Barrel choice for 6.5PRC custom

[wind gypsy]

So I’ve got:

22 ounces for a defiant anti
40 oz AG adjustable chalk branch
28 oz nightforce nx8
~16 oz for the muzzle break, trigger, and 20MOA rail

106 oz.... so about 54 to spare for the barrel

16 oz is heavy for a trigger brake and rail but might be closer once u figure in bottom metal and mag or box/spring.

 

[BBob]

A Ti rail, APA Gen 1 MicroB and trigger is ~7oz on my scale.

 

[Kimber7man]

GA Precision 22 Creedmoor
22” Bartlein 3b
Gap Templar sheep hunter (Defiance Rebel)
Gap 15 MOA non-typical rail (alloy)
Manners EH-2 elite swamp camo
TBAC CB
APA RTG DBM
AI 5 round mag



All up with S&B PMII 3-12x50 and TBAC 223CB:

 

[Thomasj1107]

An unfinished 27” blank in 3b in 6.5 by my measurement is 4.2 lbs

A fluted 3 in 6.5 27” blank is 3.66 lb

16 oz is heavy for a trigger brake and rail but might be closer once u figure in bottom metal and mag or box/spring.

yeah, I just over estimated because I don’t know the weight...

I’m getting the little b gen 2 brake, Hawkins DBM bottom metal, and trigger tech trigger, and a 20MOA rail

 

[Wildwillalaska]

Seems a little contrary to go with Defiance AnTi and then a 3b, not bad but contrary. I have a 300wm GAPmspun up for me on their defiance extreme hunter action, so its milled down to lose weight over their branded deviant action. I did a 23” fluted 3b bedded into a manners carbon stock. With NF lightweight rings (Integral bases) and NF NXS 5.5-22x50mm, it weights 10.4# unloaded.

if I were to build the same rifle today, since it’s a hunting rig, I’d go lighter. It’s not meant to be a sheep rifle. So not expecting it to finish under 6lbs bare, but even for moose, I’m backpacking and carrying the rifle longer distances and wish it was lighter. Today, I’d go with the AnTi and either a #2B or 3 contour fluted.

I have a hammer of a 338 that Jared at APA built me a few years back and I foolishly went with a #4 comotif, it’s just too darn heavy for my kind of hunting, so it about to ship out to Dallas at Lane Precision to get a carbon wrapped barrel, since the barrel channel is already opened up.

Looks like your getting good parts together, should be a fun rifle. Another thing to consider is total king though your options and choices with whatever smith you are using for the build. They can be a huge resource as well.

 

[BigPrince]

Have a Bartlein #13 carbon being spun up now for a 6.5prc. I would definitely go Bartlein carbon fiber.

 

[Thomasj1107]

Seems a little contrary to go with Defiance AnTi and then a 3b, not bad but contrary. I have a 300wm GAPmspun up for me on their defiance extreme hunter action, so its milled down to lose weight over their branded deviant action. I did a 23” fluted 3b bedded into a manners carbon stock. With NF lightweight rings (Integral bases) and NF NXS 5.5-22x50mm, it weights 10.4# unloaded.

if I were to build the same rifle today, since it’s a hunting rig, I’d go lighter. It’s not meant to be a sheep rifle. So not expecting it to finish under 6lbs bare, but even for moose, I’m backpacking and carrying the rifle longer distances and wish it was lighter. Today, I’d go with the AnTi and either a #2B or 3 contour fluted.

I have a hammer of a 338 that Jared at APA built me a few years back and I foolishly went with a #4 comotif, it’s just too darn heavy for my kind of hunting, so it about to ship out to Dallas at Lane Precision to get a carbon wrapped barrel, since the barrel channel is already opened up.

Looks like your getting good parts together, should be a fun rifle. Another thing to consider is total king though your options and choices with whatever smith you are using for the build. They can be a huge resource as well.

I see what you are saying about the action and the barrel, I was trying to keep weight down in other components and then get as much barrel as I could with what was left...

If I go with a certain barrel like a carbon #13 or #4, am I stuck with that size barrel indefinitely? Like if I hate it and the barrel channel is set for that size, does it limit my options?

 

[Thomasj1107]

Have a Bartlein #13 carbon being spun up now for a 6.5prc. I would definitely go Bartlein carbon fiber.

I am thinking about doing this... what made you go with the 13 over the 4? Did you get a weight on it? What length?

 

[Kimber7man]

According to Bartlein, the 13 is only about 2 ounces more than the 4.

 

[Wildwillalaska]

If your using a stock vs chassis (which admit I have zero experience with the chassis) the forearm needs to be big enough to accommodate the barrel. When ordering your stock design, it’s no just LOP and drop at comb that are different between the designs, some have much wider and deeper forearms capable of heavier barrels, others much lighter to save weight and only need to accommodate a thin taper barrel. Once a stick is fit for a heavier barrel line like a bartlein 4 or larger, would be a lot of work to go back to something like a 2b or 3.

bartlein’s 3B ia more like a 4 in other manufacturers.

Where I messed up with the 338 I referenced with the #4 is that the rest of the rifle is relatively light and it ended up WAY too muzzle heavy. I personally like a rifle a little muzzle heavy if not a sheep rifle, but this one was absurdly so and just hated carrying it and unless shooting on a bench it just didn’t handle to my liking—it was just a poor plan on my part.

 

[Ohearchai]

I recently finished my 6.5prc build and the biggest compromise from having it set up, as a purely hunting rifle, was the barrel. Used a Benchmark Ibex stock, 34 ounces, for a scope, I used a leupy 4.5-14x40 in Hawkins hybrid rings, total 16.5 ounces. High Desert dbm, Hells Canyon billet mag, apa brake, Sterk bolt handle and shroud as the extras on a Tikka t3 action. The barrel was a Benchmark I had on hand for another build at 25 inches its .870, now its fluted but has a beast of a shank. The rifle weighs in a 9lbs, 3 ounces, thats ready to shoot minus ammo. As it is I can use the barreled action in a chassis if I decide to shoot the odd elr match, after 10 rds in 2 mins, the barrel doesnt get particularly hot or is there any shift in poi compared to say a true sporter contour.

 

[SDHNTR]

I see what you are saying about the action and the barrel, I was trying to keep weight down in other components and then get as much barrel as I could with what was left...

If I go with a certain barrel like a carbon #13 or #4, am I stuck with that size barrel indefinitely? Like if I hate it and the barrel channel is set for that size, does it limit my options?

Yes it will limit future options if you go with a fat barrel. If you go back to more “standard” contours you’ll either need to change the stock too, or attempt to fill it with bedding and match. And I’ve never seen that look right.

Methinks you are falling victim to paralysis by analysis. Based on your other thread inquiring about Alamo Precision, I’m assuming that’s who you are using, so I’d lean on their expertise. They build on the 3B contour (their proprietary APR contour) very regularly. Listen to them. They know how to produce rifles that are well balanced. There’s no need to outbuild your builder. Your desire to have a fat barrel is only causing more potential for some type of less desirable result in the end IMO.

 

[BigPrince]

I am thinking about doing this... what made you go with the 13 over the 4? Did you get a weight on it? What length?

I'm doing a 24". Don't have a weight on it as it's at the smith. I went with the 13 due to the minimal weight increase over the 4 and it should be a little stiffer.

 

[Thomasj1107]

Yes it will limit future options if you go with a fat barrel. If you go back to more “standard” contours you’ll either need to change the stock too, or attempt to fill it with bedding and match. And I’ve never seen that look right.

Methinks you are falling victim to paralysis by analysis. Based on your other thread inquiring about Alamo Precision, I’m assuming that’s who you are using, so I’d lean on their expertise. They build on the 3B contour (their proprietary APR contour) very regularly. Listen to them. They know how to produce rifles that are well balanced. There’s no need to outbuild your builder. Your desire to have a fat barrel is only causing more potential for some type of less desirable result in the end IMO.

I think you might be right! I’m either going to go with the 3B stainless, or the 4 CF. I’ll talk with APR and see what they say. It’s tough when you want it to be perfect and you get in your own head trying to decide

 

[SDHNTR]

I think you might be right! I’m either going to go with the 3B stainless, or the 4 CF. I’ll talk with APR and see what they say. It’s tough when you want it to be perfect and you get in your own head trying to decide

Not to take anything away from you, but Alamo will know what makes perfect way better than you or I. They’ve done it hundreds of times. I’d heed their suggestions!

 

[SDHNTR]

Also, if you go with their Maverick package (Steel 3B/APR countour) you will save a bunch of money! Those Maverick packages in the 20-24” bbl range balance out nicely and are near perfect guns. A lot of thought went into spec’ing out that build. IMO, venturing outside of that package, will only cost you more money and may even result in less functionality.

 

[Ohearchai]

Not much difference weight wise between a cf #4 and a #13. Obviously the 4 starts fatter and goes smaller while the 13 is more of a traditional rem varmint contour.

 

[Thomasj1107]

I’ve read on other forums that the CF barrels will heat up after X amount of shots and the mirage coming off the barrel will effect the sight picture in the scope. How does a stainless 3, 3B or 4 compare in a situation like that? Should it theoretically be more resistant to that?

 

[Ohearchai]

Thomasj1107, I actually ran a cf wrapped 260 barrel in matches about 5 years ago. Never had any issue with mirage caused by heat coming off the barrel. Now obviously just 10 or 12 rd stages of fire and a scope with max mag of 16, rhat cf barrel was a remington varmint contour. In fact I never really encountered an issue of mirage caused by the heat of the barrel with steel or cf in rem varmint or larger contour under 25x. What I have always encountered with lighter sporter barrels such as a #3 or 3b or even a #4 is the actual barrel getting hot after 4 or 5 rds causing a shift in poi, obviously caliber has a role

 

[wind gypsy]

If I go with a certain barrel like a carbon #13 or #4, am I stuck with that size barrel indefinitely? Like if I hate it and the barrel channel is set for that size, does it limit my options?

I don't think you got a clear answer on this question.. There is zero stock work required if you want to swap to a lighter barrel contour in the future. To the contrary, if you spec'd a smaller barrel channel and wanted to go heavier, there IS stock work required. Using a stock with a larger than necessary barrel channel is only an aesthetic issue because of a larger than required gap between barrel and stock. IMO that isn't a big deal.