Benefits of a heavy barrel?

[TCW]

Hi All,

Right now I'm considering a purchase of my first bolt rifle (.308). The two contendors are the Browning a-bolt (standard barrel) and the Savage 10FP (heavy barrel) w/ accu trigger.

My question: For a gun that will be for range work which would you get?

Are the heavy barrels more accurate, or are they just harder to heat up?

How many rounds before the standard barrel heats up thereby reducing accuracy?

Thanks!

 

[FNFiveSeven]

hmm

Well, I have a couple of HS Precision rifles chambered in .308, a takedown with a standard profile barrel, and a tactical with heavy (REALLY heavy!) barrel. How long you can shoot each one before they get excessively hot (hot enough to degrade accuracy, which is probably about the time when you can't hold onto the barrel) depends on the weather, but on average, the thinner barrel gets too hot after about 15 rounds (non stop), but the heavy one never seems to get hot... it just keeps on truckin'! Oh yeah, both barrels are fluted, so that probably makes a difference too... anyway, take that for what it's worth.

 

[cratz2]

Well, a stiffer barrel should prove more accurate and a short action should prove more accurate but many long action sporter weight rifles can be plenty accurate in the right hands. A benchrest shooting of mine worked up a load for my Ruger 77 in 25-06 and shot several .6" and .7" groups with it and it's well used and many years old.

Most rifles need a few tweaks here and there. The same friend floated the barrel and it had a $35 trigger job but it has not been glass bedded.

If I were only to have one centerfire rifle, it would be a carry weight rifle even if I had no plans on hunting with it.

 

[Art Eatman]

Lotsa factors enter in. If you're gonna do a lot of shooting rather rapidly, the heavy barrel would probably help your ego. If you're working on load development and testing, and shoot a group and then let the rifle sit and cool down, it doesn't matter that much. I have several sporters that pretty much always give three-shot, 1/2 MOA groups, and they'll generally shoot five into 3/4 MOA.

I like to punch paper, but I don't go bangitty-bang-bang a lot if I'm serious about group-size. Again, I'm more likely to be testing a load, sighting-in a rifle, or checking group sizes after tweaking with the bedding.

My opinions are affected by my orientation toward hunting as my primary use...

, Art

 

[TheLastBoyScout]

The reason they're so common is that they require less time/work to make. Coincidentally, they do take longer to heat up, and that gives you more shot with the same zero.