What's the best lenght of barrel for a rifle in bolt action in 30.06 ?

22"

I like 24". opinions, like taste in wine, differ.

22" on mine. Very handy.

You don't have much choice in a factory rifle. I have settled on 23" for 08/06 based cases & 25" for the magnums.

A group of benchrest experimenters give 21.75" "magic ualities", but they only shoot holes in paper and don't acare about velocity per se.

jim

quote:

Originally posted by Mark:
22"

Ditto.

22" here as well

In 30-06 my Vanguard is a 24",the BAR is 22", the HK SLB is 19". I haven't run the HK over the chrony but assume I'm giving up a couple of hundred FPS.

I've got to admit to a fondness for 24" barrels on bolt guns though, two others I had built (7x57 and 458 Win) both had 24's installed. I do have the HK, and a Ruger RSI in 308, for stalking when the brush is thick.

Most of the time though I don't feel at any disadvantage with the 24" barrel.

quote:

Originally posted by cobra:

quote:

Originally posted by Mark:
22"

Ditto.

Double ditto

Pulling it out of a saddle scabbard or hunting in thick alders --16.5" to 19"


Long range competition or antelope--26" +.

Carry all day and not get tired one shot only--lightest weight--22" But this may hurt on the bench. In fact it did me Wed.roger

quote:

Originally posted by Alain:
What's the best lenght of barrel for a rifle in bolt action in 30.06 ?

Hey Alain, Looks like you are getting lots of variety in the answers, which can confuse the issue.

Probably all good recommendations based on two things: 1. The type of Hunting they do. 2. The balance of that specific rifle.

I've got rifles with barrels down to 18.5" and some with 26". Each works fine in a particular situation.

But, the big thing for me is how well a particular rifle Balances when I hold it. This is controlled by the contour of the barrel as well as the stock configuration.

So, before you buy one, I'd recommend you wear the clothes you typically Hunt in and shoulder all the different 30-06 rifles you might be interested in actually having. If you can find a Gun Shop with a large selection of "used" rifles, most will have a Scope mounted which will make the Feel closer to reality for you.

A 30-06 with a barrel shorter than 22" is going to be louder than it needs to be. And a Bolt Action with a barrel longer than 26" can be awkward moving through the woods, or even getting a Gun Case for it.

But, I'd still recommend you decide if you want it for Woods Hunting or Open Areas, plus how well it "balances for you" and then decide.

Best of luck to you.

I like 22" 760 rem pump for the eastern whitetail and blackbear but use a M70 30-06 24" for the rest of the US and Canada. For Africa a M70 in 338 WM in 24"and 24" for about everything else. I do shoot a 264 WM and a 300 H&H with 26" barrels but the 264 is the only one that truely needs that much barrel in my opinion.