what kind of barrel

1 ozzy

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northern B.C.
I have a remington model 700bdl in .300 win mag. It has seen its fair share of rounds. I use the rifle for hunting as well as target shooting. With that said i have always been interested in adding a slightly heavier fluted barrel and brake. My question is which barrel manufacturer is good ,better, best? Also are barrels manufactured to (standard) size contours or is every manufacturer different? Thanks
 
The choice of barrel maker depends much on the type of barrel you are after. I prefer cut rifled barrels, so my choice from a Canadian maker is Ron Smith, my .375 Smith barrel shoots like a varmint rifle. Ted Gaillard has a fine reputation as a barrel maker and one of the most accurate rifles I've ever owned was a 700 Remington with a Gaillard stainless button rifled barrel chambered for .222. From south of the line I'm partial to the barrels made by Krieger and Obermyer. If it was me, I'd get a carbon steel Krieger or Ron Smith barrel if you intend to stay with the .300, as a cut rifled barrel can be rifled slightly deeper than a button rifled barrel, so you might get a little extra life from it. Watch the length and contour carefully as you could end up with a rifle that is nearly impossible to shoot off hand, should that matter.
 
I have used barrels from a number of manufacturers, and cannot recollect getting a lousy one. Gaillard, Shilen, Hart, Krieger, Lilja, Obermeyer, Smith, Douglas, Lothar-Walther, McGowan, etc, etc. Some might be slightly better than others, but on a hunting rifle, I believe you would be hard pressed to find a barrel that will not satisfy. Your choice of gunsmith is a bigger factor. Regards, Eagleye.
 
For a .300 a brake makes sense, and a slightly thicker barrel profile too.
However, the fluting? Saves ounces. Make your barrel an inch shorter and you'll save the same weight and never have to worry about the possibility that the flutes aren't absolutely symmetrical and so the barrel might expand differentially as it heats.
Take the weight off the stock, or skip breakfast.

Altho' fluting does look cool.
 
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