Nightcrawler
Member
On Easter, I got to shoot a custom .300 Win Mag bolt rifle. It had a muzzle brake that really took a bite out of the kick, considering the rifle weighed about six pounds loaded. The recoil was modest; the concussion from the muzzle brake was not.
Anyway, it got me thinking. That rifle was really accurate, but had a thin barrel. But really, for simple target shooting, ringing steel gongs out to 400, 600, 800 meters even, do you NEED a heavy "sniper" barrel? Or does it really screw things up as your barrel heats up if you have a thin "sporter" barrel?
I'm not talking about competition long range shooting, where group sizes matter. I'm thinking more along the lines of seeing out to how far I can ding Correia's steel silhouette target. (I can put a whole 20 round mag into it, from the kneeling, with my 16" FAL/Aimpoint 2MOA, at two hundred yards. )
Anyway, it got me thinking. That rifle was really accurate, but had a thin barrel. But really, for simple target shooting, ringing steel gongs out to 400, 600, 800 meters even, do you NEED a heavy "sniper" barrel? Or does it really screw things up as your barrel heats up if you have a thin "sporter" barrel?
I'm not talking about competition long range shooting, where group sizes matter. I'm thinking more along the lines of seeing out to how far I can ding Correia's steel silhouette target. (I can put a whole 20 round mag into it, from the kneeling, with my 16" FAL/Aimpoint 2MOA, at two hundred yards. )