I'm having a semi custom rifle built on a Rem 700 action in 300WM. Looking for advice on barrel lenght.
This is meant to be a general purpose rifle from Whitetail deer to African Plains game. I tend to like short barreled rifles. What is the minimum you guys recommend. Thanks, studdog

I no longer shoot a 300 mag as I so dearly love my 30-06 with 22" barrel.

That said, I wouldn't mind at all having a 300 Win mag with a 22" barrel. The handling characteristics of a short barrel are important to me.

Vapodog,
Now I see why you were concerned about my rebarrealing my Mod 70 Fthrwt 06 in 22"-aren't they sweet though. Is yours a Ftherwt or full size Mod 70, and what works best in your rifle.

You'll definately lose some velocity with a short barrel. 24" is typical with many 300's using a 26". I guess it depends on whether 100 fps is more important to you than having a "handy rifle". If length is a big concern I'd consider an 06' or 300WSM.

Personally I dont notice any difference in handling with a longer barrel as long as the rifle is well balanced.

I have a 22" barrel on my 300 win. I am re barreling next spring. I figure it isn't worth the recoil and extra powder if what you have is 30-06 velocity. Iam actually thinking of buying a 30-06 for here in Michigan and re barreling the 300 win for just going west.

If you go less than 24", alll you have is a 30-06.

I agree w/ others, If you go less tha 24 you might as well have a 06.

I've hunted w/ rifles w/ short barrels and long barrels. I hunt thick areas from the ground or from climbers and I also hunt blinds in fields & ROWs. That said, I've never been able to tell a bit of difference in a rifle w/ a 20" barrel or a 26". I hear some folks complain about 24 and 26 inch barrels because they're not user friendly in thick cover yet I've never noticed the problem and I stay in the woods a good deal every year. I even have a 30" barrel on my Turkey gun, never caused a problem either.

Good Luck

Reloader

I have gotten close to 3100 with a max load of RL 22 and 180 Accubonds I think I was 3070 or so, I need to mess around with seating depth to tweak it a little more.

I would go with a 24 ".
If you want to get a real boost over an 06.
The 22 inch is a good compromise length, I like it in non magnum rounds , but a 300 win is designed for long range power, I would not hamstring it...tj3006

I would be for going in the 23-25" range.

I tend to like tubes that are about .65 at the mzl and have a bit of heft out front.

Mark D

One other quick thing.

I've done a fair bit of testing in taking a tube and abreviating it down from 26 to the 23 range.

My tests reveal that 25-33 fps per inch taken off is a very good rule of thumb.

So if you take a rig from 26 down to 24 you're gonna lose a whopping 50-60 fps total.

Personally I will take a bit less in tube length than worry about 50-60 fps.

Just a thought would be to start at 25 and then if it doesn't quite feel right take a couple of inches off.

How tall are you?

Mark D

There is a great article in this months Handloader magazine that has really made me rethink this topic. You may want to take a look at it.. The article was written by John Barnsness.

Also a while back Clint Smith did a test on a Win Mage where he cut it al of the way down to around 18 inches and if I remember the article correctly did not loose anywhere near what he thought he would.

Thanks for the replies. I am short at 5'5" and have always liked short rifles. Also, With a short length of pull (12.75) longer barrels tend to create a slightly muzzle heavy feel. My longest barreled rifle is a 375 HH at 22 inches. It's fine but would feel better to me at 20 inches. The builder recommends 22 inches. That's probably the way I'll go. Any other thoughts are appreciated. Thanks, Studdog.

Why not start at 24,
My smith only charges 50.00 to cut and crown.
If you think its too long, cutting it a whole lot easier than streaching it out again ! ...tj3006