I am preparing to rebarrel my Remington 700 BDL 30-06 and am in the process of choosing a new barrel maker. Shilen is nearby and has a good reputation. I also read alot about Lilja barrels and they look good. The new caliber is going to be 6mm-06, 6.5-06, or 25-06. I haven't quit settled on which one. The purpose will be a combination long range deer/varmit rifle, primarily varmit, but also for my daughter to hunt deer with. At 12 years old she is wearing me out to go deer hunting. (I can't take my wife, she kills all the deer and I spend all my time cleaning them! She killed 4 deer the year I taught her how to bowhunt.) I would appreciate all input on barrels and caliber choices. BTW, I already have a 300 RUM for the heavy duty shooting and a .270 for my son.
Choosing a barrel?
- Thread starter tdv75098
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sniper2
Well-Known Member
I have had a 25/06 shot really good killed a few deer with it and numerous other small animals, it finally shot out!I
have a 6/06 Ack. Imp have killed dozens of whitetails with it.Most barrels will shoot good enough to take game I have Douglas,Pac/nor,Shaw and others.Shilen I hear is also an excellent barrel.Look at the 240Wby. data the 6/06A.I. will
do that and more economically.Good luck with what ever you go with.
have a 6/06 Ack. Imp have killed dozens of whitetails with it.Most barrels will shoot good enough to take game I have Douglas,Pac/nor,Shaw and others.Shilen I hear is also an excellent barrel.Look at the 240Wby. data the 6/06A.I. will
do that and more economically.Good luck with what ever you go with.
3sixbits
Well-Known Member
For sure go with Shilen to have the barrel replaced by. If it is to be used by your daughter, I would be careful on selecting the chambering, The 6.5-06 is not a mild recoiling ctg. Nor is the 25-06 for that matter. Depending on what weight barrel you pick it can make a big difference in recoil. I think I would look for another rifle that you can cut down for her and pick somthing along the lines of a .250-3000, 7-08,ect. And then you have all the room to rebarrel and chamber to what will suit you,, without the handicap of a short stock, halfmoon circle over your eye ect. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Fiftydriver
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TomVan,
Perhaps the most important thing to consider for a rifle for your young daughter is rifle weight and length. If she is like most 12 year olds, male or female, they do not have alot of upper body strength yet so a rifle really needs to be limited to the 7 lb range at most if this will be a walking type rifle. Even a tree stand rifle will be much easier for them to handle if it is light weight.
Performance really is not a major issue. She is just starting out. She should be taking shots at no farther then 200 yards until she gets used to the excitement of the hunt.
Also, the bigest key to getting a youngster into hunting is giving them everything they need to be successful when the chance for a shot comes.
Of the roudns you listed, all require a long action, this in and of itself is not a bad thing but generally they are housed in full size rifles with at least 24" barrels. Sure they can be trimmed to 22 and even 20" but muzzle blast increased dramatically at this point with these rounds, again something your daughter does not need to put up with starting.
Your choice of calibers is great but I would take a 1/2" off the case length and look at the 308 cased family or rounds.
The 243 Win with proper bullets is a fine deer slayer. If your looking for factory rifles the 257 Roberts is also a top performer with low recoil.
Perhaps the best round I have found for young hunters is the 260 Rem. It can be loaded with bullets from 95 gr up to 140 gr and it prforms ballistically much better then anyone would think.
A 260 Rem in a 20" barrel will drive a 120 gr Ballistic Tip to a solid 2800 fps with low muzzle blast, relatively low recoil and accuracy plenty good enough for shooting out to 300 yards and plenty of energy to cleanly take deer size game out to at least that range.
It can also be fitted in a very small rifle. I am building an light weight 260 Rem right now on a Rem 700 short action with a #4 Lilja fluted barrel cut to 23" with a McMillan BDL stock. Finish weight will probably be in the 6 3/4 lb range at most.
One could even go to a #1 or #2 contour and shave another pound of the rifle weight. Problem with getting to light is recoil. 6 1/2 to 6 3/4 lbs is about as light as I would recommend.
Fitted with a top quality recoil pad and a compact 4x or low end variable in teh 2-7x range, this would make a sweet littel deer rifle for your daughter, hell, the more I get finished on this 260 I am building for my customer the more I want to build myself a treestand rifle exactly like this one.
Don't count out the short actions and don't get caught up in the Short Magnums. The good old 308 case has alot of good rounds based of it. For deer under 300 yards, there really is nothing better.
Good Shooting!!
Kirby Allen(50)
Perhaps the most important thing to consider for a rifle for your young daughter is rifle weight and length. If she is like most 12 year olds, male or female, they do not have alot of upper body strength yet so a rifle really needs to be limited to the 7 lb range at most if this will be a walking type rifle. Even a tree stand rifle will be much easier for them to handle if it is light weight.
Performance really is not a major issue. She is just starting out. She should be taking shots at no farther then 200 yards until she gets used to the excitement of the hunt.
Also, the bigest key to getting a youngster into hunting is giving them everything they need to be successful when the chance for a shot comes.
Of the roudns you listed, all require a long action, this in and of itself is not a bad thing but generally they are housed in full size rifles with at least 24" barrels. Sure they can be trimmed to 22 and even 20" but muzzle blast increased dramatically at this point with these rounds, again something your daughter does not need to put up with starting.
Your choice of calibers is great but I would take a 1/2" off the case length and look at the 308 cased family or rounds.
The 243 Win with proper bullets is a fine deer slayer. If your looking for factory rifles the 257 Roberts is also a top performer with low recoil.
Perhaps the best round I have found for young hunters is the 260 Rem. It can be loaded with bullets from 95 gr up to 140 gr and it prforms ballistically much better then anyone would think.
A 260 Rem in a 20" barrel will drive a 120 gr Ballistic Tip to a solid 2800 fps with low muzzle blast, relatively low recoil and accuracy plenty good enough for shooting out to 300 yards and plenty of energy to cleanly take deer size game out to at least that range.
It can also be fitted in a very small rifle. I am building an light weight 260 Rem right now on a Rem 700 short action with a #4 Lilja fluted barrel cut to 23" with a McMillan BDL stock. Finish weight will probably be in the 6 3/4 lb range at most.
One could even go to a #1 or #2 contour and shave another pound of the rifle weight. Problem with getting to light is recoil. 6 1/2 to 6 3/4 lbs is about as light as I would recommend.
Fitted with a top quality recoil pad and a compact 4x or low end variable in teh 2-7x range, this would make a sweet littel deer rifle for your daughter, hell, the more I get finished on this 260 I am building for my customer the more I want to build myself a treestand rifle exactly like this one.
Don't count out the short actions and don't get caught up in the Short Magnums. The good old 308 case has alot of good rounds based of it. For deer under 300 yards, there really is nothing better.
Good Shooting!!
Kirby Allen(50)
