# are some of these super heavy barreled guns worth there weight



## poe (Feb 10, 2010)

I was looking at different pred rifles the other day and I picked up a savage in 22-250 with the super heavy I think it was one inch barrel. I started off thinking how much I would like to have one but then I got thinking about it and I think I have changed my mind. It would be great for shooting gophers but its not a coyote gun. nobody wants to pack something that heavy to a stand and yes that gun may be crazy accurat but sometimes I wonder if people try to hard to get the most accurate gun they can. Yes this is a good idea don't get me wronge but how many people can shoot accurate enough in a hunting situation that they will be able to tell the difference between a gun that shoots .25 inch groups and a gun that shoots half inch groups. I know that my edge is accurate enough that if I miss a coyote at 300 yards having a 2500 dollar rig in my hands wouldn't have changed that shot. I think that some people are starting to worry to much about there gear and not enough about there hunting skills.

Now that I have said all that yeah those fancy guns and calls and camo and everything else helps make you a better hunter but are we starting to rely to much on are gear. for example that old boy with the 30-30 lever or a .303 brit that goes deer hunting every year in his work clothes and shoots a real nice buck just like he does every year with one bullet from the same box of shells that he has had for ten years. Then there is the guy with 5000 dollars worth of gear that did all his own loading and sighting in his gun and misses 3 deer. I think some people worry to much about there gear and not enough about practise and hunting.

Sorry I kind of got off topic but I thought this just may stir the pot a little haha.


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## hassell (Feb 9, 2010)

Yes right on poe, my 250 Ruger with the bull barrel and now the bi-pod is around 14#'s, don't really have to carry it to far for stands around here and is a regular priced rifle. As for the 30-30 and Brit's comment I totally agree and have mentioned that in previous posts, years ago if you asked an old timer how he cleaned his rifle he'd say - shoot a bullet through it.


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## singlesix (May 13, 2010)

I have freinds that come with me to hunt coyotes and they have guns weighing 14 pounds. They have the bull barrels the H&S stocks bipods cartridge case holder on the stock, and many more. Well when they go walking with me i hear them say later, man your gun is light. I think people want the best they can possibly get but forget about the weight issue until they go hunting. I know a guy at work that wanted to take his muzzle loader on his first elk hunt because his 308 bull barrel remmy was too heavy.

When i go hunting with some people they will have a 1500 dollar gun set up, but they cant remember not to slam the truck door when we get to a stand Or well be at a stand and im doing the calling just to look over and they are looking at the ground. Or they dont put on their mask and think its ok lol ok ill stop now this is why i hunt alone most of the time


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## JTKillough (May 4, 2010)

I totally agree with your thought on gear versus skill. Sure, I have a lot of gear, ask my freinds, probably too much, but I can also shoot fairly well and that makes coyotes tremble. I aint braggin here, as I stated "fairly well" as opposed to "dead-eye". Fact is, I don't carry all that gear, but it's handy if needed. Back on subject of the heavy gun. I have a partner that hunts coyote and other vermin with a heavy barrel 22-250 "exclusively", and he is rather good with it. It's like the old adege "beware the man with only one gun". He routinely takes care of business, although most would be hampered by the weight, it's no bother to him. He shoots as good or "probably better" than most. I myself have a heavy weight 204 that is extremely accurate, but I would rather have a lite weight gun in a walking coyote rifle. To each his own. I have used the heavy for coyote-ing, and it worked out just fine. I would like to mention a new form of yote-ing that I am starting to see more and more of. Spot and stalk! Folks out there, spotting coyotes at great distances and stalking into a comfortable range and making a shot. These ranges can get extreme, well past 500 yards and up to 800 or more. The guys I've talked with use "heavy" 243 or 308 single shot rifles, running too long VLD bullets, hense the single shot. Quite a set-up, but accuracy is the name of the game. Will the heavy barrel make you a better shooter? NO! You'll have to practice with it. But heavy barrels are more accurate, and are heavy, if the weight is not a bother on an all day hike, then by all means......


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## Helmet_S (Mar 18, 2010)

Personally I am a big boy so I don't mind carrying a heavy weight gun. A heavier than normal barrel is just about all I buy. It isn't becuase I want to compensate for being a bad shot. I beleive that I am just as good as the next guy and maybe slightly better with my own firearms. I am the type of person that if I am going to go out and buy something it will be of the best quality that I can afford and at times that isn't much. with that said I will state again that I don't mind at all acrrying a heavy rifle and would much rather have the best chance of taking that long shot.

In my opinion it all boils down to practice and being comfortable with your weapon. If you practice with your heavy barrel and can make 500 yard shots but can't carry it a mile between sets then what good is it. If you can carry it however far you need to then by all means carry it and then your odds maybe slightly (however slight) better than if you didn't. this is of course assuming that you are already a decent shooter and not trying to compensate for lack of skill.

Remember most shooters can't shoot their firearms to the full ability of the firearm. Operator error is the name of the game when shooting in my opinion.


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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

I have a varmint weight barrel on my .204 because it is intended for use on prairie dogs and ground squirrels, those situations where multiple shots in short order will take place.I do not believe that heavy barrels are inherently more accurate as they all start off as a 1" piece of round bar and then hammer forged or cut rifling are then put in them and the lighter ones are turned down on a lathe farther than the heavies. The larger external surface lets a heavy barrel cool faster. Heavy barrels are only more accurate because they are not prone to harmonic distortion the way the lighter barrels are, and believe it or not the extra weight helps you to steady the gun even when using a bi-pod.


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## ebbs (Feb 7, 2010)

Perfect definition of what a heavy barrel does, Don.

More shots + More surface = Faster Cooling barrel

Versus...

More shots + Sporter barrel = Hotter Barrel, slower cooling


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## knapper (Feb 5, 2010)

I have both short heavy barrels and long heavier barrels. I also have a varmint barrel that I just had installed on a rifle and had it fluted, it has reduce the weight and will cool faster that the orginal Rem. varmint taper that was on it. It is a stainless one and that would make it heavier than the chrome moly barrel that was on it. All three of this rifles shoot very well for there intended use. the long heavy barreled one before it was shortened up to get the accuray back was 15.5 lbs. with bipod and scope on it, that was one that I would carry on my snowmachine (aka Snowmobile) in a gun boot, yes it would fit even when it was a 28" barrel.


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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

Thanks ebbs, you know thats what I strive for perfection LOL.


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## Helmet_S (Mar 18, 2010)

Don't forget about the harmonics difference in the barrel types.


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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

Helmet_S said:


> Don't forget about the harmonics difference in the barrel types.


When you go to a varmint weight barrel you really cut down on the harmonics, they're still there, they just don't have the effect that they do on a lighter barrel.

Remember the BOSS system?


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## ebbs (Feb 7, 2010)

Wasn't there a rifle that had the BOSS system stock on it for a while? I wanna say it was the Browning A-bolt but I can't remember for sure.


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## knapper (Feb 5, 2010)

They are ajustable muzzle brakes that could be used to change the distance which in turn be changing the barrel harmonics for the load or the rifle in general. I have not heard how they worked, not many people have used them around here and I haven't seen one used at the range or in the field. I do know that a regular muzzle brake works quite well, I have had one on my TC Contender in 357 maximum barrel to calm down the recoil so I could keep a scope on it. I lean to a short barrel if the cartrage is in a short action so you get a complete burn of the powder. Fluting is the way to go to drop some weight off the rifle barrel and have a longer barrel.


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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

ebbs said:


> Wasn't there a rifle that had the BOSS system stock on it for a while? I wanna say it was the Browning A-bolt but I can't remember for sure.


I believe that you are correct sir. I don't think they went over too well as people figured out that the muzzle brake also made them LOUD.


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## Helmet_S (Mar 18, 2010)

Yeah I am pretty sure that from what I have read and heard not many people bought into the BOSS system. I don't have any experience with them though.


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## wilded (Feb 10, 2010)

Varmint guns are made for multiple shots long range shooting. Prairie dogs, ground squirrels and other varmints. A true predator hunting rifle is not near as heavy in my opinion.


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## singlesix (May 13, 2010)

wilded said:


> Varmint guns are made for multiple shots long range shooting. Prairie dogs, ground squirrels and other varmints. A true predator hunting rifle is not near as heavy in my opinion.


YES WHAT HE SAID


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## On a call (Mar 3, 2010)

I am all for a light gun to carry. When I am out I may walk a mile or more between stands. So I like my gun to be light.

With that said....I have a bull barrel on my 222 mag. however...I cut it down..or..it was when I purchased it. I knew it was a tack driver and it still is. I can shoot the eye out of mosqueito at 300 yards.

My hunting buddy soo wanted a 22-250 in a ss barrel. Well he baught one. After about 3 trips hunting he checked into having his cut down too. It works just as well with out the weigh, however they do have to be resighted. The change in the whip of the gun cause the bullet to be thrown differantly.


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## Furtaker (Dec 11, 2010)

When I'm buying a rifle I'm looking for the shortest and lightest rifle with a great trigger to counter act the light weigth of the rifle. My theory is that the way rifles are built today with all the precision parts, there is no use for a heavy barreled rifle. I dont like to pack a lot of gear when walking from stand to stand. I have a bull barrel 22-250 and a micro hunter-Browning that both will drive tacks up to 300 yards. I cant ask for anything better than that. Were in hunt you can only see for 300 or 400 yards, if you are in open coutry you may need the heavy barrel to steady your stot and you maybe hunting a section (640 acres) of land at one time were I'm only hunting 60-100 acres at a time.


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## RoughNeck (Mar 16, 2010)

It all depends on if you are wanting to carry the extra weight, Alot of the AR's can also be heavy but like Singlesix said you can have a 1500.00 gun and slam the door at sets, I have seen that and wow you think did that idiot just really do that


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