Recommendations on 300 wsm barrel

[Idaho_archer4]

I'm in the market to upgrade my Tikka 300 wsm barrel and I've got some questions for folks. First, a little background. This gun will be used extensively for backpack hunting in the west so the lighter and shorter, the better. It will also be sporting a TBAC Ultra 7 can and sit on top of a XLR chassis. On to the questions.

1) Is the weight savings and/or performance of a carbon barrel worth it over, say, just buying a light Palma contour SS barrel?

2) I'm undecided between an 18" or 20" barrel. Right now, I'm pushing 200 gr eld-x's at 2858 fps from a 21" barrel. Assuming a loss of 25 fps/inch, an 18" barrel would push the 200 gr eld-x at ~2775-ish fps, which is more than adequate for elk under 500 yards (my general limit on shot distance on animals). Any reason not to go 18"?

3) What barrel twist rate would you all recommend. Most info I could find suggest a 1:10 barrel rates for pushing heavier bullets. Would this still hold true for a 18" or 20" barrel at 2800 fps?

4) Do folks have any recommendations on companies for buying pre-fit barrel's? I've read PVA and Proof are top tier for SS and carbon. Anyone have experience with unknownmunitions (Ace barrel's) or other recommendations?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Johnwell]

I'm in the market to upgrade my Tikka 300 wsm barrel and I've got some questions for folks. First, a little background. This gun will be used extensively for backpack hunting in the west so the lighter and shorter, the better. It will also be sporting a TBAC Ultra 7 can and sit on top of a XLR chassis. On to the questions.

1) Is the weight savings and/or performance of a carbon barrel worth it over, say, just buying a light Palma contour SS barrel?

2) I'm undecided between an 18" or 20" barrel. Right now, I'm pushing 200 gr eld-x's at 2858 fps from a 21" barrel. Assuming a loss of 25 fps/inch, an 18" barrel would push the 200 gr eld-x at ~2775-ish fps, which is more than adequate for elk under 500 yards (my general limit on shot distance on animals). Any reason not to go 18"?

3) What barrel twist rate would you all recommend. Most info I could find suggest a 1:10 barrel rates for pushing heavier bullets. Would this still hold true for a 18" or 20" barrel at 2800 fps?

4) Do folks have any recommendations on companies for buying pre-fit barrel's? I've read PVA and Proof are top tier for SS and carbon. Anyone have experience with unknownmunitions (Ace barrel's) or other recommendations?

Thanks in advance!

Just built a long action 300wsm; so I’ll share my thoughts.

1. I don’t think so. Especially on short barrels; I don’t see the ~1/2 pound difference being worth the extra cost.

2. Seems short (some might call it average sized) but I’m sure it’d be enough for the velocity you’re looking at. Make sure your can allows 300 mags at that short of a barrel length. My YHM says 20” min for 300 mags.

3. I like 1:9. I don’t see much reason to go slower than 1:9 or 1:10.

4. Can’t help you here; I have a lathe. Went with a Bartlein #4 at 25” but might chop it later.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

I'm in the market to upgrade my Tikka 300 wsm barrel and I've got some questions for folks. First, a little background. This gun will be used extensively for backpack hunting in the west so the lighter and shorter, the better. It will also be sporting a TBAC Ultra 7 can and sit on top of a XLR chassis. On to the questions.

1) Is the weight savings and/or performance of a carbon barrel worth it over, say, just buying a light Palma contour SS barrel?

2) I'm undecided between an 18" or 20" barrel. Right now, I'm pushing 200 gr eld-x's at 2858 fps from a 21" barrel. Assuming a loss of 25 fps/inch, an 18" barrel would push the 200 gr eld-x at ~2775-ish fps, which is more than adequate for elk under 500 yards (my general limit on shot distance on animals). Any reason not to go 18"?

3) What barrel twist rate would you all recommend. Most info I could find suggest a 1:10 barrel rates for pushing heavier bullets. Would this still hold true for a 18" or 20" barrel at 2800 fps?

4) Do folks have any recommendations on companies for buying pre-fit barrel's? I've read PVA and Proof are top tier for SS and carbon. Anyone have experience with unknownmunitions (Ace barrel's) or other recommendations?

Thanks in advance!

Is your current barrel actually shot out and/or too slow of a twist? Basically asking why you're changing the barrel vs shooting what you got (if its the same cartridge) even if that means you wan to chop it shorter and rethread it.

1) Carbon barrels over steel barrels in short lengths don't make sense imho, also why are you talking about a light palma contour vs a sporter? If you were getting a prefit PVA and PBB both make a profile that quickly tapers to 3/4" and then is straight after that so plenty of shoulder for threading 5/8-24. Even if you went sporter contour you can flare it out at the muzzle (either in profile or with a collar) to have sufficent shoulder with 5/8-24.

2) Check with your can manufacturer as noted.

3) Run a twist rate calculator and see what you think looks good for your anticipated bullet(s) and velocity. https://bergerbullets.com/twist-rate-calculator/

4) PVA and PPB are common for prefits among some others.

Depending on your answer to my first question there always is the option of buying a tikka 300wsm take off barrel and having it chopped and threaded if the twist rate is suitable. Newer barrels are 1:10.

 

[wind gypsy]

I'm in the market to upgrade my Tikka 300 wsm barrel and I've got some questions for folks. First, a little background. This gun will be used extensively for backpack hunting in the west so the lighter and shorter, the better. It will also be sporting a TBAC Ultra 7 can and sit on top of a XLR chassis. On to the questions.

1) Is the weight savings and/or performance of a carbon barrel worth it over, say, just buying a light Palma contour SS barrel?

No performance benefits to a carbon barrel. You can get a steel contour that is just as light or lighter.

2) I'm undecided between an 18" or 20" barrel. Right now, I'm pushing 200 gr eld-x's at 2858 fps from a 21" barrel. Assuming a loss of 25 fps/inch, an 18" barrel would push the 200 gr eld-x at ~2775-ish fps, which is more than adequate for elk under 500 yards (my general limit on shot distance on animals). Any reason not to go 18"?

Little more noise the shorter you go. 18-20 should be nice.

3) What barrel twist rate would you all recommend. Most info I could find suggest a 1:10 barrel rates for pushing heavier bullets. Would this still hold true for a 18" or 20" barrel at 2800 fps?

10 is plenty for 200 eldx or 200.20x. 9 would be fine if that’s what you find.

4) Do folks have any recommendations on companies for buying pre-fit barrel's? I've read PVA and Proof are top tier for SS and carbon. Anyone have experience with unknownmunitions (Ace barrel's) or other recommendations?

Thanks in advance!

Lots of smiths can chamber up what you want. Some may want the action which isn’t that hard to ship. I’ve generally leaned towards sourcing a blank of my liking and having a smith chamber it for me but I wouldn’t shy away from a taperless .680” or .750” from PVA or PBB.

 

[ElPollo]

I'm in the market to upgrade my Tikka 300 wsm barrel and I've got some questions for folks. First, a little background. This gun will be used extensively for backpack hunting in the west so the lighter and shorter, the better. It will also be sporting a TBAC Ultra 7 can and sit on top of a XLR chassis. On to the questions.

1) Is the weight savings and/or performance of a carbon barrel worth it over, say, just buying a light Palma contour SS barrel?

2) I'm undecided between an 18" or 20" barrel. Right now, I'm pushing 200 gr eld-x's at 2858 fps from a 21" barrel. Assuming a loss of 25 fps/inch, an 18" barrel would push the 200 gr eld-x at ~2775-ish fps, which is more than adequate for elk under 500 yards (my general limit on shot distance on animals). Any reason not to go 18"?

3) What barrel twist rate would you all recommend. Most info I could find suggest a 1:10 barrel rates for pushing heavier bullets. Would this still hold true for a 18" or 20" barrel at 2800 fps?

4) Do folks have any recommendations on companies for buying pre-fit barrel's? I've read PVA and Proof are top tier for SS and carbon. Anyone have experience with unknownmunitions (Ace barrel's) or other recommendations?

Thanks in advance!

Assume you are doing this because of the factory twist and contour. If your factory barrel shoots the 200 gr ELDX well, my suggestion is don’t change it. Chop it to 18-20” and thread it. If you can’t get 5/8” threads, that’s fine. Use an adapter for your suppressor. Lots of people will say you need a new barrel for a better twist or a thicker contour for a shoulder for the threads. You don’t. I owned a 300 WSM Tikka and rebarreled it for those reasons. It was a waste of money.

Others have covered the carbon barrel question. I would stay away from those for harder recoiling cartridges. Some have reported accuracy issues with them with bigger cartridges. It may be internal separations between the carbon and the barrel. Can’t say for sure, but there’s no benefit to carbon barrel except some think they look cool.

 

[Idaho_archer4]

Thank you for all the replies! A couple quick responses to all the general comments and questions.

1. It sounds like SS would make the most sense based on all the responses.

2. I hadn't even considered a min barrel length for running my suppressor, so thank you all for bringing that up. It looks like the min barrel length for 300 WSM for a TBAC Ultra-7 .30 cal is 16". I'm still undecided between 18" or 20" but I'll likely go 18".

3. Based on responses and messing with the Berger twist rate calculator, 1:9 or 1:10 would both work.

4. Likely going to order a PVA barrel. Still undecided on what contour barrel to run though. I only threw out the Light Palma because that is essentially the same contour as a stock Tikka CTR, which I have and like. I'm all ears for other contour suggestions that strike a nice balance between being thick/stiff but also relatively lightweight.

Last, the reason I'm thinking about upgrading the barrel is two fold. First, I'm struggling to dial in on nodes shooting heavies. Best and I can group is ~1", and I'm pretty OCD with my reloading process and load development. I've tried development with a couple different bullets and powders and same results. I think it might be a combination of having too weak of a stock barrel resulting in really finnicky nodes, not being able to stabilize the heavies with the stock 1:11 twist, and/or the barrel is shot out (gun is 10 years old and I bought it used at a screaming deal). The second reason I'm considering upgrading is because I really dislike the look of Tikka barrels on chassis stocks. I know this is super petty and I would 100% live with the stock barrel if I could get it dialed in, but buying a new barrel could kill two birds with one stone if it would make it easier to build up a load.

Anyways, thanks again for all the responses!

 

[wind gypsy]

1" groups with how many shots?

I don't think the contour is your limiting factor for precision. If you want light with a can, light palma isn't really that. If you cant deal with aesthetics of thin steel barrels in a chassis, you're probably going to need to heavily flute steel, get carbon, or live with more weight. To me that is both a functional and financial compromise for aesthetics but that's what a lot of people want in a custom rifle.