmint you mentioned. I'll weigh it when I get the chance tonight, won't be till late.
24" 300WSM, Oryx, Savage action.
View attachment 7505469
View attachment 7505470

Not the most pleasant thing to sling anywhere. But, not bad.

VERY nice build! That's the ticket then. I have an Eberlestock gunrunner scabbard/pack that makes things a little more manageable.

 

[Steel head]

VERY nice build! That's the ticket then. I have an Eberlestock gunrunner scabbard/pack that makes things a little more manageable.

My current 260 barrel is a 26” medium varmint savage in a XLR chassis.
It’s not bad to carry at all in my eberlsock x1

 

[celltech]

A Savage Varmint profile will be 4" of straight pipe and then a single taper down to .810". The rifle below is a 18" X-Caliber #14 Varmint profile that is 5" of straight and then tapers down to .875". Since you are wanting a shorter barrel I would keep it chunky...cause, why not? This one comes in at 11.9 lbs without the bipod. I like how the slighter thicker barrel end matches up with the brake.

 

[Anonymoose]

A Savage Varmint profile will be 4" of straight pipe and then a single taper down to .810". The rifle below is a 18" X-Caliber #14 Varmint profile that is 5" of straight and then tapers down to .875". Since you are wanting a shorter barrel I would keep it chunky...cause, why not? This one comes in at 11.9 lbs without the bipod. I like how the slighter thicker barrel end matches up with the brake.

View attachment 7505552

That looks exactly like what I'm after, Thanks for sharing and very nice build!