Barrel cutting questions

[Brushout]

Has anyone or does anyone shoot a Rem 700 .300 wm or .338 with a shorter barrel? I have a .308 that has been cut down with a brake and it shoots great, just didn't know if the larger calibers shoot good with a shorter barrel. Seems like every one I have seen has barrels of at least 24-26"s. Just a curious question.

 

[jcalaustx]

Re: Barrel cutting questions

I shoot an 16.5 inch Ruger Frontier in .338 and it's money out to 300 yards. Short and easy to handle. Great blind gun and easy to point out the window when driving around shooting does/culls.

 

[BobinNC]

Re: Barrel cutting questions

Mark,

I had a Sako Carbine in 338 win mag w/19" barrel and I never felt handicapped. I also had a Ruger 77 30-06 w/22" barrel that I re-chambered to 30-338. It shot well, and I never wished I had a longer barrel.

That said, I've owned and own 300 Win Mags with Factory 23", 24", and 26" barrels. Also other 338 Win Mags with 24" and 26" barrels. From a practical standpoint, I think a 22" or so barrel is about minimum I would go for a 300 Win Mag, due to muzzle blast and velocity loss.

A 338 Win mag can go shorter, 19" or 20". The 338 Win Mag has a better expansion ratio than a 300 WM, so muzzle blast and velocity does not suffer as much.


Bob

 

[Brushout]

Re: Barrel cutting questions

Bob,

Makes total sense to me. Thanks for the info. I was mainly just curious, not sure if I can afford a .338 right now. Very expensive to feed that hoss.