- Banned
- #1
Newtosavage
WKR
Finally received my McGowan barrel last week, and I've had a chance to break it in and start working up loads.
I had the barrel built with the following specs:
.284 Win (GAP) no-neck turn reamer
9 twist
21"
6 straight flutes
.605 at the muzzle with a recessed crown
Matte stainless finish
At 2 lbs. 5 oz., the barrel weight was a few ounces more than I had hoped. I was hoping for just a hair over 2 lbs. But for a 21" barrel, that's as light as "McGowan" contours go since they can't flute a #1 contour, and the straight #1 would have weighed the same. If I had it to do over, I'd have them build it to a slimmer contour. I am seriously thinking about sending it back to have it re-contoured to shed 4-5 oz. I'd lose the flutes, but the rifle would balance better.
The matte stainless finish doesn't match my Savage LW Storm receiver very well. It's quite a bit darker. On the other hand, the matte finish on the barrel soaks up light and doesn't reflect at all. For a hunting rig, it's probably a better finish than the "matte" stainless finish that Savage has (which is much brighter). If I have the barrel re-contoured, I will probably have them leave the finish polished stainless to match the receiver better (even though it's technically a "matte" finish on the receiver).
Barrel break-in was pretty straightforward. I cleaned after every shot for 10 shots (using CR-10 copper fouling remover) and then after every 2 for a few cycles, then after every 5 until no more copper was showing on the patch. Since about round 25 (I'm at round 50 now) I haven't gotten any copper fouling.
Groups so far have been hit or miss. It doesn't seem to like my 145 Barnes LRX's at all. But it really likes the 160 Speer Deep Curl's that I got on clearance from Midway. Those have a very long bearing surface and concave tail. From what I can tell, they keep the pressures low when seated way out because I'm a full 1.5 grains over any published max load I can find and still have nice rounded primers and easy bolt lift.
All I have for powder right now is 4 lbs. of Ramshot Hunter - which is listed in the Nosler data for the 284. but it's probably not as good as H4831 which is what most folks seem to use in the .284 Win.
Some have asked me what the "GAP" stands for - that's the long-throated reamer they use for folks who are building .284's on long actions. That allows me to seat the bullets out beyond 3.00" OAL and take full advantage of the space in the case. The .284 Win was originally designed as a short-action cartridge, but even the lighter bullets intrude into the case when limited to 2.80". Since my loads are kissing the lands at around 3.10", if I had it to do over again I'd probably put this barrel on a short action Savage, which allows you up to 3.00" in the magazine. Based on what I've seen so far, 3.00" is plenty for a .284 Win with typical hunting loads. However if you're a long range guy, you'll want the long actions for those 168+ grain Berger's and the like, which can run out to 3.25" or more before they touch the lands.
So far, velocities are what I was expecting. Basically it's shooting very close to slightly ahead of my old Ruger .280 Remington, which is what I wanted. However the felt recoil in this rifle is substantially less than what I remember from that Ruger. That rifle kicked hard for what it was. Even my stoutest loads (160 Speer deep curl's traveling 2840 fps) have a very manageable recoil. I hardly notice the difference over my old 7mm-08. The new Savage stocks really soak up recoil nicely. This is a gun I could shoot all day, which is what I was after. I couldn't say that about the rifle when I was shooting stiff loads out of the Savage '06 barrel. So that box is definitely checked. Yesterday I ran some 139 LRX's well north of 3K fps before I saw the first subtle pressure signs, and that thing shot like a real pussycat with those.
I was on the fence about the 21" barrel, but now I'm glad I made that call. I wouldn't want it any longer. I'm getting great velocities out of it and the muzzle blast is perfectly tolerable to me.
Next up is some bullet seating depth tests to dial in that 160 grain load. The 139 LRX's are a nice backup load, but I doubt I'll spend much time with them. I have a vintage 7x57 I'll be building this evening for my primary deer rifle. I really like the bonded 160's in the .284 Win for elk. The ballistics tables show 2040 fps. and 1500 ft. lbs. at 700 yards which is farther than I ever expect to shoot this rifle. For a bullet with only .455 bc, that's pretty good considering how light the recoil is.
Here are the first 5 shots during break-in, cleaning after every round.
160-grain Speer load @ 2840 fps. before testing seating depth
I had the barrel built with the following specs:
.284 Win (GAP) no-neck turn reamer
9 twist
21"
6 straight flutes
.605 at the muzzle with a recessed crown
Matte stainless finish
At 2 lbs. 5 oz., the barrel weight was a few ounces more than I had hoped. I was hoping for just a hair over 2 lbs. But for a 21" barrel, that's as light as "McGowan" contours go since they can't flute a #1 contour, and the straight #1 would have weighed the same. If I had it to do over, I'd have them build it to a slimmer contour. I am seriously thinking about sending it back to have it re-contoured to shed 4-5 oz. I'd lose the flutes, but the rifle would balance better.
The matte stainless finish doesn't match my Savage LW Storm receiver very well. It's quite a bit darker. On the other hand, the matte finish on the barrel soaks up light and doesn't reflect at all. For a hunting rig, it's probably a better finish than the "matte" stainless finish that Savage has (which is much brighter). If I have the barrel re-contoured, I will probably have them leave the finish polished stainless to match the receiver better (even though it's technically a "matte" finish on the receiver).
Barrel break-in was pretty straightforward. I cleaned after every shot for 10 shots (using CR-10 copper fouling remover) and then after every 2 for a few cycles, then after every 5 until no more copper was showing on the patch. Since about round 25 (I'm at round 50 now) I haven't gotten any copper fouling.
Groups so far have been hit or miss. It doesn't seem to like my 145 Barnes LRX's at all. But it really likes the 160 Speer Deep Curl's that I got on clearance from Midway. Those have a very long bearing surface and concave tail. From what I can tell, they keep the pressures low when seated way out because I'm a full 1.5 grains over any published max load I can find and still have nice rounded primers and easy bolt lift.
All I have for powder right now is 4 lbs. of Ramshot Hunter - which is listed in the Nosler data for the 284. but it's probably not as good as H4831 which is what most folks seem to use in the .284 Win.
Some have asked me what the "GAP" stands for - that's the long-throated reamer they use for folks who are building .284's on long actions. That allows me to seat the bullets out beyond 3.00" OAL and take full advantage of the space in the case. The .284 Win was originally designed as a short-action cartridge, but even the lighter bullets intrude into the case when limited to 2.80". Since my loads are kissing the lands at around 3.10", if I had it to do over again I'd probably put this barrel on a short action Savage, which allows you up to 3.00" in the magazine. Based on what I've seen so far, 3.00" is plenty for a .284 Win with typical hunting loads. However if you're a long range guy, you'll want the long actions for those 168+ grain Berger's and the like, which can run out to 3.25" or more before they touch the lands.
So far, velocities are what I was expecting. Basically it's shooting very close to slightly ahead of my old Ruger .280 Remington, which is what I wanted. However the felt recoil in this rifle is substantially less than what I remember from that Ruger. That rifle kicked hard for what it was. Even my stoutest loads (160 Speer deep curl's traveling 2840 fps) have a very manageable recoil. I hardly notice the difference over my old 7mm-08. The new Savage stocks really soak up recoil nicely. This is a gun I could shoot all day, which is what I was after. I couldn't say that about the rifle when I was shooting stiff loads out of the Savage '06 barrel. So that box is definitely checked. Yesterday I ran some 139 LRX's well north of 3K fps before I saw the first subtle pressure signs, and that thing shot like a real pussycat with those.
I was on the fence about the 21" barrel, but now I'm glad I made that call. I wouldn't want it any longer. I'm getting great velocities out of it and the muzzle blast is perfectly tolerable to me.
Next up is some bullet seating depth tests to dial in that 160 grain load. The 139 LRX's are a nice backup load, but I doubt I'll spend much time with them. I have a vintage 7x57 I'll be building this evening for my primary deer rifle. I really like the bonded 160's in the .284 Win for elk. The ballistics tables show 2040 fps. and 1500 ft. lbs. at 700 yards which is farther than I ever expect to shoot this rifle. For a bullet with only .455 bc, that's pretty good considering how light the recoil is.
Here are the first 5 shots during break-in, cleaning after every round.
160-grain Speer load @ 2840 fps. before testing seating depth
