Barrel countour make any difference in accuracy ?

[slo squeezin]

I'm working through my next build and the choice of barrel contour came up. The build will be a blueprinted Rem 700 with a Krieger in 223AI with a 12" twist, 24-26". Trigger < 1#. Almost exclusively at targets to 300 yards.
There are multiple choices of contours between barrels weighing 5.5 to 7 pounds. Are there any advantages to a light varmint / heavy varmint / target vs palma contours if barrel weight is the same? I'm trying to determine if any of you have found an accuracy difference between contours if barrel weights are about the same.
Any experiences out there to help with my indecision ? Thanks.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Heavier the contour the better in bench only shooting. The contours are to make a weight class, have the length to make the velocity you want/burn all your powder of choice but not too much, and to balance the rifle. All of these have to be taken into consideration when choosing a barrel for how you want the end result

 

[Sniper338]

Heavier the contour the better in bench only shooting. The contours are to make a weight class, have the length to make the velocity you want/burn all your powder of choice but not too much, and to balance the rifle. All of these have to be taken into consideration when choosing a barrel for how you want the end result

And to add to this... it depends on your shooting discipline what your doing. If shooting multiple rounds back to back a heavier barrel will take longer to heat up and absorbe heat better. A think barrel will get hot quick

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Heavier the contour the better in bench only shooting. The contours are to make a weight class, have the length to make the velocity you want/burn all your powder of choice but not too much, and to balance the rifle. All of these have to be taken into consideration when choosing a barrel for how you want the end result

If that were true, I would think we'd see more hv specific rifles as well as better scores in hv vs lv...but not the case. Heavier barrels have their pros and cons, for sure. I'm not sure absolute accuracy is one of them as long as we're talking similar contours, i.e., lv vs hv etc.

Stiffness is different than simply a bigger od barrel, too. A 28" hv is a tad stiffer than a 30" 1.25 straight, for example. A 21.5" lv is slightly more stiff than a 24" hv.
http://riflebarrels.com/computer-software/

 

[Mr.Knowit all]

I don't have nearly the rounds down range a lot of these guys do.... maybe I have more? But I have shot enough to notice that I get less fliers and much better consistent accuracy with stiffer/heavier barrels.
Ever notice how Tikka (and others)has a 3 shot sub MOA guarantee on the thin barrel and 5 shot guarantees on the heavier ones? Just a thought and JMHO.
Good luck

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

I don't have nearly the rounds down range a lot of these guys do.... maybe I have more? But I have shot enough to notice that I get less fliers and much better consistent accuracy with stiffer/heavier barrels.
Ever notice how Tikka (and others)has a 3 shot sub MOA guarantee on the thin barrel and 5 shot guarantees on the heavier ones? Just a thought and JMHO.
Good luck

I'm not sure anyone is discussing hunting contours vs target contours here.

 

[Mr.Knowit all]

I'm not sure anyone is discussing hunting contours vs target contours here.

Ok, so are we comparing "straight tapper" vs "M24/40 contour" or "heavy palma" or what? I just heard the question- "Does barrel contour make any affect in accuracy?" I believe it does and used the two easiest examples to point out. Have I seen thin barreled rifles out shoot heavy barreled rifles? Sure I have, but if all things are equal I have noticed better results with "stiffer barrels" that generally comes from heavier contours.

 

[slo squeezin]

Thanks for the comments. Yes, I am going with a heavy barrel. But if weight is, say, 6# each, which contour will shoot better groups ? I'm not familiar with the software gunsandgunsmithing referred to above. I'm going to have to try using that.
Perhaps my question should have been, at equal weight, which profile will be stiffer ?

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Thanks for the comments. Yes, I am going with a heavy barrel. But if weight is, say, 6# each, which contour will shoot better groups ? I'm not familiar with the software gunsandgunsmithing referred to above. I'm going to have to try using that.
Perhaps my question should have been, at equal weight, which profile will be stiffer ?

At equal weight the shorter one will be stiffer.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

If that were true, I would think we'd see more hv specific rifles as well as better scores in hv vs lv...but not the case. Heavier barrels have their pros and cons, for sure. I'm not sure absolute accuracy is one of them as long as we're talking similar contours, i.e., lv vs hv etc.

Stiffness is different than simply a bigger od barrel, too. A 28" hv is a tad stiffer than a 30" 1.25 straight, for example. A 21.5" lv is slightly more stiff than a 24" hv.
http://riflebarrels.com/computer-software/

The reason you rarely see hv specific rifles in br competitions is theyre only legal in 2 classes out of 4 and only competitive in one of those. People tune their rifles over a whole weekend so it sucks to start 2 matches with a fresh rifle instead of one then going into hv with a fully tuned lv. Seems like this trend started right around the time i did. They still made teddys and polars then as well as hall B. Everybody had a heavy then not too long later you couldnt hardly give one away. Plus a lot of people cant afford 2 rifles starting out and if they can they get a spare lv. You can shoot a lv in 4 classes but a hv in only 2 so it was a no brainer what people bought

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

The reason you rarely see hv specific rifles in br competitions is theyre only legal in 2 classes out of 4 and only competitive in one of those. People tune their rifles over a whole weekend so it sucks to start 2 matches with a fresh rifle instead of one then going into hv with a fully tuned lv. Seems like this trend started right around the time i did. They still made teddys and polars then as well as hall B. Everybody had a heavy then not too long later you couldnt hardly give one away. Plus a lot of people cant afford 2 rifles starting out and if they can they get a spare lv. You can shoot a lv in 4 classes but a hv in only 2 so it was a no brainer what people bought

I believe that to a point but I also know this game and a lot of the people in it. You know this but there are some very competitive shooters who can easily afford whatever the feel gives them a better chance to win fair and square. That's not debatable but I agree with your logic to a point.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I believe that to a point but I also know this game and a lot of the people in it. You know this but there are some very competitive shooters who can easily afford whatever the feel gives them a better chance to win fair and square. That's not debatable but I agree with your logic to a point.

Im talking more about newer guys. Its hard for them to justify having a lv and hv when they need a spare lv for sure. When i go to matches (group nbrsa 2 and 4 gun) its a very very rare occasion to see an actual hv rifle. Never build them and never hardly see them for sale- but when you do theyre deeply discounted. Do see hv score rifles just because thats the target weight in that game. Usually 30br or some type of score ctg rarely a 6 ppc