30" barrel for 338-378 weatherby

[dgr416]

Who makes the 30" barrels for 338-378 weatherbys?Is it worth the difference from the 26" I have now.I heard its 300 fps more.I mostly hunt with 250 gr Nosler Partitions at 3100 fps.I have not tried the 300 gr smks on game just targets.They shoot good but the Noslers are more accurate in my gun.Maybe i am using the wrong powder.I used reloader 25 and I think 103 grs with the 300 gr SMK bullets.It was probally about 2850 or so with my 26" barrel.I love these guns the weatherby accumarks.I just wonder if its worth the exte trouble to carry it.I think the Accumark is the best gun for the money in the 338-378 weatherby.I think the Norma brass is the best brass and way better than any Remington or winchester brass.I just wanted to know what yall though about it.

 

[B23]

Opinions will vary on this but here is mine.

I have a 338-378 Accumark that currently, but not for long, has the factory 26in #3 barrel. Best so far has been 225&250 Accubonds w/Retumbo and 215's. When I even think about pushing either of these above about 3150fps my groups open up and look like a shotgun pattern. If I stay between 3050-3125 it will do 3/4-1MOA

It is my opinion these factory light weight barrels are limited on how hard you push them.

If you want to go 30inches I would go no less than a #7 barrel.

Mine is not only getting a new Broughton 5C but it's also coming back as a 338 Lap imp.

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

You will not gain 300 fps. Probably will not gain 100 fps. It is an excellent rifle as is and I would not change it. I have seven 338-378's with 28"-31" barrels. H-870 and retumbo are the best powders. The load I am shooting saturday for antelope is 128 grains of h-870 with the 225 accubond at 3540 fps out of my 28" barrell. I agree you have the best over the counter hunting rifle made and I wouldn't change it if it were me. If it shoots good why bother. H 870 gets 3060 fps with the 300 smk and 3325 fps with the 250 grain bullets out of this 28" barrel. Re25, H1000, 7828, etc are to fast for this cartridge. us869 may be good but I haven't tried it. The slowest are the best. Most barrel makers will do you a 30" barrel.

 

[dgr416]

What are your loads for H-870 for the 300 gr and 225 and 250.I have shot under an inch at 300 yards with my 250 gr Nosler Partition load with 109 grs of reloader 25 and Federal 215 primers.I have not used the 300 smk bullets on game because where I hunt there are lots of grizzleys that pop up and i want the insurance of the 250 gr NP.If I hunt where there are no grizzleys or in the winter where no grizzleys are around I will try the smk 300 gr.I have another big 338-378 question.How to you get the powder fouling out easy.My rifle shoots awesome but if I dont clean it all the way down every 60 shots it patterns instead of the tight groups i like.To have a rifle thats under 10 pounds shoot this well is awesome.I think mine is right under 10 pounds with sling ammo and a Nikon 6.5x20 scope.I think this is the best buy for the money if you find one at a good price.I bought two of them I like them so much.I just wish that more people would use this rifle and see how effective it is on game.I let a friend shoot it and he got two caribou with one shot at 450 yards with my 250 gr np load.I have a bunch of H-870 that i bought for my 264 win mag.I have a friend who has a bunch of h-1000 I want to also try.I wish this round had beaten out the 338 lapula for the military.I stocked up on cheap 416 weatherby ammo and deloaded it and necked it to 338-378.I cant wait to try it on more game.I think the 250 smk might be awesome on pronghorns.T his is the most under rated rifle around for the money.Mine is one of the ones made in Maine by the military contractor SECO.

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

H870 varies quite a bit batch to batch. With the 250 grain bullets 120-130 grains depending on the batch. 112-120 grains for the 300 smk. 126 to everything you can get in the case for the 225 grain bullet. 134 grains is the most I have ever been able to drop tube and tap in there. Your accumark is probably best suited for work inside 1000 yards and considering griz country I would go with the lighter quality hunting bullets instead of the 300 smk. I think your best with a quality 225 or 250 grain bullet and shoot it fast. I have taken many animals to just over 1000 yards with the lighter bullets and prefer them unless I am going way out there past 1000. The Barnes bullets shoot very well in mine and have better BC's than the partition. Also the 250 accubond way better BC than the partition and is a good bullet. I clean mine by every ten rounds and have never had a fowling problem.

I agree with you if people bought the 338-378 accumark and hunted with it there wouldn't be nearly as many custom long range rigs around. If people had the opportunity to hunt with as much stuff as I have and all over north america it would be the most popular off the shelf rifle made. Just amazing what that rifle can do. I have long said if a guy can handle the weight it is the best all around hunting rifle that a guy can buy off the shelf and there really isn't much even close to it when quality and the sheer power of the 338-378 is considered. But it weighs about 8 3/4 pounds and while that is great for long range shooting that much weight turns many people off.

 

[dgr416]

What is the best way to clean the powder fouling out of this barrel?I dont think its the 60 shots of the bullets mostly carbon from powder.The 250 gr Nosler Partition is one of the few bullets I trust this fast on bears.On Moose or caribou I would like to try other bullets but I have had very good luck with this one.I can shoot under an inch at 300 yards as long as I do my part.I was wondering if its worth the trouble of putting on a 30" barrel for the extra 300 fps.If you have to lug a rifle over the tundra much you will see what I am talking about.I hope to hunt alot more with this gun.I use it about 98% of the time in Alaska.I dont use it in the thick timber.The 338-378 is awesome and the Norma brass is second to none.

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

Again, You will not gain 300 fps. maybe 100 fps, maybe not. I have seven 338-378's with different barrel lengths. Try the 250 accubond or the 225/250 barnes for a higher bc. They both will do the job.

 

[Gnome!]

I have seven 338-378's with 28"-31" barrels.

LTLR,

You have my admiration for owning 7 of these beauties I love mine and would love to have a matching partner. I'm also looking at getting a .300Wby Mag as the lil bro to the one I have.

I'm curious as to what variances in fps you are getting across the different length barrels and what one performs the best for you.

Also what brand/contours are your barrels and which one do your recommend the most?

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

Gnome, I have shot all kinds of barrels since the 70's. In my opinion through the years Hart barrels are the best out there. I even have E R shaw barrels that shoot like a dream. But overall I have never got a lemon from Hart and their quality can not be beat. Every barrel I ever got from Hart was a shooter. Can't say that for the rest I have tried.

Of my 338-378's the 28" #4 Hart barrel is my favorite. 10 3/4 pounds ready to hunt and is the fastest of all mine except one 31" barrel I have on a Ruger #1 build. It is one of those extreme rifles that is on the top end of velocity for a 338-378. Matter of fact the fastest one I have ever heard of. That barrel is a 31" Pac-Nor and again Pac-Nor has as good a quality control as there is in the business. Most of the 338-300 ultramags I built back in the 90's were Pac-Nor so I used many of their barrels and all were shooters.

There is so little fps gain per inch in the big 338's that individual barrels play more of a role than barrel length. It is not uncommon at all to have shorter barrels outshooting longer ones in 338. Out of averages the longer barrels will be a little faster. But for a guy getting one rifle he may get a shorter one that outshoots the next guys long barrel. Just like my 28" that outshoots my 30" and 31" barrels except for the one amazing one I mentioned. I was talking to Dan Lilja about ten years ago and he said he had just done a test cutting off the same barrel in one or two inch increments from 40 something inches to twenty something inches on a 338-378 wby. He found there was diminishing returns past a certain length and on average I think he said something like 18-20 fps per inch was the difference. I am trying to remember a conversation from 11-12 years ago. But with all the big 338's I have done that is about the rule.

So I don't build them over 28" any more and 26" are very appealing for the light weight and you just don't lose that much in fps. The Lapua improved do very well in a 26" barrel. I have also seen several 338-378 wbys that did well at 26". The Accumarks are awesome rifles in 338-378 and are 26". Again you might get a 26" that shoots right with a 30". The problem would be if you got a slow 26" and compared it to a fast 30". That would be quite a difference.

So I like to split the difference and shoot 28" barrels. Not much difference from the 30" in velocity but lighter in weight. It will kill anything as far as I can hit it. That is all you can ask for.

 

[kiwi3006]

For getting rid of carbon try Slip 2000 Carbon Killer, it is great.

On the Lilja website, under articles there is an article about cutting a big 338 cal barrel down from 46" (i think) all the way down to 20 something inches, all shots logged and velocity loss recorded. Like LTLR said from 30" - 26" it was something like 25 fps per inch.

Stu.

 

[Gnome!]

For getting rid of carbon try Slip 2000 Carbon Killer, it is great.

On the Lilja website, under articles there is an article about cutting a big 338 cal barrel down from 46" (i think) all the way down to 20 something inches, all shots logged and velocity loss recorded. Like LTLR said from 30" - 26" it was something like 25 fps per inch.

Stu.

Stu,
I believe this is the article both you and LTLR have mentioned regarding Lija Barrels, Lilja Precision Rifle Barrels - Articles: Barrel Lenghts and Velocities in the 338/378 Weatherby Magnum

An Excellent read It also answers the question for dgr416 regarding fps in differing barrel lengths.

LTLR,
Thank you for your response and time to answer my query I shall look long and hard look at the Hart barrels when the time comes for a barrel change for my Accumark as I was considering a Lija or Pac-Nor.

Again thank you.