I have just started building a 416 taylor, and cant make up my mind regarding barrel lenght. 25" and 22" has crossed my mind, but I dont know if 22" is long enough for good performance. Input wanted! The rifle is beeing buildt on a old BRNO ZKK600 action,with a pop-up peep sight, a nice piece of turkish walnut, Warne scope mounts and a Kahles 1,1-4,5X20 scope.

I always wanted one with a 23 in tube seems to me to be a great length.

Start out with the 25 incher. Then cut it back a inch at a time till you find the length you like . You can always cut some off but you can't put any back.

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NRA Life member

Mine has a 23" barrel. Haven't had anything to compare it to, but I do like it alot. I still get 2400fps with 73gr of RL 15 and a 400gr Hornady RN.

FWIW, Canuck

I'd agree with Bear Claw, unless your having a nice front sight installed. Then it may be better to pick a length, and stick with it, as opposed to removing and installing it several times. $$$

Mine is 23 inches also, but unlike Canuck, I have a hard time reaching 2400fps without running pressures higher than I'd like. It's a Douglas barrel, but it's just slow I guess.

The compromise of 24 inches would probably work well. Not too long for carry (although many of us carry 26" barrels with no problem), and still not too short to lose velocity or increase the effects of muzzle blast.

Nice to hear about another Taylor being built!

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Brian
The 416 Taylor WebPage!

Maral.
The barrel on my 416 Taylor is 25" long but I�ll have it cut back to 23" before the open sights are mounted.
You have made a wise choise regarding caliber, have fun.
Regards/Rolf

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I prefer a longer barrel to reduce muzzle blast. I would go for 25".

Unless you are following up wounded grizzly in thick alders, that barrel length should work great.

Mine is 25". I am also 6'4" tall. They say barrel preference tends to follow height. 22" seems very short to me. Which is the barrel legnth of my Watts. start long as the man says you can always cut it off.

BW, others... I would consider one with a 22 incher. What sort of speed will it have, as compared to 2400 w/25 incher?
Is the slower 22 incher speed plenty for bear, as a back-up/stopper rifle in tight places? I imagine it would, but your experiences are better then my imagination.
I have a spare Mauser, and the 416 Taylor is an option. ~~~Suluuq

[This message has been edited by Rusty Gunn (edited 02-06-2002).]

Ah geez Rusty, you caught me "red-handed" on that "stopper/experience" question.

My Taylor has yet to kill anything, except lots of cans of powder, and paper targets.

I seem to recall reading, that these big bores don't lose as much velocity, compared to smaller calibers, when you lose an inch or two of barrel length.

I suspect, that you could easily hit 2300fps with a 22" barrel. Is that enough for discouraging a bear charge? I don't know. We've gone over the "stopper" question enough here, that I don't even want to go there.

Since your already enjoying that brand new 375WhelenAI, I might suggest going up in caliber, to something around .458 or .470 in diameter.

Not suggesting mind you, that a .416", 400gr bullet, at 2300fps, won't readily kill everything on the planet. That's been well proven and documented in history. But when talking "stoppers", it seems that discussion starts at .458" cartridges, and goes up from there.

I'll get back to ya by June. I've got lot's of bear hunting (Brown and Black) planned starting March 15th, and running through the end of May. If I haven't tested this cartridge by then, I'm hanging it all up, and taking up another hobby.

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Brian
The 416 Taylor WebPage!

Mine has a Douglas barrel 24 inches in lengh and it seems to work just fine. I'm getting 2500fps with 300grain bullets.

Just about all my rifles have 26" tubes because they shoot better off hand for me..

As to performance I doubt that it makes one bit of difference as the 416 does not kill by velocity to any great extent..It kills by cross section of the bullet and weight of the bullet. Anything over 2100 FPS with a 40 caliber, 400 gr. bullet is a perfectly good DG round if it has the sectional density to back it up...the 416 Taylor does, so pick a barrel lenth that YOU like, not what someone else likes....

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com