Barrel Length Question

[Blueman]

I've got a gunsmith lined up to build me a 7 stw (finally joining the brotherhood)! I'm going with a krieger 5.5 fluted with a McMillan edge stock (yes it still balances nice). I will be putting a 2" long brake on the rifle and my question is should I finish at 28" with the break i.e. 26" plus break? Or should I finish at 30" i.e. 28" with a brake? Let me know you thought.

Thanks,

 

[J E Custom]

I've got a gunsmith lined up to build me a 7 stw (finally joining the brotherhood)! I'm going with a krieger 5.5 fluted with a McMillan edge stock (yes it still balances nice). I will be putting a 2" long brake on the rifle and my question is should I finish at 28" with the break i.e. 26" plus break? Or should I finish at 30" i.e. 28" with a brake? Let me know you thought.

Thanks,

The 26" barrel will do nicely with the brake on it. without a brake, I would do a 28" barrel just to squeeze a few more ft/sec out of it.

For general hunting a 28'' barrel with a brake gets a little awkward when hunting from a stand.

Just My Opinion

J E CUSTOM

 

[ag shooting]

I had my STW rebarreled with a 30" Lothar Walther in the same sendero contour. it has a very easy recoil and good speed with 140gr Accubonds. Then I had two inches cut off and added a brake. I am now shooting some 180gr Bergers and the recoil is the same or less than before. The long barrel is a little harder to handle in a box stand. I use this rifle in stands that are 5'-5' or 5'-6' and it's easy to move it around from one side to the other.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

I have an stw with a 24" barrel and if and when I rebarrel I'll be going with at least a 26" barrel. Anything over that is cake imo....

 

[WildRose]

I've had barrels as short as 24" and as long as 30" including muzzle brake.

How you hunt and shoot and what your'e comfortable carrying will dictate which is best for you but I really like the extra velocity gained with longer barrels.

If I were going to build another STW tomorrow I'd go with 28" plus the brake.

One advantage of longer barrels is that it allows you to achieve higher velocities with slower burning powders producing the same velocity you'd get with a faster powder in a shorter barrel. That's a bit of a reduction in wear and tear that could well add up to a couple of hundred shots or more extending the barrel's life.

 

[coyotezapper]

Still shooting original rem700 w/ 25.5" bbl w/ brake ( 24" w/o brake ) and I have a bartlein bbl sitting in the corner waiting for the original to give up the ghost. It will be 26" plus brake. Did get good velocities with the 24" though.

 

[WildRose]

Still shooting original rem700 w/ 25.5" bbl w/ brake ( 24" w/o brake ) and I have a bartlein bbl sitting in the corner waiting for the original to give up the ghost. It will be 26" plus brake. Did get good velocities with the 24" though.

Probably looks something like this one I'll bet?

 

[coyotezapper]

Probably looks something like this one I'll bet?

Yep. M700 BDL SS DM-B. 1400 rounds and counting.

 

[WildRose]

Yep. M700 BDL SS DM-B. 1400 rounds and counting.

Mine's got even more mileage on it than that and still shoots extremely well. Had my gunsmith check it out a while back figuring it was close to a rebarrel and he was shocked to see how little throat erosion it had. He figured it still has over half it's accurate life left!

That gun has proven to be a real bargain!

Don't let yours get way.