Should I cut my barrel ???

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huntersmith

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I have a 6.5 55 remington 700 classic with a 26" shelin heavy barrel, I love this gun it shoots great, but I find it very heavy and unbalanced. What would you say if I cut it at 22" or 24" ? Does this make that much difference ? Thanks
 
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Thats a good question. What is your primary use for the rifle? If it is range use then no leave it but if you hunt with it perhaps it would help the balance. Would you need to need more than 2-4" off to balance the rifle? What contour is the barrel?

You may also be giving up some ballistic performance that makes the 6.5x55 so good. If that matters to you.

I do have the same question with some of my heavy rifles but I am mostly prone and always range use so I don't think I will go down that path.

PS I am jealous you have a sweet shooting 6.5x55... I am mostly 6.5x47L but I would love to get a 6.5x55 someday ever since I sold my old Swed M96, I have wanted another 6.5x55.
 
Funny this should come up - I have a .260 with a 27" Krieger #18 light varmint and have been thinking about having it cut down to 24" and possibly re-contoured to something like a #7 or #19 to more easily "take afield". My vleocities seem to be a bit lacluster compered to what some guys are getting and I know that cutting 3" off of what I have now will only reduce this but I think I'm okay with what may equate to a 120-150 fps loss if it means I'll be able to carry it. Trouble I'm having is that unless I can get it re-contoured (not sure who to go to for that), there's really no sense in getting it shortened because 3" less does not amount to a whole pile of weight reduction on this barrel.

Rooster
 
remember that barrel heavy guns tend to be easier to keep steady in the aim. Guns lighter in the back end may be faster to operate, but I personally like having a tip heavy gun
 
358 rooster, A 260 has a much smaller case capacity than a 6.5x55. Cutting 2" off of a 26" barrel may actually improve your velocities. The last 2" may actually be causeing drag and slowing you down.
Not fact just a hunch.
 
A medium heavy barrel weights about 1 oz per inch. Not much of a weight savings to bob it. however, it will be handier and better balanced.

You will lose about 30 fps per inch cut off. Not a big deal.

If cutting it back means getting more use out of it, go for it.

It will not affect your range accuracy, unless you are shooting beyond 600 yards, where the extra velocity is useful.
 
358Rooster said:
Funny this should come up - I have a .260 with a 27" Krieger #18 light varmint and have been thinking about having it cut down to 24" and possibly re-contoured to something like a #7 or #19 to more easily "take afield". My vleocities seem to be a bit lacluster compered to what some guys are getting and I know that cutting 3" off of what I have now will only reduce this but I think I'm okay with what may equate to a 120-150 fps loss if it means I'll be able to carry it. Trouble I'm having is that unless I can get it re-contoured (not sure who to go to for that), there's really no sense in getting it shortened because 3" less does not amount to a whole pile of weight reduction on this barrel.

Rooster
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I'll lend you one of my slings to make it easier to carry. Looking for materials to make more of them. If you like it, could make you one of your own.
I like the long barrels on our AICS. Weight was never a concern when I had mine assembled.
Maybe look at a lightweight "field rifle" for long walks? 6.5x284?
 
All my 6.5's including my 6.5x55's have 24" barrels and I have zero problems reaching out as far as I am comfortable shooting. Unless you are using a slow powder that needs the barrel length to get pressure/velocity up 24" is plenty. In my modern action 6.5x55 with a 130gr bullet I can easily obtain 2850fps. 140's are around 2780.
 
huntersmith said:
I have a 6.5 55 remington 700 classic with a 26" shelin heavy barrel, I love this gun it shoots great, but I find it very heavy and unbalanced. What would you say if I cut it at 22" or 24" ? Does this make that much difference ? Thanks
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Sounds to me like you really like the accuracy and not so much the heavy gun, perhaps you can sell that barrel and replace it with a custom sporter or magnum contour barrel to lower the weight and OAL.

You could also get a smith to cut and profile it to another contour .
 
2 inches off won't make much difference in weight or velocity... 2 inches off and having the barrel turned lighter will make a difference in weight and balance but not much loss in velocity...
 
"...a 26" shelin heavy barrel..." A Shilen match grade barrel on a hunting rifle? Take it off, sell it and buy a hunting barrel. Like Ganderite says, you won't lose much weight, but you will lose velocity. 30 fps/inch is light though.
If you do opt to cut it, don't do it yourself. Have a smithy who knows what he's doing cut it. Still better to sell it though.
 
I personally like a 22 inch barrel on my long action hunting rifles. You will loose some velocity if you take it down, but only you can decide if the loss would be significant.
I personally think the 6.5 Would do well with that length.
Ivor
 
Its a match grade barrel yes, and its on my hunting rifle. Is that wrong ? I love the gun and the reason for the barrel in the first place is because I shot the factor one out. Its just not well balance
 
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Personally, I'd cut it down to 22 inches or so. Unless your doing lots of really long range work with it, the velocity loss will be almost meaningless from a practical standpoint.
 
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