i am planning on getting an encore barrel to hunt elk. i am vacillating between a 24-26" 300 Winchester Mag/338 Winchester Mag barrel. my current barrel is a 24" varmint taper (.750") bullberry barrel. handling and weight is not bad at all. what caliber, length and taper would you recommend?

[ 11-21-2003, 06:11: Message edited by: exsanguinate ]

i use to have a 300winmag handgun barrel it was 15'' including brake no matter what i did id only get 3-4 reloads out of brass. i dont no if it was to much barrel top frame gap or barrel moving under recoil. you may wana look at something like the 338/06 or 338/06 imp. if you go the 338 rout. jason

22" 358 Norma mag!

Sorry, that was not one of your Choices I would go with the .338 in a 24" barrel. Sean

why the .338??

Ex,

One of my favorite hunting article authors, John Wooters, wrote an in-depth story on Elk cartridges some years ago. In his opinion, the 338 Win Mag, shooting good 250 gn bullets, was the ideal Elk round. I agree with him on that statement!

Regards, Bill

(Edited to add) P.S. A 338 should probably weigh 8-9 pounds "Field ready", to help absorb recoil, so I would choose a heavy taper (I don't like muzzle brakes unless I absolutely need one)....

[ 11-21-2003, 19:51: Message edited by: Bill M ]

I am having a 26 inch 280 Remington Ackley Improved built with about .750 to .800 diameter at the muzzle. I have one in a bolt action already. I am having David Van Horn build it, he did my 14 Encore in 7mm TCU and it shoots fantastic. Delivery time with him is running a little shorter than most, he usually ships within 3 weeks most of the time. Whatever you get, enjoy it, don't let it set on a shelf or in the closet. As Mr. Miller from the North American Hunting Club says "Shoot more and shoot more often".

Steve E......