New barrel worth the money?

[Morgan321]

Summary: have pencil barrel rem 700 in a nice stock with decent scope. I can shoot right around 1moa depending on the load. I have ocw'd my heart out and can't get it any better. The group size opens up quickly once the barrel gets hot. I asked here and a few people who seem to have a clue said it's the cheap factory barrel.

I found a local place with good recommendations and google could not find a single bad word about them. They have lots of barrels in stock and can true, chamber, and thread the barrel in about 2 weeks for about $900. I would keep it 30-06 because I have lots of quality brass, dies, supplies, etc.

I'm a self-taught long range shooter and now have a 1200yd local range. In the heat of the summer it's very difficult to keep the stock barrel cool enough to keep accuracy up. I basically can't shoot more than a couple rounds in the sun because the sun alone keeps the barrel hot enough that even 3-4 rounds make it so hot the groups open up.

Is it worth $900? I'm assuming ultimate accuracy will improve a bit but the real benefit to me is in the consistency. Now when I miss a shot I don't know if it's me, the hot barrel, the wind, etc. I feel like my learning has slowed because of it. The stock barrel only has about 800 rounds through it, but I feel like $900 of powder and bullets would be less effective than a new barrel in terms of me learning.

Opinions? Any really smart long range shooters near Huntsville, al that will shoot it to help me decide if the gun or me is the weakest link?

 

[hermosabeach]

If your spending that type of money and shooting that far, some might say sell it and buy what will work better for your needs.


What type of accuracy are you trying to get out of the rig?

 

[Trevor300wsm]

I personally would not shoot a "factory" barreled centerfire anything other than a AI maybe. If better accuracy and repeatability are your goals, spend the money on a quality barrel from one of the top 3 suppliers. Make the gun perfect, or close to it, so that you know any error is most likely always due to the shooter.

 

[leadbullet]

sounds like a decent price, i'd go with a medium palma no shorter than 28 for 1200yds. speed is king!!!
cheers.

 

[Morgan321]

Make the gun perfect, or close to it, so that you know any error is most likely always due to the shooter.

I would love to, but I can't justify a $4k rifle and $3k scope. My question is really about the relative trade off.... Obviously it will get better with a good barrel, but could $900 in ammo(about 1500 rds of the best load I've found) improve my skill enough to get better results than a new barrel would? I know its a relative question that can't be answered unless I have more experience, a catch 22!

The inconsistency is what makes me lean towards the new barrel. Just looking for someone smarter to tell me if that's the best path or not.

 

[kalindark]

900$ seems alittle high. You may save 100-200$ from someone else, but then again it will take 6-8 months not 2 weeks.
For that price and 2 weeks time I would do it.. May want to get a 1&10 twist for the heavies. My trued rem shoots .25 moa at 200 yards.
The barrel is worth the money if you shoot past 500 yards. Sometimes life or the wife won't let you spend 4000$ on a custom. A barrel with a sendero or heavier will allow more than a couple shots before wandering. Good Luck.

 

[Morgan321]

Prices include barrel, threaded muzzle, and local guy also uses badger recoil lug. GAP was similar price but I'd have to pay shipping and wait 3-4 months.... Looked into the longrifles thing and they were a bit cheaper, but I'd have to buy the barrel(pay shipping on it) then ship it all to them, just a hair cheaper but more hassle and longer wait.

Local guy stocks stainless bartlien, krieger, and other brands. He has 1:10 bartlien in assorted heavy contours in stock. He uses the popular "serengeti" PTG reamer for 30-06.

 

[Deleted member 10043]

I personally would not shoot a "factory" barreled centerfire anything other than a AI maybe. If better accuracy and repeatability are your goals, spend the money on a quality barrel from one of the top 3 suppliers. Make the gun perfect, or close to it, so that you know any error is most likely always due to the shooter.

Personally, I've seen most people shooting factory heavy barrel rifles just fine and along comes some self-proclaimed Texas Ranger with his $5k rig and makes a fool of himself because he can't shoot or reload properly because he gets all his training and advice on the Internet.

Morgan, contact Randy Selby in WY. He can take just your action and build a complete custom job for a reasonable price. it is not just the barrel you may need to replace.

 

[Trevor300wsm]

Personally, I've seen most people shooting factory heavy barrel rifles just fine and along comes some self-proclaimed Texas Ranger with his $5k rig and makes a fool of himself because he can't shoot or reload properly because he gets all his training and advice on the Internet.

Morgan, contact Randy Selby in WY. He can take just your action and build a complete custom job for a reasonable price. it is not just the barrel you may need to replace.

No idea what Texas Ranger you are referring to. As for your opinion of "just fine" in terms of accuracy, your "just fine" may not be that great to me or the next guy. I see 1-2 factory barreled rifles at matches sometimes and the guys shooting them never finish in the top 20.

 

[SWRichmond]

Is it worth $900? I'm assuming ultimate accuracy will improve a bit but the real benefit to me is in the consistency. Now when I miss a shot I don't know if it's me, the hot barrel, the wind, etc. I feel like my learning has slowed because of it. The stock barrel only has about 800 rounds through it, but I feel like $900 of powder and bullets would be less effective than a new barrel in terms of me learning.

It sounds to me like you've already answered the question. There IS a point where you realize that the equipment is holding you back, and you have decided you want to get serious about this.

Warning: once you do this, and you start getting the results you want, you will really start enjoying it, so be prepared to crap scads of money at this sport. This is exactly what happened to me when I rebarreled my first 700P with a Krieger: "Oh, so THIS is what it's supposed to shoot like. This is cool!"

 

[LoanHarvey]

It sounds to me like you've already answered the question. There IS a point where you realize that the equipment is holding you back, and you have decided you want to get serious about this.

Warning: once you do this, and you start getting the results you want, you will really start enjoying it, so be prepared to crap scads of money at this sport. This is exactly what happened to me when I rebarreled my first 700P with a Krieger: "Oh, so THIS is what it's supposed to shoot like. This is cool!"

^^^ What he said!

 

[Deadshot2]

900$ seems alittle high. You may save 100-200$ from someone else, but then again it will take 6-8 months not 2 weeks.
For that price and 2 weeks time I would do it.. May want to get a 1&10 twist for the heavies. My trued rem shoots .25 moa at 200 yards.
The barrel is worth the money if you shoot past 500 yards. Sometimes life or the wife won't let you spend 4000$ on a custom. A barrel with a sendero or heavier will allow more than a couple shots before wandering. Good Luck.

Not all that high although there might be better places to get the work done for that money.

I took a barreled action to Benchmark Barrels and received it back with a brand new 24" 5-C, heavy varmint contour for $850. A premium barrel, trued up action, and heavy recoil lug. Rifle shoots to sub .250 MOA and was worth the 10 weeks it took at the time.

For me they were just up the road but you can ship your rifle to them from anywhere in the US and rest assured that you'll get a great rifle back. Just tell them what you plan on shooting for ammo and they'll chamber it for the best "match". Better yet, send a dummy round or two if you're a hand loader.

There will be no comparison between one of their barrels and the factory barrel.

 

[battlestick]

I did the exact same thing with my 700 30-06, It gets hot quick, and whips like crazy. I put a bartlein on mine and never looked back. You are at the point where your equipment is holding you back. If you really need to convince yourself, shoot a buddy's precision rig. You will quickly realize, if you sepnd that money on ammo instead of a barrel, you nor the rifle will shoot any better.

 

[ZombieMonkey]

Really it comes down to what are your accuracy goals and what are your expectations.

Wanting better accuracy and consistency? Then truing and rebarrelling is most definitely the way to go, just be warned that it will forever change your expectations and you will have a hard time shooting anything but a quality barrel. It's like having a S&B or other high-end glass, once you've spent some time behind the good stuff it's hard to go back to anything less.


Just looking for consistency? Then maybe you might consider trading into a used barreled action with a heavier factory barrel. Would likely give you the same level of accuracy, but better absorb that heat with a heavier profile. Throw the factory stock back on yours and swap the new action in (Assuming it hasn't been bedded already).

 

[Rstrick0352]

Personally, I've seen most people shooting factory heavy barrel rifles just fine and along comes some self-proclaimed Texas Ranger with his $5k rig and makes a fool of himself because he can't shoot or reload properly because he gets all his training and advice on the Internet.