heavy barrel vs light barrel

bennunn

Member
think off my 243 and what should i go for heavy barrel are light barrel most off my shooting will be off top off truck for old mr fox or laying on the ground waiting for mr fox
but all so will be doing a bit stalking (culling red deer) mainly out off high seats what would you guys and galls surgest ???
 
Well speaking as a highly inexperienced person my take on it is like this. You will be able to take about 3 shots with a light barrel and then it will need to cool down. I believe you can take about 10 with a heavy barrel rifle. There is probably more to it than that but that is the basics as I know it. If you want to punch paper then maybe go for a heavy barrel. If you want to shoot things then a light barrel would be my preference because the one time you do have to walk you will appreciate having a lighter barrel to lug about. But that is only my limited opinion.
 
Heavy barrels are heavy to carry, stating the obvious, and if you are doing lots of stalking/walking then the extra weight is a PITA. If you're not going to carry the gun far, then the extra weight can help to steady the shot, and the extra weight in the gun also helps to reduce felt recoil.

It all comes down to personal preference, and what works for you. I don't think the extra weight makes that much difference, but some people swear by the heavy barrel.
 
I agree with matt. My preferences are medium weight around 9lbs gun/scope and heavy 11-12lbs. anything 8lbs or under just doesn't feel right. It's all personel preference. capt david
 
i prefer a heavey barrel especially if your going to be using it off the top of a truck i always liked the heavy barrel for the extra stability
 
I shot a Sako Finnlight 30-06 for Hill and woodland, but the gun i use most is a Sako 75 varmint heavy barrel in 22-250. The pros and cons to be honest are the 22-250 is heavy but very accurate and the 30-06 is light but very accurate, I would therefore suggest buy a decent quality rifle and you will not be dissapointed in its ability.

My latest rifle is a re-barreled Sako 591 in 260 cal fitted with a Laminate thumbhole stock and its about right in the middle of the other two in terms of weight so maybe it will become the rifle of choice ??

Dalkur
 
If you are a poor shot then go for a heavy barrel, if you are a good shot then go for a light barrel.
 
Well I'm all for a light Barrel, don't fancy lugg'n a heavyweight.

But as you said bennunn, it all depends on what type of shooting your do'n.

Then again you might be a Bruiser, in which case you won't mind carry'n the exta weight around!!! :)

Atb, Buck.
 
think how many times you going to fire more than 2 shot quickly one after another , not often , and if your on top of a traveling truck you cool down pretty quick
 
If you are a poor shot then you need to take more than one shot per beast hence the need for a heavy barrel.
If you are a good shot then only one shot per beast and so a light barrel is all you need as the barrel will not warm up.
Stalkers tend to shoot one beast at a time.
 
If you are a poor shot then you need to take more than one shot per beast hence the need for a heavy barrel.
If you are a good shot then only one shot per beast and so a light barrel is all you need as the barrel will not warm up.
Stalkers tend to shoot one beast at a time.


Is this a wind up???
 
If you are a poor shot then you need to take more than one shot per beast hence the need for a heavy barrel.
If you are a good shot then only one shot per beast and so a light barrel is all you need as the barrel will not warm up.
Stalkers tend to shoot one beast at a time.
If someone goes stalking with this in mind, perhaps another pastime may be more appropriate!
 
Ive had/got both heavy and light barrels.. Its horses for courses.. When load developing on a range, a light barrel is a pain although it must be noted that a heavy barrel takes longer to cool..

Out stalking, well with a heavy barrel, you warm up faster after lugging it around! I personally dont feel a heavy barrel is needed for stalking. Even in cull situations, shooting 3-4 deer in the space of 2 minutes and maybe 20 shots in the space of an hour, i find that a good quality barrel doesnt wander all over.

On my predator i went for a medium barrel, half way between a remington varmint profile and a standard tikka sporter. Its not too bad to carry round and allows 5 shot groups to be fired without the worry that the group will open up at some point between shot 1 and shot 5.

In fairness, the difference between shooting cold bore to shooting it hot with 5 round groups is less than 0.5MOA so not a worry for stalking.

Ive walked for miles up hill and down dale with a varmint profile barrel and i wouldnt do it again.. unless your shooting dozens of shots one after the other, go for something which is pleasant to carry!
 
Hmmm well as .243" is actually a small bore anything but an ultra light barrel will have a pretty hefty wall thickness anyway. I believe that normal muzzle diameter on a 22" length barrel is about 0.560" (14.2mm) which leaves 0.158" (4.0mm) per side wall thickness.

The heavy "Varmint" barrel profiles originally came about for use on Prairie Dog towns where lots of shots were fired in a session and often in high temps too. It's possible as I understand it to shoot the throat out of a barrel unless one allows it to cool. Some towns cover miles and hold millions of dogs. A friend in the US spends week re-loading for such visits and takes 3 or 4 rifles so he can rotate them and allow cooling time. this is a pest control excercise and not "sport". The use of poison endangers other non target species hence the shooting.

For most UK shooting a normal weight barrel in .24 cal is plenty heavy enough ....................... Hmmm thought I havd a photo of the crown and muzzle of a H/V 6mm Remington chambered rifle but seem to have deleted it :oops: anyway this is that 6mm Rem H/B rifle:-

6mmRemP-H1200VLHS.jpg


It weighs with scope about 12lbs :rolleyes: barrel length is 24" on this one as std. It's use is restricted to the target range ;).
 
This is a bit of a vague debate because there are heavy barrels and there are HEAVY barrels!

If you look at the difference in weight between a 20'' Sako Hunter in standard profile and the same rifle in heavy barrel option, the difference in weight is 0.5kg (17oz). Does anyone on here really think that carrying 17oz more will make for a more physically demanding days stalking?

Personally, I would go for the heavy barrel option every time and put up with the extra weight, especially when affixing a moderator. More metal work left around the bore when threaded, helps to dampen muzzle flip/recoil even further and I am guessing that with the weight of a mod on the end, given the heavier profile surely it will effect the change in POI even less from when the mod is removed?

Happy to be corrected on the last point...
 
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