I have a 25" on my pre64 and as its a straight taper it weighs in at 11 pounds ready to go. I thought it would be to heavy but after carting it around the zambezi valley for two weeks I think its just perfect. Not much recoil or muzzle jump and its as fast as I will ever need.

I don't know where it was established as to how long a barrel must be, longer to get desired velocities, shorter or longer to have the rifle balance, etc.

Having a long-barreled, heavy rifle and calling it handy is like saying a 6-ton truck is handy on a race course. Heavy rifles allow you to have quicker shot recovery but for DG the first one is the "handiest."

If you can get the desired velocity out of a 22" barrel, it is more handy than anything longer, etc., etc.

Question.

Which barell lenght do you prefer in a custom DGR?

24 inch? 26?

Many say the shorter barrel for quicker more fluid movement. Thoughts?

For off hand quick shooting I like a 26 inch barrel, it holds better and you have more sight radius..The old Mountain men and elephant hunters leaned towards long tubes and they knew a thing or two about shooting off hand...

I have used 20 inch barrels and never could see any advantage to them except to stick in a saddle scabbard and they sure are handy for that purpose, but notice I didn't say better, as a 22" would be just as good.

As to the old therory that the short barrel is better in thick stuff, thats only in the mind of the shooter, unless he knows where the brush is going to be before he goes hunting!! After hunting the thick stuff in Texas and africa, I see no advantage to short tubes at all...

I think they are cute and handy in the gun shop or Den, thats about it.

I have no problem with anyone that wants a short tube, and I have a couple myself...

Depends on the calibre.
But I would have to say 24" or shorter
What you want is a fast, handy and well balanced rifle.
Lots of PH's have 22" DGR

Cheers,

Andr�

23" on a bolt gun and 26" on doubles.
The overall lenght is the key - long guns are a nuisance in thorn and jess.

The most important feature to DGR is fit and balance.
It must come to the shoulder and be on target the same as a well fitted shotgun.

APB

I agree with Ray 100% across the board, except that 24 or 25 inches in a heavy contoured barrel offers plenty enough "swing and hang" heft, and ample sight radius, for me.

With a lighter contour, a 25 or 26 inch tube is best, IMO--but I think a 24 incher is okay too. I see no need and have no desire whatsoever to go shorter though.

I agree.

I think Ray is correct about the 26 inch barrell length.
I just ordered my .404 barrell in 26 and with a heavy target contour as I like the added weight.
Thanks for all the feed back.
Much appreciated.

Carmelo - 26" in a �heavy target contour� is going to be extremely muzzle heavy for field use. A target contour is designed for bench use when shooting off a rest. Proper weight is one thing, but a muzzle heavy big bore in the field is basically useless.

What barrel make and contour number did you order?

Zero Drift:



I ordered a barrel from MRC it is the target contour.



Actually medium weight

Medium Target 7 a=1.200 b=3.125 c=21-23 d=.875 are the specs.

I have fired a friends who has one in .416 and I like the added weight.

FYI,

Lilja website has barrel weight esimator and shows about 5.5lbs finished weight for that contour and 26 in.

rgrds

steve

I like 22", or at the most 24" barrels for DG rifles.



Short barrels do handle quicker than longer barrels (all other considerations being equal), and they are less likely to get hung up.



I've never known a PH who liked long barrels on DG rifles.......



AD

Steve,

MRC estimates just about 6 lbs on this one.
My action weighs 2 1/4 lbs.

I estimate total rifle weight to be approx 11.5 - 12 lbs unloaded.

As short as possible (i.e. depends on the caliber you shoot). 24" is easier to handle than 26" (shudder), and 22" is easier to handle than 24" etc. I'm having a .375 H&H barrelled at this moment, it will get a 23" barrel - compromise between easier handling and less muzzle flash. 22" would have been the other option for me. To each his own, in general I like mine short.
- mike

I prefer my rifles heavy and plan to load handload pretty heavy for this rifle.

I think it is all a matter of personal preference as others stated earlier in this thread.

Carmelo,

That's going to be an awfully heavy .404.

9 1/2 to 10 lbs is plenty.

Just got off the phone with MRC.

Here are the exact weight specs, 6 lbs for barrel, 2 1/4 for action so total there 8 1/4 lbs barrelled action. Stock weighs right at 2 lbs Total so far 10 1/4 scope adds about 6-7 ounces so the true weight comes in at just under 11 lbs
at around 10lbs 13oz.

A bit heavy than one would need but not grossly over weight.

What scope and mounts combo weighs in at 6-7 ounces?

The Leupold Compact weighs 6.5 I did not add the wieght for the mounts. Not overly concerned with the few extra ounces.

I got to admit, I don't understand this issue of a 26 inch bbl on a rifle that is going to take targets that 90% of the time are going to be shot at distances of lees than 50 yds. Especially when the rifle has to be carried and manipulated in thick cover.

The idea of a long barell hangs better might matter if I was doing a lot of off hand shooting at 100 yds maybe.

Additionally, 4 inches of bbl is a lot to have maneuver around in thick bush.

I would say 22 max...

I think 24" would be ideal for the 404 Jeffrey. I also agree with the others that think the rifle you are planning is too heavy.

However, at the moment, I think you should order the 26" barrel. If you decided to later go with a shorter barrel, you can cut down the 26" barrel. If you start with a shorter barrel, it is very expensive to have it stretched

Tim

My .416 Mod 70 has a 24 inch barrel, but I am going to cut it to 21 or 22. I surely can't see how I would be any better with a 26 inch barrel.

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