# Heavy Barrel or standard



## predator14 (Aug 18, 2006)

Witch one would you rather have heavy or a standard barrel on a rifle?


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## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

Regular because then I can walk farther out to my stand and make more stands per day!


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## Horsager (Aug 31, 2006)

I'm not a fan of heavy barrel rifles except for target or prairie dogs. They are heavy to carry on long calling runs. They generally have 26" barrels that I find cumbersome most of the time. Some will tell you heavy barrel rifles are "more accurate". I think the truth is that heavy barrel rifles are easier to shoot well, not inherently more accurate. That extra weight really helps you settle the crosshairs, especially on paper. Something along the lines of a Remington light varmint rifle is about as heavy as I'd go. Standard weight rifles are just fine from any manufacturer. This year I've gone to a very lightweight 243 for furbearers. It will be under 7# loaded with a sling. I'll carry a mono-pod/walking stick rather than bipods for it. If your rifle is going to get a steady diet of prairie dogs and fox/coyote then something a tad heavier would do. Kimber Pro- Varmint, Winchester Coyote (or their older varmint sporter), or one of the 24" heavy barreled CZ 527's are good "combo" rifles for praire dogs and furbearers.


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## Danny B (Jun 6, 2006)

I've always shot heavy barrel rifles when predator hunting. I don't need to walk far and I make 10-12 minute stands. That's just the kind of rifle I prefer to use. 
It's all in the way you hunt, both type rifles well work and have for years.

Be careful, opinions are only opinions, but we got all these new computer predator hunting experts nowadays telling people what they should and should not do and some of them have never even killed a coyote. 
To bad they don't have a way to expose the true background of some of these people giving advice.


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## Remington 7400 (Dec 14, 2005)

Heavy for accuracy or long range work, but I'm guilty of have a Rem 700 ADL .22-250 and a BDL .243 that are frequently put into service as "walking" varminters. :lol:


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## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

Horsager

What loads are you using in your .243? I am trying to find a somewhat fur friendly load for mine. PM me if you have anything you want to share.


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## Horsager (Aug 31, 2006)

I just got it and I'm still working on loads, won't have any "fur data" for a little while. My plan is to shoot 85gn Barnes Triple shocks. Should make for a good "all around" bullet for fur, deer, antelope, etc.

I go the rifle back from Kimber last night. I had to send it in because I couldn't get it to shoot with 85gn Barnes or 85gn Nosler partitions. Tried 30 different bullet/powder combinations, about 150 shots and nothing consistantly better than 1.5". While back at Kimber they re-crowned it.

Test targets looked good. They shoot 3 shot groups W/factory ammo. The poorest was 80gn Remington's @ .6", the best was 100gn Hornady's @ .211"

I'm shooting for 3200fps or better with the 85's. When I find a load that is accurate I'll post results, probably PM W/specifics as I will at times exceed published max loads.


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## Danny B (Jun 6, 2006)

Remington 7400, what's being guilty with a 22-250 in BDL or ADL? Great caliber and rifle make, in my opinion one of the best actions ever made.


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## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

I don't reload so currently I am shooting 70 grain Nosler BT by Federal. Very accurate. I started using them at the end of last season so I have only shot 1 coyote with that bullet. It didn't tear it up too bad but required sewing.


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## Gohon (Feb 14, 2005)

Heavy barrels for the most part are more accurate than slim barrels because of less harmonics which allows shot after shot into the same ragged hole. There is truth to what some say that they also heat up slower but the other side of the coin is it takes longer for them to cool down so it's half a dozen or another. I've read several articles these last two months on short barrels being just as accurate if not more so than bull barrels for the same reason...... less harmonics and with very little in the energy department lost. Personally I prefer a plain old pencil barrel around 20 to 22 inches on my guns. Only bull barrel rifle I own now is a Savage 17HMR and I wish I hadn't of gotten it but it is a tack driver.


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## Remington 7400 (Dec 14, 2005)

> Remington 7400, what's being guilty with a 22-250 in BDL or ADL? Great caliber and rifle make, in my opinion one of the best actions ever made.


Its just when I go coyote hunting with my buddies they always pull out Winchester Stealths, Ruger M77 Varminters, Remington Swat Tacticals ect. They always ride me for not bringing along my Rem 700 VSF, what the heck? I don't want to walk 7 miles and pack a 12 pound rifle. And just between me and you, that coyote is just as dead no matter if the bullet comes form a Winchester Stealth or a base model 700 ADL!


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## SDHandgunner (Jun 22, 2004)

I hunted one season with a Remington Model 700 VSSF Heavy Barrel. After that I went back to a Sporter Weight Rifle with a 22" Barrel. OK maybe I am not in shape (or never have been), and maybe I am a woose, but at any rate lugging that VSSF to each calling set up was a pain (literally). Yes I probably shot that Rifle better as the weight helped me to shoot it better, but like a lot of things in life there were trade offs.

I currently shoot a pair of Stainless-Synthetic Bolt Actions. Both have 22" Barrels (Sporter Weight). One is a .223, the other is a .243. In the .223 I worked up a load with 50gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips pushed to 3310 FPS with Hodgdon's Benchmark. Haven't had the opportunity to shoot any Coyotes with this load yet, but did get a couple last winter shooting Ultra Max Commercial Reloads (loaded with 55gr. Winchester Pointed Soft Point Bullets) out of this Rifle with good results. As per the .243 I am still shooting Federal Premiums loaded with 70gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips (3359 FPS out of this particular .243). This ammo shoots quite well in this Rifle, but judging from the Coyotes taken with this Gun-n-Load it is not fur friendly.

I guess I just like the weight, balance and carrying of the Sporter Weight Rifles.

Larry


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## xdeano (Jan 14, 2005)

I started out shooting with a Ruger M77 in 243. light weight barrel and liked it but i ended up buying a remington 700vs (heavy barrel) and shot a lot of coyotes with it. I also have another heavy barreled remington in 308 that reciently bought and i've shot a few coyotes with it. I like the heavy barreled rifles. But the definit down side is the weight, it isn't to bad toating it around for a few stands in the morning and a few in the evening, but when winter comes around even the 7.5 lb ruger gets heavy on the sholder when making all day stands. I had thought about possibly switching up and going light again with an AR. But if i went out a bought another rifle now, i'd be the one getting put up.  
xdeano


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## tubby (Aug 9, 2006)

I just saw a Savage 16 Weather Warrior that weighed only 6.5 pounds. After adding a scope and a sling, the guy who owned it claimed it came to only 7.5 pounds. It was .243 and shot nicely. I thought it would be easy to carry around and shoot all day... especially in that caliber, but I wouldn't want to shoot it in .308... ouch!


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## Jaybic (Sep 8, 2005)

I have just made the leap back to a ultralight Browning Abolt Microhunter in 22-250 w/20in barrel and love it. Carrying around all that extra weight just never seemed to help and probably hurt me a time or two when I got surprized and tried to swing that awkward 26 inch heavy barrel around for a shot at a rapidly departing coyote.

I have a match grade DPMS ar -15 that weighed in at 10lbs empty and no bipod and a Remington 700 22-250 heavy barrel and both shoot stellar but they are just heavier than I think is needed. I actually just had my ar barrel turned down on a lathe and the rifle lost just over a pound and still shoots great. I just watched a benchrest match on tv and is was won by a guy shooting a .222 pencil barrel with a group of 5 about the size of a pencil eraser.

I have no proof but my thinking is that it is first shot cold barrel accuracy that counts and that should not matter heavy or light barrel. Light barrels will heat up but as long as the first shot goes where its supposed to the whole barrel heating up thing doesnt matter too much I guess. I am sure on a dog town this is different story because of alot of rounds being shot but I thinking about just called coyotes coming in.

What I think might be an interesting idea is to shoot a 5 shot group on 5 consecutive days and see how I do. If it turns in a good group on a cold barrel each time the following shots shouldnt matter. That way I have the faith in my gun that that first cold barrel shot is on the money and hopefully fur on the ground.

I dont know but its just my theory anyway

Jaybic


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