I was thinking a 24" barrel in a Douglas 5A or a Shilen 5 1/2.

Is this sufficient? It's going on a 1917 action and I wanted to come in around 10 pounds (will have a blackwalnut stock)

quote:

Originally posted by Austin Hunter:
I was thinking a 24" barrel in a Douglas 5A or a Shilen 5 1/2.

Is this sufficient? It's going on a 1917 action and I wanted to come in around 10 pounds (will have a blackwalnut stock)

I have a Douglas 5A on a 458 Lott. It is heavy.

Personally, I would go for a #5 on a 416, not a 5A.

If you plan to scope it, a 5A will bring you in at over 10 pounds I would think(assuming that you go with standard weight components, wood stock, etc.)

4?

#4 and cut it to 20 inches.

I have a 416 Rem with a 22" stainless #5 Douglas on a pre 64 Win 70 and it comes out at 9 pounds all scoped up and ready(2-7 Leupold). You should be able to get the same with your 1917 @ 10 pounds or a little less.

ETA: Mine has a 22" #5, not 24"

use the pac-nor.com weight calculator.

10# before scope is likely too heavy .. come to houston and shoot one and see

Sorry - I meant to say 10 pounds before scope.

I have a Ruger RSM in 375 H&H and believe from the factory is it around 9.9 lbs. I would say with scope, ammo, and sling it comes in around 11 pounds. This is a really good weight for me.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the Winchester Model 70 in .416 Rem. use a No. 4 contour barrel? I like that one.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the Winchester Model 70 in .416 Rem. use a No. 4 contour barrel? I like that one.

Don't know what contour but they're all the same regardless of caliber. Cheap. Pigs.

A friend of mine had a 416, which uses a Douglas number 4 contour. Nice looking rifle too.

I am correcting my post as well but that should be a 22" barrel on my 416! Duh!!!!!

The WinM70 barrel on .416RemMag is about .725" at the 24" muzzle diameter.
This is very close to a no. 5 sporter contour.
It makes the walnut stocked rifle a well balanced 9.25 pounder, dry weight.
No. 4 sporter is as light as you want to go.
That is similar to the CZ .416 Rigby, about 0.670" at the 25" muzzle.

Holy Smokes Batman! I just measured the barrel on my FN Mauser 7 mm Rem Mag. I always thought the 26" barrel was a bit heavy......... a #5 Contour!!! .700 at the end; ,900 before the taper up.

Well, definitely rebarreling it, probably to a #3 or #4 in 264 Win Mag.....

But, that leaves me wondering is a #5 is enough for a 416 Remington. I did say the barrel on the 7 mag was a bit heavy, but it's not over the top.

Douglas Sporter Contours are about as standard as it gets for comparisons, though various barrel makers vary some.
Factory rifle makers of mass production also might have their own special contours using same barrel contour for several calibers:
CZ, Ruger, Winchester, ...

Tapering 0.020" of diameter for each inch of barrel length near the muzzle end is also fairly common.

So, using the Douglas standards, at the various specified lengths:

Sporter BBL NO.

5A = .750" @ 26" or about 0.790" when cut to 24"
5 = .700" @ 26" or about 0.740" when cut to 24"
4 = .650" @ 26" or about 0.690" when cut to 24"
3 = .625" @ 24"
2 = .600" @ 24"
1 = .560" @ 22"

Barrel contour should be decided by considering
firstly, caliber, to give a minimum of 0.125" wall thickness in the grooves at the muzzle:

.375"(cal.) + .125 + .125 = .625" diameter: No. 3 at 24" length is a minimum contour for the .375 H&H IMHO,
and it works, in my experience, but requires a one-pound stock to balance such a light barrel on a Pre-64 M70 action.

.416"(cal.) + .125" + .125" = .666"
Either a No. 4 with .690" diameter at 24" length,
or a No. 5 with .740" diameter at 24"
or a No. 5A with .790" diameter at 24" will do.

Ruger got it right when they made the last generation of .416 Rigby RSM with a muzzle diameter of .750" at 23" length.
That made a 9.5# dry-weight rifle, even with the integral quarter rib.

Balance your decision for barrel contour based on accuracy with heavier, stiffer barrel,
and weight of barrel for chosen length of barrel to give good balance with weight of stock chosen.

No. 5 is plenty for a walnut stocked rifle in .416 caliber.
Enough weight to balance.
More than enough stiffness for accuracy.

I used a No. 4 on a .416 Taylor in a light, synthetic stock.

Twist?
George Hoffman used 1:14" on all of his .416 rifles, but opined before he died, that he would have chosen a 1:12" for the next one.

No. 5 Sporter is the Goldilocks "Just Right" contour for a .416, seems to me.

Thanks. I'm using a 1917 action, so that "pig" will add some weight - and the wood will either be some Utah Black Walnut (heavier than normal Walnut) or Mesquite.

I'm undecided on length. I was thinking 24", but you're right Ruger did the RSM at 23". I have a 375 H&H RSM and absolutely love it. Too bad Ruger stopped making these. I thought they were the best dangerous game rifle available from a manufacturer.