Benchrest barrel questions

[Exocet]

I'm looking at replacing the barrel on my Remington 700 VS Varmint. It has the standard Rem Varmint contour now and the H&S precision stock. I want to have installed either a Krieger LV or HV contour barrel. They are 1.200 or 1.250 respectively at the breech end.

Using the stock and action I have now, would I be better going with the LV contour for less stock work?

I'm not trying to build a competition rifle, just an accurate shooter. I want to keep the H&S stock for now.

Any thoughts?

 

[bheadboy]

if you are not going to comp, then my personal opinion is dont get too muzzle heavy, it will alter your handling technique, if it is a varmint/target operation both of these are more than you need.

bob

 

[Hal]

If you order a barrel, many barrel can copy the original contour so there will be little or no stock work.
Talk with your barrel maker.

Hal

 

[SmokinJoe]

Check with Bruno Shooter Supply, I think I may have seen that barrel (Rem varmint contour) in stock there while looking through their barrels recently. Another good place to check would be Brownell's.

 

[338Lapua]

deleted

 

[BoydAllen]

Shooters look at specialty benchrest rifles, and seeing the heavy barrels, and wanting their rifles to shoot like that, go straight for a barrel that is too heavy. It never fails. There are a lot of things that make a rifle shoot, many of which you can't see. Spend some money having the action worked over by someone who has a national reputation for that sort of work. Pay some attention to chamber design, and how it matches your dies, brass, and the bullets that you prefer, and then put the best barrel that you can find on it, with the same contour that came off of it. Benchrest weight barrels work best on benchrest stocks, and the combination may be good at the range, but it is only good for types of varmint hunting that are done exclusively from a bench. Build a balanced rifle, with all of its unseen details correctly done, and you will be amazed how well it shoots. Skip something and you may regret it. If you don't mind, report back with your results when your project is finished. Good luck.
Boyd

 

[357Mag]

Exocet -

Howdy !

My $ .02......

There's lots of proven performance that's been shown, by shooters campaigning "heavy" barrels.

IF your rifle is going to spend a lot of time as a " place gun " ( shooting varmints from a fixed position ), I can see where a heavy barrel would hold appeal ( barrel stiffness, heat disipation/tolerance. Not to mention, use @ occasional paper shoots.

If yours is not a "switch barrel", then the barrel might end up screwed to the action for a good while.
In that regard, you may want to look ahead to your future goals for this rifle; and its potential future configuration.
If you're likely to re-stock in the somewhat near future, maybe..... it makes sensle to re-bop the barrel & stock now ?

A lotta times, the barrel is a major driver on ultimate rifle configuration. The stock is then chosen/configured for what the barrel requires.

... The chicken, or... the egg ???


With regards,
357Mag

 

[markr]

After having many "too heavy" for the job rifles...I would order a match quality stanless barrel from just about any of the current barrel makers in exactly the contour that you currently have as long as you're satisfied with it. Then take or send it all to a gunsmith that you trust with an important project and tell him that you would like to have the chamber cut for tight no turn specs for currently available brass, he will need some... get some appropriate bullets for the cal/twist barrel and have at it!

 

[skeetlee]

go with a standard or light palma contour if you want a bigger barrel. Lee

 

[vmthtr]

Perfect advice here. Read it again and follow advice. Just adding a heavy barrel does not guarantee 1/4" groups.

Shooters look at specialty benchrest rifles, and seeing the heavy barrels, and wanting their rifles to shoot like that, go straight for a barrel that is too heavy. It never fails. There are a lot of things that make a rifle shoot, many of which you can't see. Spend some money having the action worked over by someone who has a national reputation for that sort of work. Pay some attention to chamber design, and how it matches your dies, brass, and the bullets that you prefer, and then put the best barrel that you can find on it, with the same contour that came off of it. Benchrest weight barrels work best on benchrest stocks, and the combination may be good at the range, but it is only good for types of varmint hunting that are done exclusively from a bench. Build a balanced rifle, with all of its unseen details correctly done, and you will be amazed how well it shoots. Skip something and you may regret it. If you don't mind, report back with your results when your project is finished. Good luck.
Boyd

 

[amamnn]

Boyd Allen has said it all.......................besides, a .22 is not competitive anymore except in rimfire...........6mm rules the world, except in some parts of Schmidt, Texas

 

[BoydAllen]

Thanks for the compliment, but I will have to disagree on one point. The reason that 6PPCs are the common caliber in formal, short range, benchrest competition is that one of the commonly contested classes, sporter, requires something larger than .22 cal. If not for that, there would be a lot more. In his book, Mike Ratigan describes shooting a .100 short .22 PPC as being like cheatiing.

 

[dreever]

M24/M40 contour would be a bit more than the Remington contour with just a bit of opening the stock up to make it work.

Danny

 

[SDWhirlwind]

I'm looking at replacing the barrel on my Remington 700 VS Varmint. It has the standard Rem Varmint contour now and the H&S precision stock. I want to have installed either a Krieger LV or HV contour barrel. They are 1.200 or 1.250 respectively at the breech end.

Using the stock and action I have now, would I be better going with the LV contour for less stock work?

I'm not trying to build a competition rifle, just an accurate shooter. I want to keep the H&S stock for now.

Any thoughts?

Seems not many read/comprehended the part about what you would like vs. what they think you should have/do!!!!! I have rebarreled 2 VS rifles from the Remington contour to Krieger LV cut to 26". About 8" of the forend needs material removed but they fit ok and look ok as well. Weight wise isn't alot of difference. Depending on caliber you are wanting you could choose to go 24" instead of the 26" and help balance a bit perhaps. Did both from 22/250 to 6XC and 6x47Lap. You have room ahead of reciever in factory stock inlet. The factory barrel is right at 1.250 for just a short distance. Glassing ahead of reciever with black pigment or Marine Tex should blend descent, or just flat black paint the bedded portion after masking. I also built a 6BR with a HV Krieger but I used a PSS stock for that with no issues with barrel fit. I think the PSS may be a bit wider than the VS, especially the older ones. Too lazy to go measure.

Respectfully,
Dennis

 

[BoydAllen]

I did not say that it would not fit. I have played with a number of HS stocks. IMO for serious heavy barrel contour work, they are too limber in the forend. Heavier barrels, and the material removed to make them fit, make the situation worse. On my benchrest rifles, I can slap the underside of the forend and the stock won't hit the barrel. This was not the case with the HS stocks that I shot. If you rest the rifle back near the action, you can make one work, but I have never seen one used for in a serious target application. With the stock barrel weight, I think that they are OK for what they are generally used for. If a rifle is not going to have a target stock, one might infer that it might actually be carried somewhere beyond a bench, for that overall weight and balance become important attributes. Of course this is just one opinion among many. Good luck with your project. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[vmthtr]

the #17 contour from Shilen is a direct copy of the Rem Varmint contour.

 

[jonbearman]

If you want to just change the barrel for now,you could go to jim at northland supply and get one of his remington pre-fit barrels and his remage nut.The nut allows you to headspace the rifle just like a savage rifle.With just a couple tools you can do it right at home in just a few minutes. He has all sizzes of barrels that will fit your channel.I have 3 vs's myself and I am about to rebarrel my .223 version to a hart 9 twist,light varmint contour.I would use the nut,but I already have the barrel.