Need help picking a barrel

[BlueDolphin]

I am new to longrange shooting. I am building a rifle from a 700BDL 7mm Win Mag.

I wanted some advice on what barrel(s) to look at?

I wanted something in the 1.25 diam heavy, w likely a 10" twist. But alas I am not sure due to my newbyizm.

Any input is greatly appreciated. What barrel and where to go to get it is what I need.

Thanks!

 

[7Rumloader]

Whats a 700 Win Mag??
Do you mean 300 Win Mag??
What is your intended use of the rifle you want to build??

 

[BlueDolphin]

Sry bout that..... I fixed er up. Its a bit late and I fudged the post. It is a 7mm mag..

The rifle will be used mostly for target shooting. I would like to try to make it so that it COULD be used hunting on rare occasion, if I find a buddy to spot, and progress enough to get into the long range hunting.

Weight should not be an issue. I expect this beast to be one heavy mutha.

 

[7Rumloader]

There are plenty of great barrel makers around. Lilja and Broughton are very popular and high quality.
I'm sure you will get some good input from the smiths here on what brands to look at and how to go about getting them.

 

[Waltech Jim]

Krieger barrels:

 

[BlueDolphin]

Thanks for all the help.

Now when I order a barrel... I assume I need to take the rifle and the barrel in to a local gunsmith....? And is there anything I need to look out for? Or any special things I need to have machined into the barrel? Any little secrets I guess is what I mean. I was thinking of putting a compensator on the end of the barrel. Is it best to have the compensator screw in? Or better to have it machined into the barrel? It looks like most barrel makers leave an inch or so at the end of the barrel when they ship. Does the gunsmith take care of the compensator on the barrel?

Pretend like I am Czechoslovakia with very little knowledge of the English language here. I really need some guidance.
I want to have a barrel made that I can be proud of /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Thanks again for all the help.

 

[Buffalobob]

A 1-10 twist is used for bullets weights of less than 160. A 1-9 twist is preferred for heavier bullets such as the Seirra 168 and 175 Match King. If you are target shooitng at 100 yds then it probably does not matter much. If you are shooting at 500yds and further then you pretty much need the high BC, high weigth bullets.

If you do not handlaod then you can tell him a std factory chamber. If you handlaod and know exactly what bullet you intend to shoot. Then you can give him a cartridge with the bullet seated in it and he will throat it to that bullet. A match chamber is probabaly not what you want on a hunting rifle and a std factory chamber is not what you want on a competition rifle.

If you are going to install a brake then you do not have to get into waht kind of crown to put on it.

You can have him make the barrel a couple of inches longer than you want and then when you burn up the thraot he can just cut off a couple of inches and rechamber and you are back in business.

Trigger work.

Accurize the action.

Bed the action.

 

[chris matthews]

Check out craigp40's 7mm and ric horst twins 7 WSMs- Broughton barrels all the way....

 

[Coyboy]

BlueDolpin, If your building a 1.25" dia. straight barrel I would suggest you think twice about the brake. This would be a quite heavy rifle, and recoil would be mild even without one. If you hunt with a braked gun I would definatly wear ear plugs.

 

[Troutslayer]

I don't think that any old gunsmith can do this for you, or maybe they can but not as well as others. You should seek out a real professional with good references.

I used to think I needed a really great, expensive, custom rifle. Turns out I just needed to learn how to shoot the ones I already owned. When I reach a point where my abilities exceed my equipment I will think about having something special made for me. When I do get one made I will probably ask folks on this site where they have had their rifles made and go with a maker with a good reputation.

 

[BlueDolphin]

Thanks guys... I very much appreciate the help.

If anyone knows a good gunsmith in the Sanfernando Valley/Ventura County California area let me know.

I will reconsider the brake. If I go with a threaded brake, could it not be removed for hunting?

 

[7Rumloader]

Unless you really want to you don't have to use a local smith. There are some very gifted smiths right here on this board and one of them has made a reply to your post.
Chris Matthews, Kirby Allen and Shawn Carlock are a couple and in no particular order. Give one of em an email and see what they have to say.

 

[Eaglet]

I second 7RUMloader's advice!
you just can't go wrong with either one. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Having a removable break is something that has always bathered my mind. Once I get a good load combination shooting good, with or without muzzle break, any change to that barrel by putting or removing the muzzle break will require of you to work up another load beacuse your barrel harmonics will change.
Good Luck and good shooting.

 

[BlueDolphin]

I went ahead and started a new thread to help find a good gunsmith.

I don't mind putting in the time to find a round that best suits hunting (shooting without a brake), and also finding the best round for my long range target shooting. However, if it just can't be done, so be it. Then I will likely build a second rifle specifically for hunting.