# Barrel Types



## CoyoteBlitz (Apr 11, 2007)

When you guys are looking to buy a new gun, what type of barrel do you look for or order? what are the advantages of a heavy over a regular contour? fluted barrel over just a reg or heavy barrel? muzzle break? what about its advantages? just looking for all the info i can find. thanks guys.


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## xdeano (Jan 14, 2005)

First thing what are you planning on doing with the barrel? caliber? this will dictate wether or not you really want a heavy barrel vs the normal barrel.

what type of barrel do you look for or order?
I've alway been particular with the heavy barreled rifles for all of my hunting. It's not necessary better, but it's just what I like. What i look at in a barrel is more how it's rifling is done, hammer forged, button or cut. The best barrels made are cut rifling, they are inheratantly more accurate. I also look at what kind of rifling they have, such as regular cuts or polygonal (canted) rifling.

what are the advantages of a heavy over a regular contour?
A heavy contour will increase weight to the rifle, which will reduce felt recoil because there is more weight to move, making it potential more accurate. If you go with an MTU contour that is 18-20" long the barrel will be considerably more ridgid than a regular conture barrel that is 26" long. With the more ridgid barrel you'll see less barrel warpage leading to a more accurate rifle, less wip. Just think of a barrel like a stick, if you pick up a stick that the diameter of a toothpick, it's easy to bend or break it, but if you pick up a pencil the same length as the tooth pick, it'll be potentially harder to break or bend. This goes the same if you have a new pencil vs an old worn down pencil, it's harder to bend and break the shorter pencil.

fluted barrel over just a reg or heavy barrel?
Fluting will remove metal from the barrel, making is slightly lighter than a standard barrel of the same diameter. It will also add surface area to the barrel and in turn cool the barrel more efficiently. Some say it makes a barrel more ridgid, but I'm not so sure about that.

muzzle break?
Muzzle breaks will make a tame sounding gun sound like a cannon, very loud. What it will do for you is reduce felt recoil, which in turn will reduce the flinch factor and possibly make you a more accurate shot.

hope that helps.

xdeano


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## CoyoteBlitz (Apr 11, 2007)

Well i had been looking for a new coyote/all around varmint gun. i was looking at the savage predator hunter and the one model has a fluted barrel. so i figured id ask about barrel types just to get some information and background.
thank you tho, that really helps


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

I prefer sporter barrels for "hunting" rifles. 99% of shooters aren't going to notice any accuracy differences between a heavy or light anyway (except for the simple fact you have to flinch a lot harder to move a heavy object), especially in hunting situations.

A 12-13 lb rifle gets a lot heavier in a foot of snow with 25-30 lbs of dead coyote behind ya. You might not think a few pounds is a huge deal in the store or at the range, but trust me, every pound counts when your 1/2 mile from the truck in deep snow.

Now if you want a bench gun, or something for regular long range shooting, go heavy.

My go to coyote rifle is a Rem 700 SPS sporter in .22-250. Its every bit as accurate in its effective range as my big gun, a heavy barreled semi-custom Rem 700 in .308.

One weighs 9 lbs field ready, the other 13.1 lbs. Its a big difference.

What one would I rather carry around in 99% of hunting situations? The 250 most definitely.


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## xdeano (Jan 14, 2005)

i definitely concur.

xdeano


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## bearhunter (Jan 30, 2009)

last week i took my savage mod.12 heavy barreled rifle out of retirement for a coyote hunt. with bipod and scope/sling, its about 12.5 lbs. did'nt really notice the extra wieght even after walking many miles. but when the snow flies and i;m on snowshoes, it will be my much lighter stevens 200.


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