Barrel advice for F class standard

[aar0n]

Hi, i bought my first rifle about a month ago and am looking to change my barrel for f class. I am notsure what type of barrel however.

I have a -
Remington 700police shortaction .308
S&B PM2 12-50x56
badger rings/rail
Harris bipod 6-9"
all together wieghs about 6.5kg

I would like to get a Chrome Moly mabey 30" ? i am notsure what size barrel or twist rate. I use factory ammo 155gr Palma match, would like to start loading my own in the near future. I shoot 300 to 900yards

Also about barrel weight, would a 1.25 30" barrel be too heavy for F class/standard or my action?

Thankyou.
Aaron

[M12LRPV]

There's a lot of guessing on the weight but if you were to assume that your current barrel is about 2kg you would have 3.5kg to play with (not factoring in the bipod element of the rules which gives you 2kg bit more)

Check the barrel makers as they have weight calculators.

I am very happy with my recently purchased Krieger but you cannot go too wrong with any of the custom barrel makers.

I assume that you're looking at Chrome Moly so that it matches up in colour and doesn't stand out??? If that's the case a 30" 1.25 is going to stand out just as bad so you may as well buy stainless.
If you must have it black they can be painted. The current Accuracy International rifles have stainless barrels and they're about as tactical black as you can get so painting can be done properly.

[mike H]

Hi, i bought my first rifle about a month ago and am looking to change my barrel for f class. I am notsure what type of barrel however.

I have a -
Remington 700police shortaction .308
S&B PM2 12-50x56
badger rings/rail
Harris bipod 6-9"
all together wieghs about 6.5kg

I would like to get a Chrome Moly mabey 30" ? i am notsure what size barrel or twist rate. I use factory ammo 155gr Palma match, would like to start loading my own in the near future. I shoot 300 to 900yards

Also about barrel weight, would a 1.25 30" barrel be too heavy for F class/standard or my action?

Thankyou.
Aaron

Aaron,
I may sound a bit harsh with what I am going to say, so try and understand that it is meant in good faith. About the only thing you have right is the barrel length, what a 30" 1.25 straight barrel would weigh, I have no idea,the barrel makers could tell you.Most barrels, probably all, are tapered, some are fluted.Even if a straight 30" barrel on your action and stock,including scope and mounts, came in under 8 kgs, you would have a fairly unbalanced outfit. Remember the rules state the weight of the rifle and telescope is 8kgs. Rifle, scope and bipod, is 10kgs. In other words you can have a lighter than 8kgs rifle and a heavier bipod, to come up to 10kgs, but you can only have an 8kg rifle maximum. I am using a 32", 2.5 kg Match Rifle barrel because I have it, and the complete rifle and scope is around 7kgs.
Forget the chrome moly barrel and go for stainless.Barrel twist, 1/12. Work out who your gunsmith is going to be and go and talk to him first before rushing in.

Finaly get a rail in the forend,ditch the existing bipod and replace it with an adjustable bipod, there are plenty around, make sure it is easily adjustable for level. I like the Davey.
Mike.

[aar0n]

Thanks for the help.

Ill find a local gunsmith and see what he can do. i guess you would buy the barrel through him as opposed to ordering one off a website?
Im thinking a 30" SS 1:12 twist, as for the 1.25 straight barrel, would a barrel that tapers down to a say .900ish at the muzzle have much of a disadvantage in accuracy over a 1.25 straight?

I do want to get a tripod base soon, as the swivel bipod i have can be anoying at times.

[John S]

Contacts can be found on the NSW F Class website.

http://www.nswfclass.com.au/nsw_f_class_003.htm

Cheers

John S

[mike H]

Thanks for the help.

Ill find a local gunsmith and see what he can do. i guess you would buy the barrel through him as opposed to ordering one off a website?
Im thinking a 30" SS 1:12 twist, as for the 1.25 straight barrel, would a barrel that tapers down to a say .900ish at the muzzle have much of a disadvantage in accuracy over a 1.25 straight?

I do want to get a tripod base soon, as the swivel bipod i have can be anoying at times.

Aaron,
Regarding accuracy of a tapered barrel .900" at the muzzle versus a straight 1.25" x 30" length, I doubt many if any F/class shooters could find a difference. It takes more than barrel weight to get accuracy. I would talk with a gunsmith or perhaps a couple of gunsmiths before doing anything. You have three good F/class shooters in your club, don`t be frightened to discuss your ideas with them. As you already have a rifle shooting, take your time before committing your hard earned cash. Whilst an accurate rifle is neccesary, unless the shooter can read wind and fire a good shot. they won`t get much further ahead.
Mike.
,

[Brian]

Hi Aaron,

Why not call Maddco in Toowomba, they will make the barrel & fit it up for you.

There are a few members in our club using Remington 700's with Maddco barrels & they shoot very well.

Most seem to have Maddco's Remington Varmit profile with tapers to about 0.750 at the muzzle, not to heavy. They shoot excellently.

Cheers,

Hi, i bought my first rifle about a month ago and am looking to change my barrel for f class. I am notsure what type of barrel however.

I have a -
Remington 700police shortaction .308
S&B PM2 12-50x56
badger rings/rail
Harris bipod 6-9"
all together wieghs about 6.5kg

I would like to get a Chrome Moly mabey 30" ? i am notsure what size barrel or twist rate. I use factory ammo 155gr Palma match, would like to start loading my own in the near future. I shoot 300 to 900yards

Also about barrel weight, would a 1.25 30" barrel be too heavy for F class/standard or my action?

Thankyou.
Aaron

[BATattack]

might pay to measure your forend before you order a 1.25" barrel!!that is a big chunk of steel and youll find there wont me much left of your stock by the time its inletted. i shoot open and using a laminated stock and a bigger action with heavy varmint profile barrels. if i used 1.25 parallel barrel i would be over a 10kg.

just saying. . . if you get a bit more serious you might change your stock and with a barrel that big it will probably put you over weight.

[RDavies]

Some gunsmiths warn against heavy barrels on a standard Rem 700 action as they dont have as much metal in them as a custom singleshot. With the big magazine cut out and smaller diameter, the gunsmiths I spoke to said they would flex too much. I intended to use my Rem700 to build up a budget F std rifle and wanted to use a 30" barrel, .900" at the muzzle, but after talking to a few gunsmiths, went with a Barnard S action. (same diameter as a Rem700, but much stiffer).

The single scope rail you have might stiffen things a bit more than my Rem 700 with dual bases though.

[aar0n]

After reading the replies and talking to the guys at the club today, Ive decided to wait abit and talk to a couple gunsmiths about what they think would be the best choice for my remington action. If i am going to get a bigger barrel i would need a another stock, all ill have left realy is just the rem action and the rem 40x trigger.

At a later date when i save some more $$$ i will look into a barnard action and just start from there.

First thing to get is the adjustable tripod base. I was shooting today at 900 and the recoil bounced the bipod and moved me onto the wrong bloody target, ruining what would of been my best score yet. but i bet im not the only one who has shot at the wrong target at some stage

Thanks everyone for all the help.

[bobeager]

aarOn, weighed a few barrels for you,
29" HV 6.5 Cal is 3.2 Kg
30" LV 30 Cal is 3.0 Kg
30" HV 6mm Cal is 3.25
and an unchambered 30" 1.25" straight fluted 7 mm is 3.8 Kg.
For a Remy I would look at no heavier than a 28" to 30" LV or HV Fluted.

[M12LRPV]

If you really want a heavy barrel there's always the barrel block option.

[BATattack]

barrel block with a 1.25" barrel will almost certinally put you over the limit unless your running a genuine carbon fibre stock and light weight scope.

[Seddo]

Aaron,

Is there anything wrong with your factory barrel? I have a LTR and it shoots great groups. I have shot it to 700y but the 10x scope was the limiting factor.

If you are handloading you should be bale to get pretty close to 3000fps with a 26" barrel. I can get 2750 out of a 20" barrel with 2208 and 155gr noslers.

As a new shooter myself, i dont see the advantage of buying a 30" barrel for any of the rifles i use as it wont increase my score. Learning how to read the wind will improve your score a lot more. If i was you i would spend the money on reloading gear. Once you start to load your own ammo you shoudl be able to increase the accuracy as well.

As far as a new barrel, i have a 223 pacnor that shoot really well.

[aar0n]

Ive shot the 700p at 600,700 and 800yards with the NRAA .308 WHBC 155GR Palma Match and it was shooting all over the place. Last week i shot at 900yards with Federal Premium Gold Medal 175g and it shot great, couldn't believe how much of a difference it made.

However that ammunition is not f/standard legal and was also $56 a box. Im meeting up with a friend from my club next week to have alook at some custom loads an how its done.
I will be getting into loading my own as soon as i get some $$$ to spend.