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I Need prefit barrel education 6.5cm

CST

Sergeant
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Minuteman
Dec 31, 2002
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So I have a custom action here and I need to put on a prefit barrel. I've been out of the game with all these new products. I've been shooting a Gap M40a3 .308 for like 14+ years. But I've been out of shooting for a few years. I need help.

1. Barrel contour. I'm building a gun for tactical comps style with alot of humping around more then PRS style shoots. I'm shooting with a surefire suppressor. So I need a barrel contour that will be rigid but not incredibly heavy.

I'm used to the 24" m24 barrel but it's still a beast going up a mountain.

Whats the advantage of mid Palma, vs heavy Palma, marksman, heavy varmint. On paper they are all within a 1/2-1lbs of each other depending on length. Does contour effect stiffness, barrel harmonics..etc....??

2. What barrel length maximizes the 6.5 creedmoor? I'm ok going to a 26" but with a can it's a large package....and I don't know how much one looses going down to a 24" in terms of velocity. Proof makes some nice steel barrels but ,-+7lbs is heavy with their comp. Contour ...I figure if I have to shoot PRS I could add weights ...

3. 6.5 creedmoor chambers....most smiths offer saami spec chambers but I've seen a few called match chambers. I'm reloading 140 and 147gr. Pills so I'm not sure of advantage of one vs another chamber.

Sorry for the long winded questions.
 
Personally I’d go with 22” heavy varmint. Anything longer is just too cumbersome. I’d be laying in bed at night trying to convince myself to go with 20” honestly.
You can’t go wrong with a match chamber for a match gun. Heavy varmint is plenty of meat for a creed. 22” and shorter is plenty stiff enough in that contour as well.
 
I ran a 28" med palma barrel for years in matches with a 6.5 Creedmoor and it will work well. It's quite a bit lighter than the others mentioned but the marksman is closer as it's closer to the Rem Varmint.

The 6.5 Creedmoor was developed around a 28" barrel but if you wanted to stay at 24" it's workable and you can keep velocities workable. If anyone posts that BS velocity test by Rifleshooter I would put them on ignore as it's the biggest load of shit out there that keeps getting thrown around.

Chamber with those bullets won't matter much. The .199 freebore of the SAAMI chamber is fine with those bullets. It's about a .070" jump from 2.800" factory 140 ELDs and a .090" jump for factory 147s. The ELDs don't mind a jump. You could go something like a .169 freebore but I wouldn't go any shorter.
 
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I ran a 28" med palma barrel for years in matches with a 6.5 Creedmoor and it will work well. It's quite a bit lighter than the others mentioned but the marksman is closer as it's closer to the Rem Varmint.

The 6.5 Creedmoor was developed around a 28" barrel but if you wanted to stay at 24" it's workable and you can keep velocities workable. If anyone posts that BS velocity test by Rifleshooter I would put them on ignore as it's the biggest load of shit out there that keeps getting thrown around.

Chamber with those bullets won't matter much. The .199 freebore of the SAAMI chamber is fine with those bullets. It's about a .070" jump from 2.800" factory 140 ELDs and a .090" jump for factory 147s. The ELDs don't mind a jump. You could go something like a .169 freebore but I wouldn't go any shorter.
I'm not familiar with the rifleshooter article. Care to elaborate?

Do you think the med Palma or Remington varmint would have a large POI shift with and without the can compared to heavier straight taper barrel contour?
 
I'm not familiar with the rifleshooter article. Care to elaborate?

Do you think the med Palma or Remington varmint would have a large POI shift with and without the can compared to heavier straight taper barrel contour?

No. Forget you heard about it.

Well if you plan to use the can then the shift between with and without it is not important. It should work just fine with a can and 24" length. If you want to go heavy and carry the weight then that is your choice but your original post did not seem like you wanted to do that.
 
What about stages in matches with long strings of fire ... Do Palma contours hold up as well has the straight tapers?
 
What about stages in matches with long strings of fire ... Do Palma contours hold up as well has the straight tapers?

Long strings to you is how many? I have shot 15-20 rounds in a 90 second unlimited stages before and no issues.

Kind of sounds like you are trying to talk yourself into a heavy contour barrel. If you want one then get it but only you would have to carry it so only you can make the decision.
 
Shooting 6.5 for since 2017. Owned both rifles in 24 and 26 inch barrels and it was hard to tell a great amount of difference the the two

The real difference was the balance of the rifles. However, accuracy and velocity were virtually indistinguishable. (To animals or targets)
 
I’ve been looking at carbon fiber pre-fit barrels chambered in 6.5CM for my next build. This is going to be a rifle I use for NRL Hunter, plus I may actually hunt with it. Goal is to make weight for Open heavy division which means the rifle with scope and bipod needs to be <16 lbs. Still a chunk of weight but lighter than my PRS rifle which weighs just under 20 lbs.

Price-wise, yeah CF barrels cost a bunch more than steel barrels. Altus has Proof CF prefits for $939 + S/H. Compare that to a Proof steel barrel in competition contour for $579 + S/H. But weight-wise, the CF should be a little less than half the weight of the steel barrel. Contour of the CF barrel is Sendoro, which I believe is close to MTU/M24 profile.
 
I would be more worried about a carbon fiber barrel starting to walk shots when hot than a lighter contour steel barrel. I have seen carbon fiber barrels do it.
 
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More info is needed.

1. How many miles are you carrying the rifle?
2. What is the course of fire? (Longest shot, shooting positions, how many rounds per stage)
 
I just finished this one, Proof 6.5 CM @ 24", it shoots (has shot) 1/4" at 100. I've got about 30 rounds through it and I've already bought a 22" Proof to replace it, 24" suppressed is just too long for most of the hunting I do. Nope. Read the rules.


 
So I have a custom action here and I need to put on a prefit barrel. I've been out of the game with all these new products. I've been shooting a Gap M40a3 .308 for like 14+ years. But I've been out of shooting for a few years. I need help.

1. Barrel contour. I'm building a gun for tactical comps style with alot of humping around more then PRS style shoots. I'm shooting with a surefire suppressor. So I need a barrel contour that will be rigid but not incredibly heavy.

I'm used to the 24" m24 barrel but it's still a beast going up a mountain.

Whats the advantage of mid Palma, vs heavy Palma, marksman, heavy varmint. On paper they are all within a 1/2-1lbs of each other depending on length. Does contour effect stiffness, barrel harmonics..etc....??

2. What barrel length maximizes the 6.5 creedmoor? I'm ok going to a 26" but with a can it's a large package....and I don't know how much one looses going down to a 24" in terms of velocity. Proof makes some nice steel barrels but ,-+7lbs is heavy with their comp. Contour ...I figure if I have to shoot PRS I could add weights ...

3. 6.5 creedmoor chambers....most smiths offer saami spec chambers but I've seen a few called match chambers. I'm reloading 140 and 147gr. Pills so I'm not sure of advantage of one vs another chamber.

Sorry for the long winded questions.
Give me a call and I'll walk you through all this. I pioneered the idea of shouldered prefits in the market a decade ago, we make a LOT of them and do what you're going through on a daily basis.


 
I would be more worried about a carbon fiber barrel starting to walk shots when hot than a lighter contour steel barrel. I have seen carbon fiber barrels do it.

The only ones I’ve seen actually do this were shitty ones like CA and C6. I’ve had over a dozen Proof CF’s now and not one has walked from heat. I finally got one I thought might have been but it was mirage from completely stagnant air in FL summer heat which CF barrels do exhibit worse than steel because of the rate that it transfers it through. I made a makeshift mirage band at the range with a sling and some paracord tied to the suppressor cover and scope ring and the stringing immediately went away.

My CA MPR would diagonally string consistently from the first round though with no mirage present.
 
Give me a call and I'll walk you through all this. I pioneered the idea of shouldered prefits in the market a decade ago, we make a LOT of them and do what you're going through on a daily basis.


Lol....I talked to you last week and ordered the barrel from you already. Thanks for all the time and guidance on the phone. Eagerly waiting for the barrel! Thanks again
 
The only ones I’ve seen actually do this were shitty ones like CA and C6. I’ve had over a dozen Proof CF’s now and not one has walked from heat. I finally got one I thought might have been but it was mirage from completely stagnant air in FL summer heat which CF barrels do exhibit worse than steel because of the rate that it transfers it through. I made a makeshift mirage band at the range with a sling and some paracord tied to the suppressor cover and scope ring and the stringing immediately went away.

My CA MPR would diagonally string consistently from the first round though with no mirage present.
If you are shooting 10-15 rounds through it in 90 seconds and not getting any walking then I am glad you got one that doesn't. No way I would get one unless it was being carried a lot and used for hunting for one or two shots.
 
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