barrel on custom rifle 20" or 22" .338 federal

[razors]

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

[jmart]

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.

[SHIVAN]

I'd probably go with the 22" and get it fluted.

[razors]

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.

[SHIVAN]

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.

[Dave L.]

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.

[razors]

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