Barrel length for western hunting

[Slick8]

slick8 I've got a Ruger m77 in 7saum, 18in barrel. With a 180 Berger I was getting 2570 FPS.

That's about right. In playing with QL most seem to have a sweet spot of 20-22 inches velocity wise with a sharp drop off at 18 and less.

What powder were you running? H1k seems like the very popular choice followed by rl26.

 

[Slick8]

I think the 7SAUM is a tough one to beat for get it all done western hunting. Works better with the shorter barrel than the 7Mag

I agree but I'm a huge fan of the 230 berger. Had a hard time not building a 300 saum but I felt it would be a little redundant as a I have a 30 nosler 26 inch plus brake.

This 7 saum will be the same an inch or 2 shorter overall, much lighter load and suppressed.

 

[Slick8]

To answer your original question, if you're set on a 7 mag which is a great round, do some research on a 22 inch barrel. It's a compromise on weight length and velocity that might just fit the niche you're looking for.

 

[miragetex]

If a long barrel is important to you, but you also want to keep total length reasonable, have you considered a single shot - say, Ruger #1 or one of the WinBrowning models? I have a Browning 78 in 30'06 with 28" but overall length isn't bad. Of course, you need to make the first shot count...it's all about compromises.

 

[RockyRandy]

Shorter barrels are more accurate then longer barrels, and there lighter, Your trade off is speed. I'm a fan of a 18" to 20" barrel myself. Good luck.

 

[COBrad]

Gunwerks has a pretty interesting podcast on this very question. I had a 7mag with a 28" barrel. It was a specialty long range rifle but really to unwieldy as a general hunting gun. I've carried 24 and 26" barrels on magnum rifles just fine, but now using a 22" barrel on a .284. I really like this barrel length. The gun balances better, to me, and the entire rifle is just quicker and handier. Last time I took a poke at longer range it still shot half moa at 835 yds.

 

[KurtB]

I'd go Bartlien 2B at 23" for an unsuppressed 7 mag. Suppressed I'd chop at shortest length suppressor manufacturer said I could.

 

[Canhunter35]

I use a 28" proof for most of my hunting
It's a 7rem mag. A 180hybrid at 3050 FPS is a potent combo.
shorter barrels are not more accurately, in fact they are less, because you can tune a long barrel into the node better, a shorter barrel has a more forgiving node and is great for factory ammo
This is 5 shots with my proof

 

[manitou]

Shorter barrels are more accurate then longer barrels, and there lighter, Your trade off is speed. I'm a fan of a 18" to 20" barrel myself. Good luck.

I have no problems with accuracy in my 26" barrels.

 

[Gamesniper19]

Agree with the earlier post around optimal barrel length for your caliber. Also, think about twist rate and maximum distance you see yourself making an ethical shot. 24" is most popular for modern hunting calibers - that said, if you never plan on shooting more than 500 yards, you can do an 18 or a 20 even. Why?
80% of your powder burn and velocity takes place in the first 6 inches of a barrel. The notion that velocity increases 50-75 fps per inch is a fallacy which has tested by some of the best and found to be false. Will you pick up velocity with a longer barrel, absolutely but again, the difference between a 22 - 24- 26 at normal hunting distances is not going to a big deal in my experience. 100 fps is not going to matter. Past 1000 Yards, yes it begins to matter but its usually just another 2/10th of a mil in clicks over faster dope.

Shorter barrels are more accurate then longer barrels, and there lighter, Your trade off is speed. I'm a fan of a 18" to 20" barrel myself. Good luck.

Do you have any data supporting this? Would enjoy seeing it

 

[JC in Calif]

I'm having a 7mm rem built for my next trip to CO. wondering if I could get some opinions of the "best" barrel length and contour. Currently have a 28in proof carbon blank in a sendero contour but it seems like it may be a little long for backpacking. Thanks In advance

I use 26" bbl on my magnum rifles.

 

[del2les]

Personally here in the West and depending on cartridge, I like barrels in the 24-28" range, and I haven't had any issues packing longer barrels.

 

[Huntnful]

Agree with the earlier post around optimal barrel length for your caliber. Also, think about twist rate and maximum distance you see yourself making an ethical shot. 24" is most popular for modern hunting calibers - that said, if you never plan on shooting more than 500 yards, you can do an 18 or a 20 even. Why?
80% of your powder burn and velocity takes place in the first 6 inches of a barrel. The notion that velocity increases 50-75 fps per inch is a fallacy which has tested by some of the best and found to be false. Will you pick up velocity with a longer barrel, absolutely but again, the difference between a 22 - 24- 26 at normal hunting distances is not going to a big deal in my experience. 100 fps is not going to matter. Past 1000 Yards, yes it begins to matter but its usually just another 2/10th of a mil in clicks over faster dope.

Do you have any data supporting this? Would enjoy seeing it

Gunwerks did a great podcast on barrel length and talk about the velocities lost with each inch of barrel. Something like 20fps I believe. But the jumps get larger as you go shorter. Like you would lose more velocity going from 20" to 18" as opposed to going from 28" to 26". Everything you said is spot on. It's all relative to what you want to do. IDK, why I'm addicted to the speed haha. 19 MOA at 1000 yards makes me happier than 22 MOA haha. It really does not matter though unless you're after something very specific.

 

[73driver]

I hunt out west with 24" barrel on my 06, 280 and 270. 26 inches could get maybe 50-70 fps faster but just prefer the 24 inch barrels. For a magnum 26" would probably be ideal balance between MV and looks and handling.