Your accuracy with shooting Remington Varmint/Sendero contours?

[VaniB]

I want to have a rifle built along the lines of a Remington 700 Police rifle with a 26" Sendero/Varmint contoured barrel with H&S stock. It is to be a 6.5 Creedmoor. In particular, I have a .308 fluted factory Remington barrel already taken off a Remington .308 VSF rifle that I'd like to have sent to a barrel maker and duplicated exactly. The current weight of this 26" .308 fluted factory barrel is 3 1/2 lbs, and it has a typical .820" to .830" sendero/varmint/police rifle muzzle diameter.

My question; Is a 3.5 lb fluted barrel of the Remington Varmint/Sendero contour that will be built into a Police Style Rifle, heavy enough to shoot sub 1/2" cloverleaf 5 shot groups? I'm almost wondering if the flutes make it too light. (But I don't want a very heavy carry rifle) My needs are to be able to shoot a single 5 shot 3/8" group over one 15 minute relay.

 

[dansig]

if you use Krieger match grade barrel with a good load that should not be a problem.

but with factory Remington barrel it will be tough.


I have a Sendero .300 win mag, I have shot .187" group at 200m and 1.47" at 500m. but I think I'm lucky with my barrel...

 

[VaniB]

Dansig,

Thanks for your input. But I'm really trying to focus on the Remington Sendero/Varmint contour and weight in particular as being the crux of the question. Most barrel manufacturers offer a "Remington Varmint Contour" (fluted too, just like Remington barrel, if you want it that way.) Regardless of whether I have Krieger or Bartlein duplicate the barrel, I'm concerned if the contour and weight is sufficient. I don't want a heavy carry gun, but I don't want it too light that it can't deliver.

Anybody,
Is a fluted 3.5 lb Remington contour, (made by Krieger) with a .820 muzzle sufficient for 3/8 MOA? Thanks.


EDIT: Dansig.....is your .300 Mag a fluted barrel?

 

[dansig]

my remington has a fluted remington contour factory barrel, with the Krieger match grade remington contour fluted barrel you should be able to shoot at least as good as my remington or better.

I also have a Stiller action with fluted Krieger barrel in .308 that shoots low .2" groups at 100m and 3/4" at 400m

fluted barrel shoots just as well as it did before fluting and better than a lighter contour without flutes

 

[DHD]

This may be apples and oranges, but I have a VS contour on my sons Creedmoor, and if the conditions are good and/or he pays attention to them, it will shoot under a half minute at 600. FWIW, it is a Brux VS, 1-8.5, 26" 4 groove on a Rem 700 in a McM HTGA.

I would say that the contour would not be a problem with either accuracy or weight. His rifle is not a hard recoiler.

 

[XTR]

I had a 308 VLS that I used for a hunting rifle. Bolted into a B&C stock I could shoot 3/4MOA with 165 SGKs seated to load into the magwell. It was a hunting rifle so I never putzed with trying to make it shoot target bullets with optimal seating so I don't know how much better it would have done.

I think the contour is plenty heavy for tight strings, esp if you have a barrel from a good maker..

 

[LHSmith]

There are only two viable reasons for fluting a bbl.....#1 eye candy #2 to reduce the weight of an existing bbl......since you are speccing a new bbl that cancels #2. Bbl makers offer lots of contour options...and for tight 5 shot groups heavy contours are needed. Admit it your addicted to the fluting craze.

 

[LHSmith]

fluted barrel shoots just as well as it did before fluting and better than a lighter contour without flutes

As for shooting better than a lighter contour w/o flutes that would be impossible to prove. Granted the chances are greater that the heavier barrel will be more accurate, but if the difference is one step apart, say between a #5 unfluted and #6 fluted contour it comes down to the luck of the draw. Plus there is always that chance that the fluting operation will impart behavior problems.....it's not an exact science.....and it limits your ability to shorten the barrel later.....and depending on the contour-perhaps even setting the chamber back safely.

 

[gmorganal]

I have a 28" Kreiger chambered in 300 RUM in the Remington contour that consistently shoots 3-shot groups at 520 yards in 1.5 to 2.0 inches with 210 VLD Bergers. I feel lucky, too, Dansig.

 

[flatlander]

I've probably used more Bartlein, Krieger, & PacNor bbls in the Rem sendero/varmint contour than any other contour, both on my own rifles and customers' rigs. Nary a one of them was fluted, however. I wouldn't be selling so many barrels in this contour if there was any reason to suspect that they won't shoot very well.

I'm not a huge fan of fluting - will admit, it looks cool, but no way in 'ell would I send one of my good-shooting barrels off to get it fluted just for appearance sake.

 

[VaniB]

I had received a Brux Remington Varmint contour 2 weeks ago, and it felt a little too heavy to me. It's got an extra 2" excess to it and weighs in at 5 lbs. So with the 2" removed I'm guessing it will weigh 4 3/4lbs???...... and still be a bit heavy. So, I called brux back this week and told them to make me the same barrel except with fluting. So when it arrives, I'll compare the two and choose one for my project. I decided against sending my Remington Factory barrel to Brux to have it dupilcated exactly. It just feels a tad too light at 3.5 lbs. Granted, it's a 308, and a 6.5 bore would be heavier....but maybe that smaller bore will only be just an extra 1/4lb heavier (?)......which is still too light at 3.75lbs. I'm preferring about a 4 1/4 lb barrel, but will settle for anythng between 4 to 4 1/2 lbs.

Brux makes their Remington varmint contour 30,000ths to 50,000ths thicker then my factory barrel. So, between the two choices, one of the two new Brux barrels ought to be just right for me.