Who's got a 20" barrel on their big bore and would you do it again? Thanks!

my new .416 taylor made by tip burns on an eddystone enfield has a 20" #5 contour shilen barrel...designed as a south texas truck/brush gun... haven't shot it yet.. tip test fired it last week...

Although not a "big bore" I have a lightweight 20" on my 9.3x62 and I couldn't be happier.
Jim that 416 Taylor you describe sounds like a great piece.

I had a Sako manliker that was a .375 H&H with I believe it was a 20 inch barrel but it might have ben a little shorter. I thought it worked great in heavy brush and made a great Elke rifle as it only weighed about 7.9 pounds with scope.
Bill

I've got a remington custom shop 416 remy with a 20 in. barrel, and it performs very well. The balance and lighter weight are really what I was looking for. If I got another 416 of any type I'd leave the barrel at at least 22 inches for a bit more velocity. That said, I wouldn't hesitate to shorten my barrel all over again.

I've got a M-70 Stainless .375H&H that is cut to 20". Not only is it a very nice handling rifle it really hasn't suffered much velocity loss.

Don't have a 20" but both my Brno ZKK602 375H&H and my CZ550 416Rigby are 21" and I would quickly do it again. The 416 took my last Elephant with no trouble.

I have carried the banner for long tubes (26") over the years and I like them because they are great for off hand shooting and for running shots and the extra barrel length never interfered with a thing in 60 years of hunting. You get a great sight picture.

Recently I built a 20" .416 Rem and I am building another in a 404/375 Ruger, both have no. 5 barrels and at 20 inches are thick and just a tad heavy..The really handle nice for off hand shooting, and maybe my old eyes like that short sight picture, so maybe I will take another look at short tubes and have one, but don't intend to go wacking off the tubes on my old guns..Both of the short guns really handle well, the short tubes are accurate, and thats all that counts.

In the big bores you don't lose much velocity like you would with a 300 Win or something of that ilk..

One thing I am sure of and that is most of the "justification" for short barrels is The real reason to own one is because you like it, it feels good and makes you happy!

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
One thing I am sure of and that is most of the "justification" for short barrels is The real reason to own one is because you like it, it feels good and makes you happy!

Ray,

Isn't that so true with just about anything anybody prefers on a custom rifle..

.......Had a number of them ,,,will have more ...,some I,ve had 458 win mag ,. 19.5 " plus muzzel brake .. My Gold standard Bear protection rifle ... 416 Taylor 19.5 " barrel 416 Taylor 18" barrel .9.3x62 mauser 20 " barrel .couple 338 win mags w/20 " barrels ..[handy but may as well have a 35 Whelan for all the speed lost }....Planning on getting a 375 Ruger Alaskan .,20 " barrel ....And I,m on the search for the Elephant Scout rifle ..Something like a 500 A-Sq.with a 17" barrel and a Holland Quick Discharge muzzel brake .....A Brown Bear Scout is also something I,m huntin for like a 416 300 short rum w'16 " barrel ...to push a 350 gr bullet 2400 fps ...

I have a Sako 375 with a 19 inch barrel. It handles well and is nice and light.....but I'm thinking of going up to a 24 inch tube. Can't stand being 100+ fps below book on everything....and longer barrels haven't bothered me in the field.

It is much easier and cheaper to cut them down....


Cheers,

Dan

I have multiple .375 H&H - 20" barrels, handy accurate rifles. And to answer the question, would you do it again? Absolutely.

Roland

I read an old Magnum article written by....GANYANA....that said go with a 20-21 inch barrel on a DG rifle. He also advised using the same length action in one's hunting battery, to avoid short stroking (which he said was an endemic problem, at least with the PH qualifiers he supervised) and nt to use different rifles with different safety mechanisms, again to avoid mishaps when it counts because of unfamiliarity with one's weapons.

In my experience, short barrels are too light and whippy. Plus, they aren't conducive to good offhand shooting, since they tend to make rifles light at the muzzle and as a result don't "hang" or stabilize well. Longer barrels are my preference.

In my experience, contrary to myth, four or five inches more barrel are no impediment whatsoever in the bush.

I built a 375 Epstein with a 20" barrel for this years Elk rifle. I am getting to where I don't want to carry a lot of rifle when I'm hunting, especially when I'm in the big mountains. I made a 100 yd. offhand shot with it at a running cow and dumped her with one shot through the lungs.

I have built a few 600 Overkills with 18" and 20" barrels. The first 700 AHR has a 20" tube, but that's for Safarikid and we all know he's crazy.

With the right barrel contour you can have a very short barrel and still have proper balance. You have to build the rifle with this in mind. You can't always just whack off 4" of light weight barrel and make it work.

all I know about short barrels is one Sako Mannlicher stocked 375 I owned one hunting season.
About seven pounds bare, and it was loud enough people thought it was magna-ported. Kicked too.
I hunted the next year with an eleven pound, 34" barrelled Hawken Rifle and had better success.

Rich
DRSS
Knowledge not shared in knowledge lost...

My lightweight 375 H&H has a 20" tube and I wouldn't want it any longer. It is very handy, accurate, and velosity loss isnt' as bad as people think it would be. I do notice the difference in length when in the heavy brush, even my 16" barreled 10/22 can be too long while bunny hunting in the heavy brush.

...bear 78 , thats a real nice looking rifle ..

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
all I know about short barrels is one Sako Mannlicher stocked 375 I owned one hunting season.
About seven pounds bare, and it was loud enough people thought it was magna-ported. Kicked too.
I hunted the next year with an eleven pound, 34" barrelled Hawken Rifle and had better success.

Rich
DRSS
Knowledge not shared in knowledge lost...

"Sako Mannlicher stocked 375H&H"
Yep thats exactley the one I had, Great to carey and but you knew when you shot it.

Bill

quote:

Originally posted by Bitterroot:
I built a 375 Epstein with a 20" barrel for this years Elk rifle. I am getting to where I don't want to carry a lot of rifle when I'm hunting, especially when I'm in the big mountains. I made a 100 yd. offhand shot with it at a running cow and dumped her with one shot through the lungs.

I have built a few 600 Overkills with 18" and 20" barrels. The first 700 AHR has a 20" tube, but that's for Safarikid and we all know he's crazy.

With the right barrel contour you can have a very short barrel and still have proper balance. You have to build the rifle with this in mind. You can't always just whack off 4" of light weight barrel and make it work.

Amen Bitteroot----I love my 20" 600ok.

Yes, I too had a Sako Mannlicher in 375. Fired it at one range session and off to gunsamerica.com it went. OUCH that thing kicked!

OK,Now you have awoken the sleeping giant! ...For some reason,I have Always preferred the shorter tubes on my rifles and handguns,yet my trap,sporting clays and duck guns go from 32" A5 to 34" Perazzis and even a 40" Marlin Pump gun!...NO regrets on my 18" 600-OK,my 20" 600-OK,my 16" 500 Jeffery(my lil favorite!),my 5" 50/110 BFR Revolver! and soon to be here,my 20" 700-OK...I had a few doubles,a Greener 7 bore with 19"(miss it now) and a 22" Westley 577(miss it too)...They are MUCH handier,easier to carry in the sticks,look kool and have a Great "WoW" factor!I Promise at the ranges we are talking with dangerous game,the animal will Not notice the difference in velocity loss(VERY little with BIG Bores)when that 500 gr or bigger smacks him in the shoulder!(Oh,my 4 bore double "Mastodon" has 22" tubes!)..I say "go for it"! Happy Holidays too!...the Crazie Safarikid

Long time back I came on the idea of using pencil lead (comes on a spool) inletted into the forearm (bbl channel) close to the tip and some epoxy to hold it. I weighed the bit of bbl removed and added that much in lead or whatever I felt like tryin at the time. It was not perfect but did the trick. On a .338 win mag I took the precaution of a couple of small screws thru the lead into the foerarm as well.. also epoxied. I like the heavy profile bbl idea tho if your going from scratch same effect short tube but good hang weight for steadiness. I think 19 or 20 inches is where I draw the line 21" is my opt. for a short bbl.
My brother had a .264 win mag with a 21" bbl custom built for him (supposed to be his uber sheep rifle) and the muzzle blast from that rifle was astounding. Once we were sighting in under a covered range point ..he touched it off and a 5" knot jumped out of one of the Fir 2x12 roof rafters and landed right beside us. Up till he got that rifle he was a great field shooter but he developed a bit of a flinch from shooting that blaster too much. After a few hundred rounds the throat washed out thank god and he traded it off.

........A 264 Win needs a long barrel if anything does ....,., I know I,ll get booed off stage but 20 -21 1/2 " barrels and muzzel brakes are about my max prefered lengths ...and I still want a 16 1/2 ' 416 WSM or SRUM

Mrlexma,
I agree that you are right and that has always been my take on the subject..however I have weakened and built a couple of 20" big bores and liked them as of late.

I got around the flippy bouncy stuff by going with a heavy barrel with very little taper and that makes the carbine muzzle heavy and it works for me very well shooting off hand.

I will never give up my 26" tubes but its nice to have a handy carbine to show folks and I think I will even hunt with it...it just feels so gooooood!

I developed my affection for the shorter barrels from shooting ducks from the blind. A 26" barrel swings quicker, is easier to handle, and the ducks never knew the difference. I do a lot of big game hunting in the thicker forests of western Montana where off-hand shots are common. Very similar to DG hunting; shots are shorter and game may be on the move after the first shot. Ray is right-on with his type of barrel taper; keep the barrel heavy and the balance between your hands.

.....surestrike and the bear78 have some very simular rifles ..., Is it a case of Great minds think alike ..???.,.,>>>>>>My CZ 458 Lott will become a 20 " barrel soon ...

Well, I am 6'2" and use LOP of about 14", and shorter than 22 looks a bit "off". And I do not like the muzzle blast closer to my ears than I have to. However, handlig is of great importance when we are talking about the big ones, and I make the barrels as short as possible. For non-dangerous game, 24" is my minimum.

The 9.3x62 started life as a 20"er and I've never looked back. Apparently none of the animals who have gone to the "Happy Hunting Grounds" notice the rifle was "Stubby" either.

After that resounding success lopped 4" off the original 24" Winchester Model 70 .375H&H Mag. tube and am just as happy with the results of that circumcision, too. I'd post a picture but they both sorta look like the others above; short & not too big around, so to speak.

As soon as CZ offers their promised 416 Rigby in Left-Hand and I get my hands on one of them it's gonna go under the knife, too. Most probably to 22".