Best barrel contour for a savage pre-fit

[#publiclands]

I want to build a 6.5-06 or a 280 ackley budget hunting rifle utilizing a Savage 110 action but can not decide on a contour. I was thinking about going with McGowen or Shaw Barrels and going with a #4 or #5 contour. I was thinking a #5 would be a good compromise between weight and stiffness, as a #4 would be very close to a light varmint in a criterion and similar barrels. One of the reasons I want to go with McGowen or Shaw is they are/were available on the gun shack Any thoughts or recommendations?

 

[Seeknelk]

Plan to be packing it a lot? Hunting mountains etc? If that was the case I'd do the lightest contour I could find in a prefit which is probably just a light spotter which isn't all that light but would work well. A #5 is pretty burly for packing. I had a 24" #3b bartlein 300win in a edge fill McMillan and it was way too front heavy for my uses.
Light barrels can be every bit as accurate. It's all about the quality of the barrel. They might not be quite as easy to find the nodes but they can shoot! I had Greg at southern precision/bugholes make that bartlein prefit...it was super accurate.
Does criterion have a prefit in the chambering you want? I've had great luck with them.

 

[#publiclands]

I do understand your point on getting the lightest barrel possible. I do hike and carry a hunting rifle but just depends on what I’m hunting and where. If I can hike to a high point and glass or glass from the truck then spot and stalk, the heavier may be doable for shorter excursions. If hiking miles then you are probably right, the number 5 and lower would get pretty heavy pretty fast.
My first build so not real sure where a good compromise would be on weight vs accuracy. Which of the two makes would you recommend? Yes, criterion does chamber the calibers but it will be 14-16 weeks out as opposed to buying of the shelf.

 

[gbflyer]

Hunting rifle isn’t going to be shooting a lot of rounds quickly. No real reason for a heavy barrel if this is something to pack around. A Douglas #4 is just a little heavier than a Remington standard sporter as an example. The Remington is fairly heavy, I don’t go over that for one I’m going to carry much.

 

[#publiclands]

So a #4 May work. What is your Douglas measurement at the muzzle? Seems most number 4s were in the .7 to .8 range.

 

[Seeknelk]

A #2 bartlein would be the heaviest I would use on an all around rifle. And I'd have southern precision do the pre fit work again. Those are top end barrels. The heavier barrels aren't necessarily more accurate at all. Maybe less fussy. And a good barrel is a good barrel and should walk at all if it's properly stress relieved like Bart, brux, Hart , Broughton, criterion, etc.

 

[#publiclands]

Seeknelk, I’ll have to check out the specs on a bartlein #2. You have made a good point on the question that heavier barrels make more accurate barrels. Your point being …. Stick with a quality barrel maker and the barrel should be accurate regardless of the contour… maybe more or less fussy though all things considered.

 

[nksmfamjp]

What rifle weight do you want and do you want the barrel to push the balance to the rest or front? I find a Rem Varmint 26” gave me an 11lb rifle on a 4lb chassis.

I would build those at 22-24”. My #3 gave me an 8.5 lb rifle. 10.5lb scoped.

My Bartlein 3B (others #5) gave me a 12lb rifle on a std 3lb stock.

As a traditional hunting rifle, I find a #3 to be a bit heavier, but a nice profile as long as the shank is pretty short.

If you want light, I would go below #2 and consider a 20-22” length.