300 wsm barrel length

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whhood

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Ok I'm about to drive myself crazy with this. I'm building a 300wsm for a little more reach over my main hunting rifles. I typically hunt with 18" 308 and 6.5 creedmoor rifles and always suppressed. I originally planned on a 24" barrel for the wsm and have a Proof in hand. Lately I have been going back and forth on whether to go with a 20" barrel instead. I know I'll give up some velocity but I plan on 600 yards being my max and probably no heavier than a 180. Anybody who has been in my shoes please chime in. I would like the ability to shoot anything in the lower 48 to 600.
Edit to add: Sendero or Sendero light?
 
I just went through this process and went with a 20" Proof CF Sendero that will be shot suppressed. Prefer that length barrel length when shooting suppressed and also plan on shooting Hammer Hunter bullets in the 150-165 range so my velocity will be just fine. You'll need to run a little bit faster of a powder than some of the slower magnum powders but the short mag is so versatile it'll be just fine. Max anticipated range hunting 600-700 yards. Components are headed to Lane Precision Rifles.
 
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Cut my factory tikka barrel to 21". I run the harvester on mine. I use 168 Nosler ablr at 3050 FPS and a 185 Berger classic hunter at 3000 FPS. 600 yards is about 3.2 mils. That will smoke anything to 600 and probably fine to about 800 yards. I love this super lite hunting rifle that I can use at distance. B4CF41C3-9F27-40FF-A0E9-E5D86B623CBA.jpeg
 
I'm also about to rebarrel my 300 wsm. I'm going with 20" proof sendero 10 twist. Gonna try 165 hammer hunters, LRX, 185 or 210 Berger's, and 175/200 terminal ascent. I'll shoot whatever it likes best. I really like the senderos better with suppressor and magnums. I think the sendero with magnums is safer bet. Like you my max range will be 600ish with this setup. Should be good to a little further and be super handy, lightweight, and very capable.
 
As far as I'm concerned, I go with a 26 inch barrel on magnums. My 300 WSM before selling it was 26 inches. If you're looking to run a short barrel on a magnum I think you're doing it wrong IMO. The longer barrel allows for all the powder to be burned in a large case. I wouldn't go anything less than 24 inches for your situation. Finally, a short barreled magnum sounds like a cannon going off if it's not suppressed.
 
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whhood said:
20" Proof Sendero in hand ready to go! I can't wait to get this thing together!
Click to expand...
I bet you'll be happy. If you hand load try using some faster powder. I like RL 16 with bullet weights up to 190. It's pretty good for the short barrels crowd imo. You could try H4350 as well but I bet RL 16 would yield higher velocities. I am also inclined to try RL 23 sometime soon.
 
I'm used to it I guess. My 308's are 16, 16, and 18. My 6.5 creedmoor's are 18's and my 243 is 16. I didn't want to give up too much but figured I could still send the lighter solids with some speed.
 
whhood said:
Ok I'm about to drive myself crazy with this. I'm building a 300wsm for a little more reach over my main hunting rifles. I typically hunt with 18" 308 and 6.5 creedmoor rifles and always suppressed. I originally planned on a 24" barrel for the wsm and have a Proof in hand. Lately I have been going back and forth on whether to go with a 20" barrel instead. I know I'll give up some velocity but I plan on 600 yards being my max and probably no heavier than a 180. Anybody who has been in my shoes please chime in. I would like the ability to shoot anything in the lower 48 to 600.
Edit to add: Sendero or Sendero light?
Click to expand...
This is on a .300 WM, but it should give you a general idea ...

 
Just built a 21" barreled 300 wsm
I plan to run 200.20x, 208lrht or 208eldM depending on which one it likes.

Depending on velocity achieved and altitude the above mentioned bullet choices would stay above 1800fps for reliable expansion out to approx 775-850yds (Texas). Where I pack in Colorado it would be 1200yds+.

So yeah, it's certainly capable of big game at 600yds
James
 
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