300 PRC or 30 Nosler

OK, after calling around to a few barrel manufacturers, finding a chrome moly barrel, #5-ish contour in a 1:9 twist or faster will require it to be custom made with a 4-6 month lead time. CM is the limiting factor

Krieger has the above in stock, but it's a 1:10

Would I be leaving too many bullet choices and too much performance on the table if I bought the 1:10?

I could go stainless but then I'd give up the bluing. Since this would be a nicely finished wood stocked hunting rifle and FN Mauser action, I kinda had my heart set on having the metal blued.


Pick the bullet you plan on using, plug in the worst case scenario environmental variables into the Berger twist rate calculator and see what you get.
 
Just playing around with the Berger calculator anything up to the 230g OTM Hybrid (SG=1.37) is stable in a 1:10 at sea level

The heaviest Hornady ELD-X is 220g and Hornady lists the minimum twist as 1:10

The heaviest Nosler is the 210 ABLR and they show a 1:10 as minimum

What bullets heavier than these should I be considering?
 
McGowen is a 15 minute drive from my house so if you need me to help in any way I'd be more than happy. I've been to their facility a number of times and John who runs the shop is a good guy.

Nature Boy said:
What bullets heavier than these should I be considering?

Not heavier but longer perhaps if you like Barnes monolithic hunting bullets as I do. The .30 cal 212gr LRX is 1.8" long. Would you even consider the 245gr Berger EOL Elite Hunter?

https://www.barnesbullets.com/bullets/lrx/
 
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Just talked to them. It's full chambered and threaded for a 98. Head Space adjustments would be made by taking material off the action face. It's matte blued finish, which isn't what I wanted.

Thanks for helping me look Troy, but I think I'll stick to looking for a blank that is machined to the action, not the other way around.
 
Just talked to them. It's full chambered and threaded for a 98. Head Space adjustments would be made by taking material off the action face. It's matte blued finish, which isn't what I wanted.

Thanks for helping me look Troy, but I think I'll stick to looking for a blank that is machined to the action, not the other way around.
Ok no problem i seen it there and figured to tell you, McGowen has a pretty fast turnaround, maybe see how long it would take them. Or if you want a better barrel.
 
McGowen is a 15 minute drive from my house so if you need me to help in any way I'd be more than happy. I've been to their facility a number of times and John who runs the shop is a good guy.

Not heavier but longer perhaps if you like Barnes monolithic hunting bullets as I do. The .30 cal 212gr LRX is 1.8" long. Would you even consider the 245gr Berger EOL Elite Hunter?

https://www.barnesbullets.com/bullets/lrx/

That's a generous offer. Have you used any of their barrels? I've heard others speak highly of them. I know they hand lap them.

I've killed deer with Barnes mono's and have nothing against them. Regarding this long Barnes or the 245 Berger, would I feel like I've gimped this rifle if I can't shoot them? I'm not sure. I'll have to think on it.
 
Nature Boy said:
That's a generous offer. Have you used any of their barrels? I've heard others speak highly of them. I know they hand lap them.

Yes, I bought a 7mm-08 Rem 1:9 barrel from them about 10 years ago for a Savage Weather Warrior that came with a ludicrous 1:11.5 twist. It was a very nice barrel but heavier than I wanted so I sent it back to be ground to a lighter profile and they did an excellent job. The barrel was very high quality for a buttoned barrel with an excellent chamber and bore. They do hand lap them after buttoning. About three years ago I was there to see if they could make barrels for Kimber rifles. I noticed some interesting barrels on the counter with odd profiles and asked about them. They were heading to Christensen Arms to receive the carbon fiber wrapping. I don't know if McGowen is still making blanks for Christensen but they were a few years ago.

Nature Boy said:
I've killed deer with Barnes mono's and have nothing against them. Regarding this long Barnes or the 245 Berger, would I feel like I've gimped this rifle if I can't shoot them? I'm not sure. I'll have to think on it.

I like options and I particularly like the Barnes solid copper bullets for hunting so I would definitely want the option to shoot the 212gr LRX and would choose an appropriate twist rate to shoot that bullet in temperatures as low as -10°F.
 
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@Nature Boy, for this build I'd wait 4-6 months to get exactly what you want. Personally I'd want the faster twist rate unless I knew exactly what bullet I was going to use and assuming that it looks good using Berger's bullet stability calculator or similar. It's unlikely that you'll shoot the barrel out if it's a hunting rifle so you might as well do it right and do it once. Just my way of thinking.

I ran Berger's 245gr Elite Hunter through their stability app (assumed 2,650 fps) and it needs a 1:8.5 twist, particularly as the temperature drops. This is probably an extreme example but there it is.

https://bergerbullets.com/twist-rate-calculator/

^ This if I were building a rifle like that in a chambering like that I would want it to be twisted such that it could handle any of those long torpedos I might decide I want to try.

It sounds like you could get the barrel in stainless, is there any coating you might be able to opt for on top of the stainless that could give the asthetic you're going for?
 
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Flip a coin?

Life is too short to try and sleep at night always questioning one’s decisions. You need one of each and kill twice as many animals to see if they can tell the difference between the two. Plenty of pigs down here that need to be tested upon.
 
1 PRC for me , ty. :)

https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2019/11/19/tested-hornady-s-300-prc/
The next design element that sets the PRC apart is the cartridge’s throat diameter and geometry. One of the most critical factors in accuracy and bullet stability is whether the projectile is traveling straight when it enters the bore and engraves on the rifling. Most cartridges, the .300 Win. Mag. included, have throats sufficiently large to allow the bullet to yaw once it exits the case and before it reaches the rifling. One of the factors that made the 6.5 mm Creedmoor successful, and gave it its reputation for excellent accuracy across a broad spectrum of firearms, was the tight throat diameter that keeps bullets on a straight path. The .300 PRC builds upon this same principle. The .300 PRC’s minimum throat spec is 0.3088", meaning that a bullet has only 0.0004" of clearance on each side. For comparison, the throat on the .300 Win. Mag. can measure as large as 0.315" and still be within SAAMI specifications./QUOTE]

And https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2017/5/3/upping-the-ante-the-30-nosler/

20200519_204929.jpg 20200519_205258.jpg https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2017/5/3/upping-the-ante-the-30-nosler/
 

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That's a generous offer. Have you used any of their barrels? I've heard others speak highly of them. I know they hand lap them.

I've killed deer with Barnes mono's and have nothing against them. Regarding this long Barnes or the 245 Berger, would I feel like I've gimped this rifle if I can't shoot them? I'm not sure. I'll have to think on it.

Add the 230gr and 250gr Atips, Berger 230gr Hybrid and OTM tactical to the list. You might not care to shoot those either, I'm honestly still not clear on what this rifle is for, if you want to shoot lighter bullets faster, maybe a 300 WSM, RUM or 30 Nosler would be better?
 
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I'm honestly still not clear on what this rifle is for

It’s a big game hunting rifle

Wants
1. I want a nice wood stock
2. I want to build it around a new old stock FN Mauser target action I recently acquired that has a magnum bolt face
3. I want to base it off a 30 cal bullet, no belted magnums
4. I want it to have a blued finish

Needs
1. Not a factor. I don’t need a rifle like this. It’s complete excess

I’ve settled on 1:9 as a minimum twist for the barrel and a contour between #5 and light varmint.
 
i have a Savage 110 high country chambered in 6.5 PRC in jail for 10 day wait. My only concern is how long the bbl will last before it's shot out. I'll be using it for long range target (mostly) and hunting.
 
i have a Savage 110 high country chambered in 6.5 PRC in jail for 10 day wait. My only concern is how long the bbl will last before it's shot out. I'll be using it for long range target (mostly) and hunting.
Been hearing about 1200-1500 run not and fast, maybe up to 3000 if just for hunting. I'll have to try to count the round in mine, think it's at about 200.
 
It’s a big game hunting rifle

Wants
1. I want a nice wood stock
2. I want to build it around a new old stock FN Mauser target action I recently acquired that has a magnum bolt face
3. I want to base it off a 30 cal bullet, no belted magnums
4. I want it to have a blued finish

Needs
1. Not a factor. I don’t need a rifle like this. It’s complete excess

I’ve settled on 1:9 as a minimum twist for the barrel and a contour between #5 and light varmint.
Well I for one NEED to see this build happen......:thumbup:
 
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