Barrel cut and crown Pros and Cons

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mikelaf

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:) Greetings all, I'm new to forum and like the great advice and comments.

I just purchased my first bolt action always had Pump action, my new baby is a 2 yr. old Ruger M77 MKII 300wsm with B&L 3x9 scope.
I'm considering bedding the stock, once the stock is bedded will I be able to remove or service trigger without having ti remove barrel to the stock and damaging the bedding.
This rifle measures 46"length and the barrel is 26" long, the new 2005 model of this rifle measure 42"length with a barrel of 22", I'm also considering cutting and crowning the barrel to 22",what are the Pros & Cons in shortning this barrel.

Thanks :D
Mike
 
You will probably lose 100-120 FPS muzzle velocity. (i get a 300FPS bullet drop with tihs caliber in a 16.5 inch barrel.

Shouldn't be a big deal for hunting out to 200-250 yards -of course it depends on what you want to use it for.

Is the stock foreend length the same on the 2005 models and yours? It may look chopped up if you have a longer foreend. even then won't affect functioning.

AFAIK you can't remove/work on the trigger without removing the action, but I also thought that with a good bedding job the bedding shouldn't be affected by removing the barrel.

Are Mark II triggers adjustable? you may wan't to consider getting a Timney or similar aftermarket trigger. the difference was like night & day on mine - I now have a crisp 2 3/4# pull.

in my view, the short magnums with the short actions are meant to go on a shorter, lighter rife. So shorteninging it sounds like a great idea.

try www.shortmags.org they may have discussions on this

hope this helps
 
I will be using this rifle for moose below 200yrds.

The serial # on my rifle show approx. made in 2004. when I measure from the tip of the barrel to edge of Chamber it is 25" (so I assume it would be 26" barrel) total length of rifle is 46".

The specs on the Ruger web site is 22" barrel 42" total length. not sure length of stock foreend (should be the same)how can I find out length.

The reason I'm thinking of this modification is the weight of my rifle is 10lbs with scope, cutting the barrel should reduce weight and ease of manuvability while hunting.

Will cutting barell reduce the value of my rifle or give negative impression if I need to sell in future?(Harder to sell)

The Trigger sounds like a great idea, where can I get one in Ontario? approx. cost?
does the trigger imporve the accuracy? my old trigger can it be sold?

Thanks for response

Mike
 
In my view cutting the barrel if it's done well shouldn't affect the marketability - you would be selling a hunting tool and as you point out it is much more maneouverable and lighter, hangs up on stuff less ,and in my view should be all you'll ever need for moose deer or bear. (That's why I switched from a 300 Winmag with 26" barrel to a Ruger Frontier with 16.5" barrel). It may appeal less to a casual shooter but someone who knows his hunting guns would snap it up.

A good quality aftermarket trigger will not improve the intrinsic accuracy of the rifle - the action, barrel, and bedding quality are the main things that influence this- but it will make the shooter a lot more accurate as you do not have to squueze as much or as long with reduces the variation in muzzle position caused by the shooter.

For Timney triggers (or other aftermarket trigger) any good gunsmith should be able to bring it in. They do need a bit of fitting to match to the safety lever- made oversize. I ordered mine from Brownells. www.brownells.com You will need to get an import permit (free in Canada) but its really quite straightforward.

cost is around $105 US plus shipping etc fees- figure around $180 canadian after all fees, exchange etc - a 4 to 6 week process in total. your Ruger trigger may have some value but frankly not a great deal - there are a lot of them out there. I would keep it as a spare part or on the off chance someone may want to buy the gun with the original trigger.

as an alternative a good gunsmith may be able to rework the Ruger trigger to give you a good pull. I can't really tell you who is good with these but perhaps other members could tell you who can in your area- I can't tell where you live form your info.
 
Mike - if you decide on a trigger, we can give you a quote. We normally don't stock triggers for the Ruger but can easily include one in on our weekly orders.

Regards,

Joe
 
Thanks JohnC

I've update my location I live in North Bay, there a gunsmith in Warren and also Epps in Orillia, not sure of any closer ones.

The Trigger sound like a great idea, but I think I will wait for this year.
I will do the bedding, and I think I will get the barrel reduce to 22".

There isn't much long range shooting in Nothern Ontario.
In my opinion I believe this 300wsm with 22" Barrel can handle longest distance I will ever put this rifle through, even when I will go hunting Caribou in Nothern Quebec someday.

Chow Mike
 
Just recieved email from the store purchsed my Rifle, looks like the previous owner installed a custom Douglas premium grade barrel on it..
The other customer that originally owned the gun wanted to improve on the accuracy and wanted to gain velocity and therefore installed the new barrel..

Have you ever heard of these Barrels?

No wonder the barrel appears thick and the Gun is heavy.
 
Douglas has been making barrels for a long time. Very experienced. From what I hear, the reviews are much more mixed then from other barrel makers.

If she shoots you got a fine one!!
 
"...Have you ever heard of these Barrels?..." Yep. When they say 'premium' they aren't kidding. It's a very high end barrel. Do not cut it. The barrel alone is worth about $300US.
Before you do anything, shoot the rifle with good ammo.
Your re-sale value is now considerably higher than a stock factory rifle.
 
Epps i'm told does excellent work.

BTW if you have a Douglas barrel it is worth quite a bit. no wonder the gun is heavy. If you still want a hunting rifle I would consider going to a new barrel and sell the existing one. ( or see if you can sell the gun at a profit & get a replacement). I would also try to find out if the owner had some work done on the trigger or put in an aftermarket one. ususllly that's what people do when setting up a rifle for accuracy.

your decision just got a bit more complicated.
 
The only way the short magnum family 'outperforms' the rest of similar cartidges is with a longer barrel. Cut it down, and any velocity gain is lost - I always felt a 26" tube on a hunting rifle was too clumsy by at least 4".... :)
 
FWIW, I buy expensive premium Pac-Nor, Douglas and Montana Rifleman barrels so that I can get a 26" tube when most makers now only sell 22" to 24" as a cost savings measure. 26" is better unless you really need the shorter swing radius.

Maybe hunt with it for a season before chopping - you may find the gun not all that unweildy in the field, in which cse you can retain the length. A 26" gun with custom bbl will generally have higher resale than a 22" gun that any bozo can get stock from the factory.
 
Big LOUD brain piercing, flinch inducing noise is the biggest drawback to a 22 in. barrel on a gun like yours. That gun deserves a 26 in barrel if it wants you to shoot well with it!
 
Shortening the barrel by 4" isn't going to remove all that much weight; the rifle might be shorter, but it isn't going to become a lightweight. Its still going to be close to 10 pounds. Whether or not a hunting rifle in this weight range is what you want is a personal decision. Barrel length doesn't determine accuracy, but can affect shootability.
 
Hi All,

Thanks for the great feedback,

I've decided to leave bbl as is for this seasons hunt, and try it out, I think it would be shame to cut this bbl. So far I'm really happy with the rifle, shoot great! I abviously pickup a quality product with this upgrade bbl it is definitely a big plus. I guess it turns out I got a good deal.

I received another email this morning from the store I purchased the Rifle from and no trigger work has been performed. if I keep this rifle I will probably get the tigger upgrade to better system.

Mike
 
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