Gentlemen:

I have a serious hankering for a light, pointable .338-06 on a small ring HVA mauser action. What is the nominal muzzle diameter one would want in a barrel with .338 bore diameter?

I am contemplating a 22" barrel length. I don't want the barrel to be too skinny, but I would like to stay on the light side of things. I was thinking of a muzzle diameter of .625" at 22" length. This is pretty close to a Douglas No. 3 contour. I presume this would provide adequate steel at the muzzle but not too much?

Any advise is appreciated.


Thanks,


Jordan

I would knock 40 thou off of the muzzle and taper the barrel at .150 per foot. That will put the weight in the back of the barrel where it will do the most good. Plus it will be trim and graceful in figure and outline.

Good caliber btw. I am considering both the 338-06 and the 35 Whelen. Practicality says go with the 35 Whelen, but the 338-06 is calling my name.

As Scrollcutter already mentioned barrel taper IS the key to barrel contour & overall rifle balance. My personal preference is for a muzzle diameter of .600 FWIW.

I have a Douglas #3 on my 340PDK (Gibbs imp). It works fine. If you cut down to 22" the dia will be larger you would need to increase the taper.

0.625" at 22" would be a fine choice.

I have a customized HVA 4100 with Brown Precision Kevlar stock, Wisner safety and pretty decent factory trigger that I am probably going to have re-barreled to .338-06 and my choice would also be .625" at 22".

I have a Dakota 76 with a 23" bbl. in .338 Win. Mag. and it's .640 at the muzzle. This rifle shoots VERY well and the balance is superb, so, I think that the slightly lighter, shorter bbl. on the .338-06 will work as well with the lighter HVA receiver.

I cannot think of a better use for a nice HVA than a rifle of this type and a couple of guys I know have done this here in B.C. in order to cope with the very rugged terrain and advancing age...pretty much a perfect choice, IMO.

The Minimum of any muzzle O.D. is .200 + the bore dia. So,with a 338-06 It would be .338+.200=.538would be your Min.O.D. Dia. So anything above that is up to you,for your weight of your finished product. van

my 338-06 is 22" and 0.625 at the muzzle

It is on a p64 M70 and with a bansner stock, Leup 1.5-5x, steel sights, steel rings and bases, and steel fp/tg it is 7-13 unloaded. Loaded and slung the rifle has neutral balance, right about on the front guard screw.

If your HVA has steel fp/tg, it will weigh and balance very similar to my M70. Other components like the stock and scope will of course affect balance as much as barrel weight, but this should give you a rough idea.

A barrel diameter of .625 would be about the minimum for consistent accurate shooting with a decent barrel. Anything heavier than that depends on how much you hump that rifle around. I personally would prefer about a .650 diameter.

My .338-06 is built on a M-98 action with a Shilen #3 barrel--their smallest diameter for .338 caliber. Barrel length is 22.5 inches and it's balanced very well. The muzzle diameter is.......(going to get my calipers)... 0.620".

MKane160

Hmmm, the Shilen #3 is supposed to be 0.625" at 24". Perhaps they polished the barrel a lot during install...