Barrel Profile v Use

[ripnbst]

I am looking into a new rifle chambered in .308 WIN. I am sort of undecided between whether I should go with a sporter weight barrel or a varmint/heavy contour barrel.

I would like to use the rifle to target shoot, varmint hunt, and whitetail hunt both from a treestand and stalk.

I realize I am asking my one rifle to be the "everything rifle" and it's not very practical of me but I cant afford both a dedicated hunter and a dedicated target/varmint gun at the moment.

So...do you think I'd be better off with bearing the added weight of the varmint barrel gun while stalk hunting to realize the gains in accuracy while target shooting, varmint hunting, and stand hunting? Or should I get the sporter weight barrel and have the lighter rifle in the field? The amount of time I anticipate spending in shooting disciplines where I would benefit from an HBAR v benefiting from a lighter barrel are making me lean towards the varmint barreled option.

To give some background, this rifle will eventually be converted from a .308 to a .260 REM and be used for Varmint and target shooting only and at that point I will probably re-up and get into something with a sporter weight dedicated for whitetail hunting. For the time being I have a .223 REM AR that is a "no frills" rifle to keep it light for varmint gittin'.

I am 25 and in decent enough shape that the added ~1lb of the HBAR shouldnt kill me.

Also, I saw a good deal on a 20" "tactical" .308 with a threaded barrel for a little over $600 but I am thinking I would prefer a 24" barrel model. I don't plan to mount a can on anything in the foreseeable future. Do any of you see a big drawback of a 20" over a 24"? I probably wont ever shoot past 600 yards. Should I just move on the sale price on the 20" and call it good? I was thinking that might be the best of both worlds, have the heavy barrel but since it's shorter it wouldn't be as heavy, and be better balanced, than say a 24" barreled model.

Ahh, decisions decisions.

[henschman]

The heavy barrels aren't any more accurate -- at least when you are talking about high quality barrels -- but they do heat up quicker under sustained fire, which results in vertical stringing. You might try to split the baby with something intermediate weight like a light Palma profile.

[MoBoost]

Do it right the first time: http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/p...R+260+REM+MAX1
There will be no regrets or re-dos ....


As for "theory" - machinically shorter / fatter AKA stiffer barrel will be more accurate. Of course there is a point of diminishing returns with loss of speed (length) and diameter (weight). As far as 308 goes - savage 10FP with 20" "varmint" barrel is as "all-around" as it gets; it's a bit nose heavy for off-hand, but plants fantastically with a bi-pod; solid stock (like B&C) re-balances the rifle very well too. Unless you are shooting F-TR with heavy bullets, that's all you'll need.

With all that said - from practical point 308 is rather outdated; 260 will do EVERYTHING better.

[ASP785]

I have a 308 Remington 700 with a 24" full profile heavy barrel. It is hard to hunt with. It is too slow to bring up to bear for me. When I am hunting deer I want something faster. Hunting in the deer woods of Oklahoma, I have never said to myself "gee I wish I had an extra half minute of accuracy." The truth it just doesnt matter at most distances I hunt. Just don't forget "jack of all trades, master of none."

With that being said, I love Savage rifles so I agree with the 260 rifle from Mo's post. That rifle sounds like it is aligned with your wants. If you go the 260 route, you should really consider reloading to get the full benefit of the cartridges performance.

[AKguy1985]

I have a howa .308 with a 20in barrel.

[ripnbst]

I have a howa .308 with a 20in barrel.

That's nice to know.

MoBoost, I like your recommendation, and it's price point is enticing. Most rifles I have found already chambered in .260REM have been too expensive which is why I was going to go the .308 route, and shoot it until it died, then convert to .260 REM. Thanks for pointing that out. I may just settle for a middle of the road and have a 24" barrel shortened and target crowned to a 22" barrel. What is the difference between Savage 10 and Savage 11 rifles?

The thing about reloading, which I have contemplated, for the .260 is that it is gaining popularity in the target community so more and more companies are offering "match" grade loadings. I don't really want to get into reloading because I don't shoot enough for it to make sense for me. Plus I am a new dad and right now free time is not a luxury I have a whole lot of.

[MoBoost]

That's nice to know.

MoBoost, I like your recommendation, and it's price point is enticing. Most rifles I have found already chambered in .260REM have been too expensive which is why I was going to go the .308 route, and shoot it until it died, then convert to .260 REM. Thanks for pointing that out. I may just settle for a middle of the road and have a 24" barrel shortened and target crowned to a 22" barrel. What is the difference between Savage 10 and Savage 11 rifles?

The thing about reloading, which I have contemplated, for the .260 is that it is gaining popularity in the target community so more and more companies are offering "match" grade loadings. I don't really want to get into reloading because I don't shoot enough for it to make sense for me. Plus I am a new dad and right now free time is not a luxury I have a whole lot of.

You ain't going to shoot a 308 barrel off. If you are not reloading - stick with 308. And again, you are over-complicating things:
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Vie...Item=314719839 - threaded 22" bull barrel 308

There are no differences between 10 and 11 - generally 10 is "tactical", 11 is "sporter", 12 is "varmint/target", 14 is "classic wood", 16 is "hunting/package" ... add "1" in front to make long action. They've been changing it around a lot too.