300WM which barrel is better 23" oct or 26"tapered

[bullseyekat]

Throwing this out there, in a 300WM which barrel gives you more accuracy and distance, 23" octagon or 26" tapered non-fluted. Both are free floated. Does the stiffness of the octagon barrel make up for the length of the tapered barrel? Discuss.

 

[winmag]

Hmmmm, Probably depends on the taper. I love the look of the octagon bbl's, but I'd go with bbl. length for the simple reason of having 3 extra inches to burn powder in. Maybe equals a wider range of powders you can use if you''roll tour own'' ammo. and I think somewhere around 40-60 fps per inch. Not that Im a ''velocity/speed freak'',but thats 120-180fps. Just seems more logicle for long distance IMO.
Id love for someone else to jump in here if Im wrong(or right). This is a good question

 

[Chas1]

I don't think the stiffness of the 23" octagon barrel will make up for the 3 extra inches of length of a 26" tapered barrel. Octagon-Stiffer yes, velocity increase no.

 

[Johnboy]

just go 26" fluted and you will be happy.seen to many of that length not shoot.and as the other two guys have said.you can/will get more fps with the 26" barrel.and 4831,H1000,R22 should be a few go to powders for ya.

 

[J E Custom]

Throwing this out there, in a 300WM which barrel gives you more accuracy and distance, 23" octagon or 26" tapered non-fluted. Both are free floated. Does the stiffness of the octagon barrel make up for the length of the tapered barrel? Discuss.

Any barrel shape of the same weight length and material has the same stiffness !

A fluted or an octagonal barrel of the same weight as a tapered or contoured
of the same approximate profile will be the same stiffness.

The contoured barrel will be slightly smaller than a fluted or octagonal if it is the same weight
but just as strong.

These are some of the quotes of the barrel makers and they should know.

Lilja has a good explanation of this in his FAQ section on line.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Kevin Thomas]

The more accurate of the two barrels is the one that'll give you the better accuracy. Could be either, but you're speaking of two different issues here. Really, kind of luck of the draw with regards to accuracy with two different barrels, even from the same maker. Seen plenty of incredibly accurate light weight barrels, and I've seen some heavier contours that were total duds. Wasn't the weight or contour that made the difference (unless the gunsmith screwed something up in doing the chambering), but how well the barrel was originally made to begin with.

As for ther range issue, the 26" will give you a bit more, simply due to it's having a better expansion ratio. Little bit more velocity, hence, range, but it's probably nothing I'd lose too much sleep over. The real question here is, which one do you like better?

Kevin Thomas
Lapua USA