Barrel Length question....

[LouD]

I am looking to add a couple of hunting rifles to the collection this summer and am fretting over the better choice for length/caliber combinations.  One addition will be a 30-06 that will be an all around gun for pigs, mulies, & elk.  For this gun my options are a 22" or 24" (7.25 & 7.75 lbs).  Is there any practical difference?  Next will be a .243, serving as a "mountain" gun in 22" or 24", same question.   And lastly, a 25-06 to serve as a long-range "desert gun" with a 24" or 26"... again, is there a significant advantage to the longer barrel   Thanks !!!

Lou

[Rmouleart]

Some rifle carts don't really reach there potential until they reach at least 26 inches of barrel, this goes for the 30/06, for the most part longer barrel makes for longer shooting and more power, plus more weight, when cutting down to a carbine, a great deal of distance and accuracy is lost, but if you are only shooting up to 150 yards it don't matter, but when you are reaching out beyond 300 yards the longer barrels will play in to be better shooters, worth carrying the extra weight. Sounds like you are hunting long shots to me. Aim small hit small. RAMbo.

[mountainview]

Another advantage of a longer barrel, often overlooked, is that the muzzle blast is farther away from the shooter and generally also makes it a bit more pleasant for other shooters at the adjacent benches when at the range.

[Zachary]

I think that the added benefit to an increase in velocity is that, the longer the barrel, the more time the bullet has to stabilize.  Granted, it's not much, but every little bit helps.

I must say that on standard cartridges, I prefer at least 24", and on magnums, I prefer at least 26".


Zachary

[Coyote Hunter]

LouD -

My Ruger .257 Roberts has a 22" barrel and I consider this a very handy rifle.  It would be a great choice for barrel length in the .243, IMHO.

For the .30-06 and .25-06 I would go with the 24" length.  My Ruger .22-250 Varmint/Target has a heavy 26" barrel and I wouldn't want to carry it in the field - both because of the weight and because the 26" length is more unwieldy - but it works great for a varmint rifle.  My 7mm Rem Mag has a 24" barrel and works great out to 400 yards, the furthest I have shot it.

[Steelhead]

I think BALANCE is a FAR more important issue than a few FPS. It all depends on the rifle and what you like. I have one 30/06 with a 25 inch barrel, but it feels right in my hands. I have another rifle with a 24" barrel that feels a bit to heavy in the barrel. There are some many variables, but balance and feel are VERY important to me, certainly more then a few FPS.

[jvs]

I am looking to add a couple of hunting rifles to the collection this summer and am fretting over the better choice for length/caliber combinations.  One addition will be a 30-06 that will be an all around gun for pigs, mulies, & elk.  For this gun my options are a 22" or 24" (7.25 & 7.75 lbs).  Is there any practical difference?  Next will be a .243, serving as a "mountain" gun in 22" or 24", same question.   And lastly, a 25-06 to serve as a long-range "desert gun" with a 24" or 26"... again, is there a significant advantage to the longer barrel   Thanks !!!

Lou

You have just hit on a point that few reloaders take into consideration when they produce a box of shells, and that is ... Barrel Length.  Most people are only concerned about FPS.  

The huge blast of energy that propells the bullet is much more efficient if a majority of the burn happens in the barrel.  If you sit at the range, you can usually tell when someone has improperly reloaded shells when they have a fireball coming out the muzzle.   Something that I am positive has a
bad effect on the bullet flight.

It wasn't that long ago when the major gun manufacturers had just about everyone believing that Carbine length barrels were the way to go.  Now it seems that accuracy is given up when too much powder is burning as the bullet leaves the firearm.

Just about every 30 caliber firearm that was produced for war prior to WWII had barrels in excess of 24 inches.  And for good reason.

The best thing to do if you reload is to dumb your loads down to where the powder is being almost completely burned in the barrel.  Or pick a little quicker burning powder.

It all depends on how accurate you want to be and how much you understand ignition and powder burn.

[Lawdog]

LouD,

For your best performance go with the following,

.30-06 - 24" barrel minimum
.243 Win. - again 24" barrel
.25-06 - 24" is good, 26" is better

All of my .30-06's and .243's wear 24" with the exception of my 1917 Enfield which has a 25" barrel.  All three of my .25-06's(Ruger M77V, Rem. M700 BDL and Ruger No. !B) have 26" barrels.  Two or so inches of added barrel does not weight that much.  Lawdog
 

[Zachary]

I too like 24" barrels on short action cartridges like the .243, but there are apparently very few gun manufacturers out there that make them that long for the .243.  Most are 22" and some are even shorter.  I have a Tikka in .243 and it has a 22.5" barrel.  My Sako in 7mm-08 and .308 is also 22.5"

I do have a .260 and 7mm-08 in the Remington BDL SS DM that has a stainless 24" barrel, but that model has been discontinued in those calibers.  

Zachary

[LouD]

What I've found in a 24" .243 is the Remington CDL, and I'm gonna see if I can get one located.  Most likely the 30-06 is gonna be a Winchester 70 Sporter with a 24" (although the Super grade is tempting, I'd be curious if anyone thinks it's worth the extra $$).  And then there's the 25-06... most likely a Ruger 1-B in stainless, but I might go with a Weatherby, who knows... It'll have to be a secret weapon though... (secret from the wife...)
Thanks for all the input !!!
Lou

[cowpoke]

LouD,

It looks to me like you have chosen some very good rifles.  

As far as the 30-06 goes if you are planning on using it a lot and it is going to be your "blue collar" rifle I would not go for the Super grade.

Zachary I agree that it is a shame that Remington no longer makes the BDL stainless DM in 7mm-08 and 260.  I don't have either, I have seen them and would like to get a hold of one of each..... along with several other rifles on my "would like to have" list

[smoky]

Some major custom rifle smiths state that a shorter barrel is more accurate that a longer barrel.  I think that it has to do with rigidity and elimination of barrel whip.  I would imagine that the longer tube would generally have the ability to increase velocity.  However, there are now enough newer, faster burning powders available that it may not be the case anymore.

Smoky

[Zachary]

LouD,

Zachary I agree that it is a shame that Remington no longer makes the BDL stainless DM in 7mm-08 and 260.  I don't have either, I have seen them and would like to get a hold of one of each..... along with several other rifles on my "would like to have" list

I don't understand why they stopped making them.  Perhaps I can somewhat understand with the .260, but the 7mm-08 appears to be gaining a great deal of popularity.

Zachary

[Lawdog]

Zachary,

cowpoke wrote:

LouD,

Zachary I agree that it is a shame that Remington no longer makes the BDL stainless DM in 7mm-08 and 260. I don't have either, I have seen them and would like to get a hold of one of each..... along with several other rifles on my "would like to have" list

I don't understand why they stopped making them. Perhaps I can somewhat understand with the .260, but the 7mm-08 appears to be gaining a great deal of popularity

You know why Remington cut them.  The accountants got together and compared notes, added figures and found out that they weren’t selling enough(by the accountants standards) units so “Good-Bye” to that model/caliber.  Remember, it’s the bean counters that rule the business world.  Small groups and tight lines to all.  Lawdog
 

[Zachary]

Unfortunately, you're right.  But my question is this - I know that the accountants make the statistical analysis of what sells, but remington still kept both the .260 and 7mm-08 in the LSS models, as well as the Model 7 rifles.  My point is this, if the accountants advised Remington to stop making the .260 and 7mm-08 in the BDL SS, which has 24" barrels, then that must mean that buyers, like you and me, must not want them with 24" barrels.  

My point is this...I think that the 7mm-08 is gaining popularity, but I guess what I'm asking is whether 7-08 buyers generally want this gun with a 24" barrel or 22" barrel.  If people aren't buying the 24" BDL SS and thus its dropped for the .260 and 7mm-08, then I guess the answer is that apparently most buyers want the 7-08 with a 22" barrel.  Do you agree?

Zachary

[Lawdog]

Zachary,

then I guess the answer is that apparently most buyers want the 7-08 with a 22" barrel. Do you agree?

I believe that many hunters/shooters these days are buying the hype of lighter is better.  I have run across many that say they want the shorter barrel to save weight.  My answer back to them is “just how much weight are you saving by cutting off two inches?”  I know there have been reports that say you get just as good or even better accuracy with a short barrel.  But in my own testing it has always come out that the longer barrel has been more accurate and that I get better performance from the cartridge with the longer barrel.  I guess Weatherby has made a believer out of me as every Weatherby I own has a 26” barrel.  In fact, with but a very few exceptions, every rifle I own wears a 24 inch or better barrel.  So yeah I agree that the buyers are buying the shorter barreled rifles.  The real question is “Which is the better rifle in the 7mm-08?”  Small groups and tight lines to you.  Lawdog
 

[LouD]

Well, there's one down and 2 to go....  I picked up a Win 70 Classic Featherweight chambered for 243 and its currently at the 'smith having the trigger adjusted.  It's got a 22" barrel, and though I was leaning to the 24" CDL, the gun was just to nice to pass up.  Thanks again for all the input.

[longwinters]

Do you think that the barrel length answer may be different by region of the U.S?  Out west no doubt  hunters probably go with the 24-26" barrel a/c longer shooting opportunities etc... while in the upper mid-west and east shooting distances are generally shorter and people equate a shorter barrel with improved manuverability and a quicker shot.  Also where are more rifles sold?  I would guess the upper midwest and the eastern states.  Hence a majority of hunters prefer (or just plain dont care) that their rifles have 22" and shorter barrels.  I really dont think that hunters are all that affected by "hype" because I do not think most people who hunt read hunting/rifle mags or watch hunting programs on t.v.  The people on this site are not the "average" hunter/shooter in the U.S.  

Long

[Zachary]

.  The people on this site are not the "average" hunter/shooter in the U.S.  

Long

Ain't that the truth! :grin:

Zachary

[jvs]

Zachary I agree that it is a shame that Remington no longer makes the BDL stainless DM in 7mm-08 and 260.  I don't have either, I have seen them and would like to get a hold of one of each..... along with several other rifles on my "would like to have" list

I don't know a whole lot about how Remington does things but I do know a little bit.

What I recently found out is Remington does not keep all rifles in production at all times.  When I called them up about 2 months ago about the new CDL, they told me that only 4 or 5 caliblers were in production at the moment, with the rest to follow later.  What ever they make in the current production run is it for that caliber for this year.

What that might tell me is that when they produced the 7mm-08 BDL in Stainless Steel, they may have sold out the production run.

Depending on how long it took to sell out might have a part in the decision on whether to do another run or not.  Just because it isn't available now doesn't mean it never again will be.  

On the other hand, if it looks like another production won't pay off, it won't be done.  As always, some people love the rifle, some people don't care if they never see another one.  A balancing act for sure.