Rem 700 223 26" shortening

[strgrazr]

What is the ideal lenght for a .223 Rem 700 ADL Varmint .820 barrel contour with a 1:9 twist ??? The gun is brand new has never been fired in box. Have had it a several of years now. It seems was a spec run for Dick's, most 223's are 1:12. Got it on a black friday sale for $359. I have to set it up with a Nikon Monararch UDC 3x9x40 for hunting. The trigger has been tuned to a sweet 2.25 lb. and rifling mildly hand lapped. Shots at game can vary from 25 to 450 yd. The long barrel is cumbersome for eastern NC pine woods/swamp and cut-down hunting but do not want to give-up ballisticly. gun)I plan on hand loading after a short break-in.

 

[WildRose]

In that twist you'll want to stick to heavy for caliber bullets. That rig was specifically built as a long range varmint model which is why it has the long barrel.

You can probably cut it down to 20" without losing a whole lot ballistically but I'd leave it as is unless you just find it impossible to carry in the field.

If you want a short range short barreled carry gun for swamp and heavy brush hunting I'd buy something else rather than cutting this one down.

 

[FEENIX]

What is the ideal lenght for a .223 Rem 700 ADL Varmint .820 barrel contour with a 1:9 twist ??? The gun is brand new has never been fired in box. Have had it a several of years now. It seems was a spec run for Dick's, most 223's are 1:12. Got it on a black friday sale for $359. I have to set it up with a Nikon Monararch UDC 3x9x40 for hunting. The trigger has been tuned to a sweet 2.25 lb. and rifling mildly hand lapped. Shots at game can vary from 25 to 450 yd. The long barrel is cumbersome for eastern NC pine woods/swamp and cut-down hunting but do not want to give-up ballisticly. gun)I plan on hand loading after a short break-in.

You just answered your own question. lightbulb

+1 on what WR said!gun)

 

[johnnyk]

strgrazr,
Welome to LongRangeHunting!

I'm of the opinion same as the other two gents. Leave it alone. 1-9 twist is great in the .223Rem., especially in a bolt action rifle. Sounds like you have been hanging out with the AR guys! Sheesh! You are blessed to have a Remington with that twist, normally it's a lot slower (My one dislike for the Remington .22 centerfires).

That twist will stabilize the 69-70gn bullets perfectly. I had a Savage 110 FP (24") back in 2004 and it shot great. I dusted many a NC crow with that little rifle. I started shooting the Nosler J4's (Custom Competition now) and SMK's in 69gn. With 25.0gn of H4895, Rem 6.5, I shot .2's @ 3000fps from day one.

I tried the 55gn Nosler Ballistic Tip with 26.5gn of W748, Rem brass and Rem 6.5 primers. My best accuracy with this load was .136" at 100yds. Never did chrono it though.
As good as that little jewel shot, I traded it off to another LRH forum member. I love to trade firearms.

Have a good time with your .223 and those Carolina pines! Happy shooting. JohnnyK.

 

[sourdough44]

26" is on the long side for me, hunting in any kind of cover. You have to decide if it's worth it to shorten, you may have a better use for it 'as-is' later. I like a 20" barrel for most of my 'woods' hunting, up to 22" is workable though.

I have 2 guns with a 24" barrel. The way I operate I hardly use them.

 

[FEENIX]

What is the ideal lenght for a .223 Rem 700 ADL Varmint .820 barrel contour with a 1:9 twist ??? The gun is brand new has never been fired in box. Have had it a several of years now. It seems was a spec run for Dick's, most 223's are 1:12. Got it on a black friday sale for $359. I have to set it up with a Nikon Monararch UDC 3x9x40 for hunting. The trigger has been tuned to a sweet 2.25 lb. and rifling mildly hand lapped. Shots at game can vary from 25 to 450 yd. The long barrel is cumbersome for eastern NC pine woods/swamp and cut-down hunting but do not want to give-up ballisticly. gun)I plan on hand loading after a short break-in.

FYSA, http://www.longrangehunting.com/for...del-700-model-seven-rifles-134000/#post941913