Barrel thoughts

[Ksmirk]

Morning fella's, I'm looking for some opinions or thoughts on a barrel contour...... sorry for the hassle but the voices in my head won't agree lol

The rifle will be a 7-08 and the barrel length will be 25", this is for a buddy of mines wife so while it would be easy just to talk with her about it the surprise would be kinda nixed. She is a big fan of popping the plates but also enjoys hunting so my dilemma is to figure out a contour that is heavy enough for a string on the plates and still be on the lighter side for carry when she goes hunting, what I've come up with as a decent contour would be a 3B BUT the lightest contours I normally make are with medium Palma so while the sheet shows a weight difference of around 1.5# what do you fella's think? I've not done one this small and to be up front he doesn't have the coin to run a carbon fiber blank as that was the first suggestion.

Thanks in advance for any direction or thoughts you can pass on, have yourself a great day!

Kirk

 

[NZ_Fclass]

Just guessing - medium Palma and 5 flutes? And why 25in? 24 in is enough for both jobs with the '08.
Just my 25cents NZ

 

[jackieschmidt]

Remington Varmint Taper.

 

[Ksmirk]

Just guessing - medium Palma and 5 flutes? And why 25in? 24 in is enough for both jobs with the '08.
Just my 25cents NZ

No flutes, can't see a good reason to add $120 to the cost of a barrel blank for what little gains might come from it other than looking cool, after all it's not going to knock that much weight off. As for the length I said do 24" her hubby wanted 26" and she is a big fan of my 243 Win, it's got a 25" barrel so it was one of those just meet in the middle and call it a day things

 

[SSL]

As for the length I said do 24" her hubby wanted 26" and she is a big fan of my 243 Win, it's got a 25" barrel so it was one of those just meet in the middle and call it a day things

LOL...I get that. My buddy asked why I bought a 5" 629. I told him it was because it wasn't a 4" or a 6". Think he's still trying to figure that one out.

 

[tobnpr]

You're looking for a "compromise" rifle, nuthin' wrong with that- build them all the time- but it comes down to the shooter. There isn't one-size fits all for something like this.

What percentage of shooting at the range, vs. hunting?
What type of hunting? Big difference between climbing mountains for days packing a rifle, vs. toting one a few hundred yards into a blind/tree stand...

Personally, I think anything lighter than a light varmint contour isn't well suited for target work.
Target shooting is ALL about practice- round count. You don't improve skillsets sending 20 rounds downrange over the course of a day. Sending three, then waiting fifteen minutes, sending three...cold line, rinse/repeat doesn't work well.

Length? What's the maximum range she hunts- and what game? This determines the amount of energy required, and will dictate minimum barrel length to achieve the velocity to get it. Same with the range- maximum target distance? The target portion of this equation is less important, unless she's going beyond 500-600 yards. Even a short 7-08 barrel will provide enough velocity to stay supersonic at those ranges.

If she's not reaching out beyond 600 or so for target, I'd run with a 20" in the heaviest contour within your weight constraints. In this case, I don't think 25" may be necessary- and a shorter, heavier contour would be the better choice for the same weight barrel.

It's hard to strike the balance. Optimal contours for both of these disciplines are polar opposites.

 

[Baron23]

I'm thinking what Krieger calls their #15 standard Palma. 5.5 lbs at 30" so if you cut it down to...yeah, she wants 25" but I'm with the fella above and suggest revisiting 24" with her again....it will come in a lot less yet be suitable for precision target shooting.

Their #16 light Palma starts at 4.5 lbs at an initial finished length of 30"

Their Rem Varmint comes in at 4.5 lbs also...but for 26" finished length so its really a heavier contour than the Light Palma.

One can indeed lose one's mind peering endlessly at barrel contour specs! haha

 

[Ksmirk]

Thanks fella's kinda shined a little light on my dilemma and gave me some more things to think on! but yea those contour charts are about to drive me a bit nutty! can't figure out why everyone has to call the same thing something different lol

Thanks,
Kirk

 

[Baron23]

why everyone has to call the same thing something different lol

hahaha....they really are just trying to fuck with you....that's right, even paranoids like me have real enemies! LOL