View Full Version : barrel on custom rifle 20" or 22" .338 federal
I am having a winchester model 70 stainless classic rebarreled to .338 federal as i am typing this. I cant decide if i want the barrel cut to 20" or 22" I want it to be a quick rifle so i would like it as short as possible....but I want as much velocity as i can squeeze out of the .338 fed chambering. A 20" barrel sounds good to me but 22 inches may not make much difference. Just seeking other opinions. I am using an hs prescision stock that I inletted for a 1 piece bottom metal and it actually weighs a good bit so i want to shave as much weight as i can. Thanks
Just a guess, but I would think with the big bore expansion ratio offered by this cartridge, the 20" would be a reasonable barrel length. I don't think you'll give up that much velocity with a .338 compared to a 6mm or 6.5 cartridge.
I'd probably go with the 22" and get it fluted.
I dont plan on this being a distance gun...mainly a black bear mountain rifle. I may end up with a possible long shot at say 350 yards at times.
I have toyed with the idea of fluting but im really not a big fan of it.
Do what you like, but if you look at the test data that mimics 7mm Rem Mag ballistics, you will see that the test barrel was 24" or longer -- as I recall.
You'll still have a nice rifle, but I don't think the ballistics will be on the favorable side of comparing to a 7mm RemMag if you go 4" less, or more, on shortening the barrel.
If that's fine, then I'd go 18" or so, since the powder capacity is similar to a 308Win and 18" is a good length for that cartridge.
There may be a larger muzzle flash with a 20" barrel- if you get the 24" or 22" you can always cut it later and get it recrowned.
I think i am going to keep it at 22" and chrono it....then ill see where it stands and go from there. Thanks for everyones input
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