Barrel length for western hunting

[longgun505]

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

We run 7mm RM's McGowen #5 6 flute finished at 26" OAL with Vais brakes. 280 ACK IMP, #5, 6 flute, finished 24" OAL with Vais brake. See a pattern here? in all calibers there is a ballistic sweet spot for maximum velocity/performance. I've shot 30" tubes down to 22" in the 7mm's mags and the long held 26" norm does give our rifles the most performance we can wield in a portable system. With modern powders you can even squeeze the same from 24" with careful component selection. 280 ACK IMP is an anomaly in some respects. In EVERY one we've built over the years the sweet spot for accuracy and speed fell in between 20-23". I can squeeze a little more speed out of a 26" but the actual NET gain at distance was not worth the squeeze in portability and weight. I'll recommend to you what I've recommended to many customers. Pick a target set and distance you want to be able to effectively (96%) reduce that target. Ballistically select a projectile and impact velocity required to give the terminal performance you desire at that distance. Then select a cartridge that will give you that velocity over a -wide range- of propellants. Then select the weight you're willing to pack all day. It's a lot of initial configuration work for optics, mounts, stock, barrel and contour but it pays off in the end. We hunt all over the Northwest and 7mm Rem Mag's at about 9.23 lbs is about my max for trekking all day on the open plains and coulees. When the hikes are steep, and ranges kept to 600 and under an Ultralight MK V in 280 ACK IMP is pleasant to carry. Good luck and let us know what your final choice looks like!

 

[Gamesniper19]

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.

I hear you - I have seen the podcast. That is what they found and it is fine. We tested this very notion with SOCOM. We didn't see a huge difference changing from 20 - 24 inch barrels (45 fps) and the shorter barrel was better for their particular need and they went with that length.
I am also a HUGE fan of speed and energy when it comes to hunting rifles. Faster and harder the better. The animal deserves it, especially at longer distances where it might take a step or two in the time a bullet takes to travel 1000 yards. I am not trying to save barrel life with my hunting rifles, so if I have a node that is 200 fps faster and just as accurate as a lower node, I go with the higher velocity.

 

[Wedgy]

On an elk gun I want all the speed I can get so I run a 28" on my RUM. Ya, it gets snagged in the brush a bit and I have to duck down a little more but when I'm sitting at work I wish I was out crawling under brush with my long barreled RUM because I don't get to do it as much as I want. Build a long one and a short one !

 

[North Idaho Hunter]

22 inch for me! the shorter the better - especially running suppressed.

 

[LVJ76]

For the 7mm Rem Mag a 26" is the ideal barrel lenght.

A short barrel is not more accurate then a longer one in any way.

What range is the max you will be shooting at? The longer barrel will let you reach out a little further and a short barrel will limit your range a bit.

If you shoot offhand a longer barrel works best, you will be able to handle it better and hold it more steady. If not then you can go a little shorter.

Shorter barrels provide more recoil, a brake will help, if this even matters to you.

There are a lot of factors to consider before making this decision.

My 7mm Rem Mag has a 26" and weights 11 lbs, you get a liittle more velocity and it's not tough to carry at all even on tough terrain. We usually walk anywhere from 4 to 7 miles in a day.

Hope this helps and stay safe.

 

[CApighunter]

I'd do 22-24 with a brake and no more than 26 without. I'll gladly trade a little speed for handiness and lighter weight, collecting parts for a 20 inch 30 Nos right now.

 

[Hard Head]

Put it this way,it is what you are comfortable hunting with,I lived in Billings,Montana for over 20 years,was much younger then and as wirerie as spring steel. Some of our hunts were in 25 below zero with 4 feet of snow on the level. and our hunting was from going out at 4 am and getting back at 7 in the evening.Had hunts that were in September and it was 85 out and the next year it was 10 above at the same time.All hunts were always spot and stock ,BLM and Forest land ,when you got back you fixed your dinner and hit the sack. My farest Elk shot was a little over 960 yards, the other was a Antelope at 625 yards. What I am sayin is both were shot by a 700ADL 23 !/2 " barrel, both died almost instantly. Shoot all the time ,go out and learn how to judge range,wind drift and know your pulse. I guess what I am saying is remember you are packing your rifle all day long unless it is a canned hunt ,then it's not a real hunt. the easy to pack your rifle the more energy you have, Remember you still have to pull the trigger, and the scope I had on my Antelope was a 4X Universal,from 1968, made in Japan,on the Elk it was a 4-12 Redfield,, very easy to hunt with on long days, the rifle was steel bedded and floated, my mistake was when I bedded it ,the bedding started to set sooooo I got in a hurry and back then we used floor wax as a release agent.........missed some spots and it was a permanent one piece rifle. If you have a guide who drives you around then by all means go for long barrels but that means the bullet is tn the barrel longer and it only takes milliseconds and you can be off from the time you press the trigger. Hard Head

 

[Send it 284]

For the 7mm Rem Mag a 26" is the ideal barrel lenght.

A short barrel is not more accurate then a longer one in any way.

I think he was talking about a lighter steel contour, in that situation a shorter barrel has less whip and can be more accurate.
Not sure if there'd be any difference with fat CF barrels

 

[Ckleeves]

I'm done with the long barrels. Had a few 28" and always went 26" on magnums. No more, 24" max and did 22" on my last two builds.

The speed difference isn't worth it to me. In the end it's more then likely not going to make a bit of difference. Lose 50 FPS on a 300 WM for example and your gonna need 1 MOA more of elevation at 1000 yards, 1/4 moa more of drift in a 10mph wind and lose 39 yards off minimum expansion velocity with my load. None of those things are going to affect the end result of a hunt IMO.

 

[Vettepilot]

I guess it's just me, but I consider barrel length as "free velocity". We generally load to the highest velocities we can get accurately, choose powders the same way, go to bigger, better, faster calibers, etc., etc., etc. Then go and throw away "free velocity" by selecting a shorter barrel?? Not me.

You'll forget the pain or hassle of toting a longer barrel around after a while, but you'll never forget the hunt, nor lose the pride of owning a fine, efficiently performing rifle.

What's 2 to 4 inches of barrel weigh? Enough to disable you??

Just me....

Vettepilot

 

[jbur13]

I got tired of carrying a 12lb Rem Sendero 300rum so I dropped it off at the go-to guy for a rebuild. It's getting a 22" carbon, suppressor, new stock and new scope. When I first bought the rifle, I was regularly shooting long range at everything from coyote, elk and paper. After too many misses and close shots, my hunting style has gone back to spot and stalk. I'm way more successful up close and personal. That is why I'm going short, and if I need to take a calculated shot on an animal at say, 700yds, then I still have the tool to be successful. I feel I'm not sacrificing anything by going short except the weight.

 

[OmegaRed]

26" is a good all around. Giving some stuff up depending on the chambering for shorter than that.

 

[Orange Dust]

I like my barrels as long as is reasonable for where I am hunting. Want the noise as far from my ears as possible. Longer barrels are just more pleasant to shoot with less blast. I once had a 28" .308 and a 28" 300WSM with no worm holes in the end. Very nice to shoot.

 

[dxlbaile]

Straight up if you are going to use a brake, I wouldn't go any longer than 26" It isn't handy at all to have too much barrel.. The few feet per second you gain is not worth it in my opinion. I have a 27.5 28 nosler and I will never do that again.. Hard to get in a scabbard.. Hard to get in a back pack. Too Long for most soft cases out there.. Just dang right too long.. I don't hunt from a truck so, you have to consider your use.. If your just riding around truck hunting get a 30" ha ha.. 24-26 is perfect for all the hunting I do.. I never shoot beyond 1200 yards with these hunting rifles so no need for a real long barrel.. "To each his own though." Again I say, never again on a hunting rig...