Sporter Barrel Contours

[RMajors]

I'm looking at buying a barrel blank to build a .257 Weatherby on a Remington 700 action. I don't typically hunt out west, so weight is not my primary concern, but I'm not wanting a boat anchor either. I'm tentatively leaning towards a #4 contour, but I'm not married to the idea. I know I'm going to need a 26" barrel, so that figures in to the weight part as well. I'd love to hear from any of you guys who have built or owned factory rifles in .257 Weatherby.

 

[Ryan Avery]

after building lots of custom rifles I pretty much always go with a #4 fluted for my steel barrel builds. IMO is a good trade-off for weight vs stiffness.

 

[RMajors]

after building lots of custom rifles I pretty much always go with a #4 fluted for my steel barrel builds. IMO is a good trade-off for weight vs stiffness.

Thanks for the info man. Just looking at weights, this is the one I kind of thought would be a good balance.

 

[Ndbowhunter]

What’s the difference between a #4 and a medium Palma?

 

[Ryan Avery]

What’s the difference between a #4 and a medium Palma?

It's about a pound. The #4 has a .750 muzzle the MP has about a .820 muzzle diameter if I remember correctly.

 

[Ndbowhunter]

 

[Ndbowhunter]

Ur right, I was thinking of light.

 

[section8mainiac]

I have a Weatherby Accumark in 257 wby mag. 26” barrel. With a 3-15x50 zeiss it is just under 10 lbs. Recoil is very manageable.
Nosler 110 grain Accubonds travel 3530 FPS with 73.5 grains of RL-25 COL 3.10

My 10 year old son shot this baldy with it this fall.

Thanks, Matt

 

[SDHNTR]

#4 fluted is a great choice. Or if going Bartlein a #3. If you end up concerned about weight, you could get away with a 2b. But I’d not go any lighter.

 

[762 ULTRAMAGA]

I'm looking at buying a barrel blank to build a .257 Weatherby on a Remington 700 action. I don't typically hunt out west, so weight is not my primary concern, but I'm not wanting a boat anchor either. I'm tentatively leaning towards a #4 contour, but I'm not married to the idea. I know I'm going to need a 26" barrel, so that figures in to the weight part as well. I'd love to hear from any of you guys who have built or owned factory rifles in .257 Weatherby.

What barrel maker are you looking at?
A #4 is very different depending on the brand, I saw a reference of .750 muzzle diameter.
Most #4's are in the high .6's at the muzzle, I like at least .720 for anything that has 5/8x24 threads (which all of my rifles do).
Usually that'll put you in the #5 realm, which will be around 4 lbs at 26"

 

[HuntnPack]

Something in a Bartlein contour,
Steel : #3 or #3b
Carbon #4

 

[RMajors]

Yes I should have mentioned what brands I am looking at. Krieger's numbers are what I was going off of, but Bartlein and Shilen were other considerations. It sounds like I may need to do a lot more research.

 

[RMajors]

What barrel maker are you looking at?
A #4 is very different depending on the brand, I saw a reference of .750 muzzle diameter.
Most #4's are in the high .6's at the muzzle, I like at least .720 for anything that has 5/8x24 threads (which all of my rifles do).
Usually that'll put you in the #5 realm, which will be around 4 lbs at 26"

You make a good point about the threading, I currently don't have muzzle devices on any of my rifles, but I might want to at some point. Maybe a Krieger #5 or #5 plus with fluting will get me a reasonably stiff, reasonably light barrel.

 

[RMajors]

It's about a pound. The #4 has a .750 muzzle the MP has about a .820 muzzle diameter if I remember correctly.

So Ryan, it sounds like you were talking about a Bartlein #4 contour in your earlier reply?

 

[RMajors]

Something in a Bartlein contour,
Steel : #3 or #3b
Carbon #4

I'm probably going to stick with steel since I primarily hunt whitetails here in Texas and don't necessarily need an ultralight rifle. But I think you're right about the sizes, something around .700 at the muzzle with flutes shouldn't be too terribly heavy.

 

[Hill Difficulty]

I'm looking at buying a barrel blank to build a .257 Weatherby on a Remington 700 action. I don't typically hunt out west, so weight is not my primary concern, but I'm not wanting a boat anchor either. I'm tentatively leaning towards a #4 contour, but I'm not married to the idea. I know I'm going to need a 26" barrel, so that figures in to the weight part as well. I'd love to hear from any of you guys who have built or owned factory rifles in .257 Weatherby.

I have a 240W on a 700 action with a 24" Douglas #2. It's a 6 pound rig. Gonna rebarrel it soon so may jump to #3.


For a carry rifle, a 257W + a #3 with a straighter taper is plenty. Blaser, for example, does it right. [Though you can limit the shank to 1.8".] I also think Remington's sporter would make a nice weight and shape for a 257W. FWIW, I have a 7RM w/a #4 PacNor w/flutes and just can't imagine needing all that beef for a 257W. Hope this helps!

 

[Ryan Avery]

So Ryan, it sounds like you were talking about a Bartlein #4 contour in your earlier reply?

Yes, but you will find everyone's #4 is a bit different.

We just started making muzzle breaks so I have been looking at lots of barrels. But, I have only used two brands Bartlein and Hart. Harts #4 are smaller at the muzzle.

 

[Ryan Avery]

Oh, and I have used a few Mcgowen #4 too.

 

[Oregonmuley]

If going with a 26" barrel I guess one thing that I would want to know is what stock are you going with?? If going with a 26" #4 and a lighter weight stock you might find that the balance of your rifle will serious suck.

If you go with a Bartlein, which I would suggest I wouldn't go more than their #3 which is similar to most other #4 contours. But that still might not be idea balance wise??

 

[BBob]

Yes I should have mentioned what brands I am looking at. Krieger's numbers are what I was going off of, but Bartlein and Shilen were other considerations. It sounds like I may need to do a lot more research.

Keep in mind the countour number is not standardized between all of them. A Barlein 3b is a Shilen 5 and a Kreiger 5 is close to a Shilen 5 but not exactly the same and so on.