Looking for advice - .338 Lapua build

Johnny5

Johnny5

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Looking for advice concerning barrels for a .338 Lapua build. The barrel's going to be hanging off a PGW action.

-What profile should I get?
-Any particular barrelmaker I should be looking at?
-What is the optimum length for Accuracy vs. velocity?
-What is the best twist for launching 300 grain Matchkings?

Any advice or experience would be great. Not sure if anyone from PGW still frequennts the board but advice from them would be fantastic. THanks in advance.

-John
 
Profile is entirely up to you and the weight you want this rig to have. Heavier contours will heat up slower so will tend to shoot more accurately over more shots.

26" is a good min. Max is entirely up to you. Some have barrels over 30" to squeak out all the velocity they can. I think 30 to 32" is a nice max. Then you need to add a brake. So look at your rifle case to see what will fit.

In Canada, Gaillard, Smith, McClennan all make very good match quality barrels equal to anyone anywhere.

10 twist is all you will need. Some are going faster but not necessary unless you will be shooting heavier slugs.

If you look upload data for the Lapua and 338RUM, you will see the barrels used in testing vs velocity.

Jerry
 
You might consider how you will be using the rifle. Range, hunting, muzzle brake or not... stock and overall balance...

If you are using primarily for the range and long distance...you want stiff (large diameter) and good length 28+" 30" is a nice compromise.

1-10T works well

For portability... a smaller diameter and perhaps a bit shorter but no shorter then 26".

I would recommend discussing with your smith or PGW.

Quality barrels are coming from all the major players... Hart, Lilja, Krieger, etc. From my experience, you can get some real value from the USA. If you like send me a PM and we can discuss in more detail.

Getting finished barrels over 28" is easier across the border from my experience.
 
Like the guys above have said, you need to determine what it's for. A hunting rifle needs to be portable while a long range target rifle needs to be less so.

If hunting is your main interest, I would say 22"-24" medium contour barrel. Conversly, if a long range shooter, you will want to maximize the velocity of that cartridge so 30" untapered barrel is not unreasonable. I think a 1:10 twist will probably stabilize any .338 bullet you wish to push down the pipe. I believe that cut rifling is superior to button rifling and that Krieger barrels are a step ahead of the pack, but there will be other opinions.

Your stock should be adjustable for length of pull to compensate between warm and cold weather shooting, and it should have an adjustable cheek piece to compensate for different optics. An adjustable cheek piece with internal adjustments I think gives a better cheek weld that the saddle type of adjustment. You might consider a rail for a bipod and hand stop.

It's your money, and you need to end up with a product that reflects what you want. This means good communication between you and the builder. The fact that you chose PGA as the builder could mean that you already have an idea of what you want your rifle to look like, so options in stock design, barrel contour and length will be minimal to keep within your concept.
 
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I agree on the Walthar barrels. They are the basis for the Blackstar barrels. Per JD Jones, they switched to a standard 416R steel and no longer are that difficult to machine a chamber.

BP-Tec offers a worthwhile muzzle brake. They are located here: http://www.bp-tec.com/ David Gentry offers a good brake at less cost, but with slightly more noise.
 
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