F T/R Competition Noob questions about barrels

[LongRangEnthusiast]

Hey guys, I am new to long range shooting and I want to start shooting f-class. I have a Rem 700 in .308, and all the other stuff I need to shoot, but I am curious if a remington 700 factory barrel can handle shooting that many rounds so quickly. I assume accuracy decreases as it heats up and fouls, and that would be magnified at long range. Is it worth going to F-class with my barrel? I probably have $500 to spend on a match barrel if I need one, but I only have like 250 shots through my current barrel and it seems like a waste to replace it so soon. What do you guys think? btw I plan on getting a XLR chassis when I can afford it as well as better optics.
Thanks
Nate

 

[scaxeman]

Re: Noob questions about barrels

What is the profile on your current factory barrel? Part of the reason many competitors favor the big bull barrels is their ability to serve as a "heat sink", and allow them to finish a 22 round string without significant POI shift due to heat. Whether the barrel is a factory, or a custom isn't really relevant; a Savage factory barrel (as comes on one of their F-T/R rifles) is stout enough to soak up the heat, I'm sure some of the Rem. barrels are too.

A bigger concern would be what length and twist rate the barrel is, and what distance you plan on competing.

Darrell

 

[LongRangEnthusiast]

Re: Noob questions about barrels

I will probably shoot 600 yards. It is a 24" barrel and I think it is a 10" twist. What twist rate is ideal for a 150 or 168 grain .308 bullet? How thick do you want a barrel? Thanks!

 

[scaxeman]

Re: Noob questions about barrels

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Schwartz</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I will probably shoot 600 yards. It is a 24" barrel and I think it is a 10" twist. What twist rate is ideal for a 150 or 168 grain .308 bullet? How thick do you want a barrel? Thanks! </div></div>

If you won't be shooting past 600 yards, you don't need to get out of control on your speed, use the most accurate group in load development, not necessarily the fastest. Your 24" barrel should work just fine. If you were shooting a 155 or 155.5 grain bullet, a 1:12 twist would be about perfect. With a 1:10, the 168's or 175's would probably be just the ticket (only out to 600 yards for the 168's).

A 1:10 barrel will stabilize just about any weight bullet you could run in a .308. A 1:12 will stabilize very well anything from 155 grains up to 190 or (possibly) 200 grain max.

As for barrel thickness, I'd like it as close to 1" at the muzzle as you can get. This is a reasonable compromise between heat sink and making weight for competition. If you are over .85" at the muzzle, you should be all right.

Hope this helps,

Darrell

 

[LongRangEnthusiast]

Re: Noob questions about barrels

Perfect that is exactly what I wanted to know

thats 600 bucks I can redirect to ammo and part of a scope! Thanks for taking the time to respond!
Nate