.300 Win Mag twist rate and barrel length?

arrow179

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Getting ready to order a .300WM to be built with a CF proof barrel. Primarily hunting and some steel shooting out to 1000yds. Trying to keep weight and length in check as I'm planning to use this Moose, bear, elk, larger game hunting so it's not just gonna go from the truck to the bench. Going to run heavier bullets (210gr and up) and I do plan to put a brake on it. My main questions are with the above factors in mind:

1.) 24" or 26" barrel?
2.) 1:9 or 1:8 twist? (this will be a Proof Sendero barrel not the Sendero lite)

Currently I'm leaning towards a 24" with a Area419 sidewinder brake and 1:9 twist.

Please give me your reasoning why you would do a 26" barrel or a 1:8 twist?

Appreciate the feedback in advance!
 
Getting ready to order a .300WM to be built with a CF proof barrel. Primarily hunting and some steel shooting out to 1000yds. Trying to keep weight and length in check as I'm planning to use this Moose, bear, elk, larger game hunting so it's not just gonna go from the truck to the bench. Going to run heavier bullets (210gr and up) and I do plan to put a brake on it. My main questions are with the above factors in mind:

1.) 24" or 26" barrel?
2.) 1:9 or 1:8 twist? (this will be a Proof Sendero barrel not the Sendero lite)

Currently I'm leaning towards a 24" with a Area419 sidewinder brake and 1:9 twist.

Please give me your reasoning why you would do a 26" barrel or a 1:8 twist?

Appreciate the feedback in advance!
The twist rate depends on how heavy (long) of a bullet you want to shoot. There are some newer bullets that require 1:8.

Since your going heavy, your velocities will be lower, especially with a 24" barrel. I would choose the 26".
 
Is there really going to be that big of a difference between the 24 and 26" barrels in speed to notice a difference if I'm running a faster burning powder and not shooting out past 1000? I asked about doing a 25" and the prefit barrels are either 24 or 26"
The twist rate depends on how heavy (long) of a bullet you want to shoot. There are some newer bullets that require 1:8.

Since your going heavy, your velocities will be lower, especially with a 24" barrel. I would choose the 26".
 
Don't be fooled in thinking that a faster powder will get you more velocity in a shorter barrel. The same powders that get you good velocity in a 26" barrel will be the same ones in a 24" barrel. All the same there shouldn't be much more than a 40-50 ft/sec difference between the barrel lengths.
 
Getting ready to order a .300WM to be built with a CF proof barrel. Primarily hunting and some steel shooting out to 1000yds. Trying to keep weight and length in check as I'm planning to use this Moose, bear, elk, larger game hunting so it's not just gonna go from the truck to the bench. Going to run heavier bullets (210gr and up) and I do plan to put a brake on it. My main questions are with the above factors in mind:

1.) 24" or 26" barrel?
2.) 1:9 or 1:8 twist? (this will be a Proof Sendero barrel not the Sendero lite)

Currently I'm leaning towards a 24" with a Area419 sidewinder brake and 1:9 twist.

Please give me your reasoning why you would do a 26" barrel or a 1:8 twist?

Appreciate the feedback in advance!

I did a 26" 8 twist (5r) for my 30 Sherman Magnum barrel so I could shoot 250 A-Tips if I chose. If I were building a winmag, I'd go with 26" but 9 twist ... the smaller powder capacity of the cartridge means you'll likely not be shooting bullets that need faster than 9 twist. Exception to this might be if you are going to be shooting very heavy mono's ... then you might want to go to the 8.

If you are going with a 24", then even more the 9 twist as you will lose a bit of velocity with the shorter tube making the heavier bullets that much less desireable in it.

Cheers
T
 
I would pick 1 or 2 bullets that you would most likely shoot. Based off of that you can pick your twist. (Berger has a twist calculator)

Then plug your numbers into a ballistic calculator ( I like hornadys) to see how much velocity/energy you will have at whatever distance you want to shoot.

It seems that slower powders are ideal in a 300 win mag. A fast powder with a short barrel will only give you even slower velocities. I would think the difference between 24" and 26" in this cartridge would be closer to 75-100fps.
The ballistic calculator will give you what you want to know. I think minimum bullet velocities on impact are generally 1,800fps. Energy on impact depends on the game, but people have their own ideas about that.
 
I would pick 1 or 2 bullets that you would most likely shoot. Based off of that you can pick your twist. (Berger has a twist calculator)

Then plug your numbers into a ballistic calculator ( I like hornadys) to see how much velocity/energy you will have at whatever distance you want to shoot.

It seems that slower powders are ideal in a 300 win mag. A fast powder with a short barrel will only give you even slower velocities. I would think the difference between 24" and 26" in this cartridge would be closer to 75-100fps.
The ballistic calculator will give you what you want to know. I think minimum bullet velocities on impact are generally 1,800fps. Energy on impact depends on the game, but people have their own ideas about that.
Good suggestion! I will run some scenarios and see what I come up with.
 
I shoot a tikka 300 win mag with a 28" 1:8 pacnor barrel using Honaday 200 eld's its A tackdriver . I use it long range 1000 yards. plus for coyotes and bears.
I use H 1000 powder. and chrono graphed them at 3090 fps. You will see between 50 and 100fps speed increase per inch of barrel lenght past 24" you will not regret using 1:8 barrel twist especially at the heavier weight and longer range.
 
After spending quite some time looking at a bunch of the custom/semi-custom rifle manufacturers websites (Gunwerks, Allterra, Lane Precision, Fierce, GA Precision, McWhorter, MOA, RedRock, Rocky Mountain, Seekins, Snowy Mountain, etc.) I see most offer anywhere from 22 - 28" lengths on barrels for the .300wm (most standard are 24 or 26" with 1:9 or 1:10 twist). FYI - at Gunwerks the longest you can order is a 22" but I'm sure for more $ they would do longer...

Looks like I made up my mind and will be ordering a 1:9 in a 24" (sometimes good to just go with your first decision!).

I'll post up some pics once it's finished (6-7mo wait... :confused:)!

If it doesn't shoot the way I want it then I can always rebarrel it...

Thanks for everyone's input!
 
I have a 26 inch with brake. I use an Eberlestock pack where the rifle did down the middle of your back. The butstock sticks above my head, every time im out hunting walking through trees and brush I wish it was shorter. I am always catching it on branches as I'm walking around. The 2-3 extra inches makes a big difference if you like to hike a lot. Just my opinion.
 
Getting ready to order a .300WM to be built with a CF proof barrel. Primarily hunting and some steel shooting out to 1000yds. Trying to keep weight and length in check as I'm planning to use this Moose, bear, elk, larger game hunting so it's not just gonna go from the truck to the bench. Going to run heavier bullets (210gr and up) and I do plan to put a brake on it. My main questions are with the above factors in mind:

1.) 24" or 26" barrel?
2.) 1:9 or 1:8 twist? (this will be a Proof Sendero barrel not the Sendero lite)

Currently I'm leaning towards a 24" with a Area419 sidewinder brake and 1:9 twist.

Please give me your reasoning why you would do a 26" barrel or a 1:8 twist?

Appreciate the feedback in advance!
I do 300 win mags for hunters up here for moose bear and boos, I use a 9 twist and the 215 gr brger hybrid. most are moving it from 2940 ft - 2889 works good on everything
 
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