Barrel contour on a long range hunting rifle?

[Greyfox]

For my LR hunting rifles I like a 26" Light Palma on my 6.5x284's,and a 26" Remington Varmint/Sendaro on my 300 WM.

 

[ramrod79]

I'm the same as a few others depends on cartridge and intent my last build with mag and rings was 7 lbs with a 24 inch #5 KS barrel (338) that's just perfect for me I like my LR rigs in around 8-9.5 lbs.The 2 builds before in various 6.5 I used a 26" #4 Benchmarks they shot incredible.

 

[Jmo334]

The one on the right is a GAP 6.5PRC with a Bartlein #3 fluted. Left is a CA Ridgeline in 300wm.

 

[matt_3479]

Right now it's a 30 cal build. Winny or prc. Stock is either eh1 or eh5. Rifle won't be carried too much but also don't a 15+lbs rifle. I want something solid, and sturdy. I use to hunt with my 300. Win mag factory sendero and it didn't bother me. My custom 260 is pushing it. Ideally want to keep the 26".

 

[IHFarmer07]

Depends on what caliber for said barrel contour. I went with a unfluted light Palma 26" 4 groove Krieger on a 6.5prc build that I am waiting on, I hope it's not going to be too heavy but until I get it I won't know.
Here's what I did, whether it's right/wrong way of looking at it but.....go to the barrel manufacturer's web site, look at the contours. In my case a Krieger light Palma finishes at 30" with a .750 muzzle od now take the muzzle od and subtract whatever caliber, .750-264=.486/2=.243...so a .007" less than a 1/4" wall at the muzzle. Now I'm no math professional but at 26" my barrel od should be .770"-.264"=.506"/2=.253" wall thickness. I wanted at least a 1/4" wall thickness at the muzzle. Now it would be five or take .235" if it was a .30 cal.
Idk something like that, I knew what I wanted for rigidity/wall thickness but not too heavy, because with anything the outside contour stays the same but the inside gets smaller or larger because of the hole diameter.

 

[Deezel]

Seems all of my long range rifles are at least 0.75" at the end of the barrel and most finish at 26" or so. I have found that I can't shoot the lighter sporter barrels as accurately as the heavier ones.

 

[vancewalker007]

Hey guys,

If you were to go steel not carbon, what would you preferred barrel contour be? Trying to keep weight down but not too light and whippy. Have ran sendero contours mainly but was curious about others like medium Palma, light palma's, #5's and so on.

I built a 7mm LRM with a #5 fluted Hart. I think a #4 would have been a better choice weight Wise. The finished rifle with a 6.5-20x42 Leupold it's about 11.2 lbs. It shoots 1/2 MOA out to a 1000 yards. I know you said steel not carbon but as a compare I switched to a Proof Carbon 26in Sendero for my 6.5 PRC. The finished rifle, no scope, is about 6.8 lbs. It's also a medium action so that saves a little.

 

[Jud96]

My first long range rifle I built I went with a 28" Sendero contour with a brake, chambered in .308 Norma Magnum. It's perfect if you're setup and shooting, not so great to carry around and maneuver. My second build is my all purpose rifle, chambered in .284 WIN with a 26" Bartlein #3 barrel. I feel this is perfect for carrying and is maneuverable, but also is heavy enough to be nice in the shooting bags. My .284 I built for shots out to 700 yards, the .308 Norma is for anything out to 1200 yards. If you wanted one rifle to do the job of those two, I think a Bartlein 3B or #4 would be perfect, those are like a #5 from Shilen, Hart, Krieger, etc.

 

[30BR]

For a 22-250, I like a long Light Palma... gives great balance.
for a 6.5 or larger, prob a medium palma.

 

[Hondo64d]

Hey guys,

If you were to go steel not carbon, what would you preferred barrel contour be? Trying to keep weight down but not too light and whippy. Have ran sendero contours mainly but was curious about others like medium Palma, light palma's, #5's and so on.

My most recent barrel is a 24" Bartlein 5R #3 contour. During load development it averaged .55 MOA at five hundred yards with five 5-shot groups. The best of those Loads was < .5MOA.

John

 

[Sirrated]

Hey guys,

If you were to go steel not carbon, what would you preferred barrel contour be? Trying to keep weight down but not too light and whippy. Have ran sendero contours mainly but was curious about others like medium Palma, light palma's, #5's and so on.

 

[Sirrated]

Hey guys,

If you were to go steel not carbon, what would you preferred barrel contour be? Trying to keep weight down but not too light and whippy. Have ran sendero contours mainly but was curious about others like medium Palma, light palma's, #5's and so on.

Hey Matt have you ever considered a carbon wrapped barrel? Have a look at the Hardy systems, it will give you an idea as to weight, etc,,,Yes ,they are down here in NZ, but you must have some-one doing them in the states.

 

[Philward]

Since it's a hunting rifle, long range or not, it will shoot 1-3 rounds while hunting so why lug around the heavy contour barrel?
#2 at 24" should put those 3 rounds on target without issue if you're doing you're part. If you want to park on a ridge and wait for that half mile shot then a 12lb bull barrel rifle should be fine.

 

[Monterey21]

Right now it's a 30 cal build. Winny or prc. Stock is either eh1 or eh5. Rifle won't be carried too much but also don't a 15+lbs rifle. I want something solid, and sturdy. I use to hunt with my 300. Win mag factory sendero and it didn't bother me. My custom 260 is pushing it. Ideally want to keep the 26".

Right now it's a 30 cal build. Winny or prc. Stock is either eh1 or eh5. Rifle won't be carried too much but also don't a 15+lbs rifle. I want something solid, and sturdy. I use to hunt with my 300. Win mag factory sendero and it didn't bother me. My custom 260 is pushing it. Ideally want to keep the 26".

The one on the right is a GAP 6.5PRC with a Bartlein #3 fluted. Left is a CA Ridgeline in 300wm.

View attachment 147711

Not to go sideways but what brake is on the #3 fluted Bartlein.
Thanks in advance for your reply.