My new Ruger came with a 22 inch barrel and feels great (well balanced, not barrel heavy), but when I have it rebarreled to 404, I'm thinking 24, or at least 23 inches would be better in order to boost the velocity of the sightly underpowered 404 round. But what is this going to do to balance?
I value the experience on this board, so I'll let you guys decide.
[This message has been edited by GAHUNTER (edited 04-29-2002).]
GA - Personally, I like 24" tubes. Balance is a personal thing and depends on what you are used to pointing. I like the additional forward weight with a 24" to 26" barrel. You are not going to lose much velocity from a 24" to a 22" barrel, however, you will lose some - 20 to 40 FPS per inch. For me, 24" is the ticket.
Posts: 10780 | Location: Test Tube | Registered: 27 February 2001
All my big bores have 26" barrels in true English tradition...Actually most Jefferys had 27" barrels and they handle marvelously. That long tube just hangs steady and is fast on target. Same with a 28" shotgun barrel,it just hangs better than a riot gun.
I like that weight and long sight radius and as far as barrels hanging up in the brush and catching on things that's just so much garbage in the mind of the less experienced, who believe what they have read in some gun rag....UNless of course they have some magical method of knowing where that interfering bush is prior to the hunt, then if it's 26" in front of them, they can cut their barrel to 25" and on down the line. It is one argument that just does not fly...
Remember this!! You can cut a long barrel off later if you don't like it, but you cannot put those inches back on.
Bottom line is 2" of barrel is not going to bother you one iota...and the pluses are many.
All of my hunting rifles wear 24" barrels except for my .30-06 & .270 which wear 22" barrels. For the belted magnum cartridges I typically use on safari, I think 24" is ideal.
For me it depends on the barrel weight.I usually like a 22" barrel but my model 70 .416 came with a 24" barrel that is way too heavy.It's about as handy as a 50# crowbar,the .375's are even worse.Mine is in getting it cut to 20" and i think it'll balance a lot better but i'm still waiting for the gunsmith.
A lot of variables...how big are you? What do most of your other rifles carry? You can have a fairly long barrel that will still balance well if you keep the countour down a bit. As this will be a hunting rifle you don't need to worry about having a thick barrel to keep it from heating up. Try and handle some other rifles with longer barrel lengths to get a better idea.
Posts: 4360 | Location: Sunny Southern California | Registered: 22 May 2002
Other things being equal, I would expect a longer barrel to be easier on the ears as well.
Pressure versus time curves are heading downhill right up to the point the bullet exits the muzzle. The lower you allow that pressure to get (by keeping the bullet inside the longer barrel), the lower the velocity of the escaping gases that give rise to the report.
H. C.
Posts: 3691 | Location: West Virginia | Registered: 23 May 2001
My .340 Wby wears a 25 inch barrel and the rifle weighs over 10 lbs (to my amazement!). I carried it around in my arms (not slung) through all kinds of really thick thorn bush for hours over a 10 day safari and never had any sort of a complaint.
I have to go along with Ray. Except for my .416 (24"bbl), the rest of the rifles I use the most, have 26 " tubes. After hunting the rainforests of S.E. Alaska for most of 30 yrs. I have a "fair" idea of what the word "thick" means.
If you are a PH the barrel lenght of your rifle is between 18" to 22". These rifles with short barrel are a little bit light than rifles with long barrel. These rifles are used not to hunt but to stop in most of cases.
If you carry your gun only during your hunting period take a 25 or 26" barrel that give you more velocity. You don't need a short barrel.IMHO
------------------ BER007 Keep the faith in any circumstances ------------------------ BBER007@HOTMAIL.COM
Posts: 831 | Location: BELGIUM | Registered: 23 May 2002
I do all my hunting with a CZ 550 carbine 9,3x62, carrying the 458 mostly as a backup (and some times to impress the clients). Still it shoot as accurate as a long barreled one and point better than before. Regarding the loss on speed, I still have more than what I really need.
Posts: 178 | Location: Phalaborwa, Limpopo, South Africa | Registered: 26 April 2002
This thing about short barrels is a Crock if you ask me hunters. I mean like those good ole boys used long barrels years ago when Ivory was at it's peak right?
Well most of my guns have 26 inch barrels, a couple have 24, but I sure am not going to chop off 4 or 5 inches off my hunting rifles. I like a rifle to be a bit barrel heavy, especially in a big gun.
I also know that a long barrel helps in recoil or the rifle as well as muzzle jump. A valid point in hunting game I would say. Has anybody ever hacked off the barrel of an English double? I doubt it very much. To each his own is my motto!
I would just like to thank MR. Atkinson for his help with a rifle I am now going to get.I think experience is something that should be listen to as all the books in the world cannot make up for that, Thanks,Kev
Posts: 1002 | Location: ALASKA, USA | Registered: 22 May 2002
Well thank you Kev and your choice of the Searcy 450-400-3" could not have been better...that will be a dandy rifle and as I understand you will have the ability to use a scope or the irons...
My general plan for magazine rifles is to start with a 23.6" barrel, and adjust that length to suit the balance of the individual rifle. That is 600 mm for you non-metric speaking folks.
With that said, my rifles run 19", 20", 22", 23.6", 25.5" and 26".
jim dodd
------------------ "if you are to busy to hunt, you are too busy."
Posts: 4166 | Location: San Diego, CA USA | Registered: 14 November 2001
26 inch tubes for the true magnums, and 22 or 24 inches for the .375's and up. The slightly longer barrels help with the off hand shots. They just seem to balance better.
