.270 load development help with next step

[iXanadu]

You aren't the first; and I doubt you will be the last. We're just glad you didn't have a catastrophic barrel failure. A new barrel may be a blessing before it is all said and done.

The good Doctor said it right, everything happens for a reason. Your safe, and not missing any digits. Get yourself a nice Krieger, Bartlein, Brux and have at it. You'll really be able to have some fun then!

I'm not sure I'm informed enough to know how to pick a barrel or gunsmith. I did go to bugholes.com and see that these three manufactures are offered. But I don't know really how to pick one. This X-Bold was of the white gold medallion variety, the only gun I spurged on "pretty" so that I could pass down at least one pretty gun to my grandkids. The rest are very handsome in my eyes, but are in composite stocks and blued barrels.

I was shooting a clover leaf before I got stupid. If a 24" barrel will help me hit my velocities better, and allow me to keep a clover leaf then I'm interested.

If anyone can point me in the right direction, I'm not opposed to spending a few hours researching but if I had to do it on my own, I'm not sure I could make an informed decision.

 

[ColColt]

If I had to get a new barrel I'd opt for a Lilja.

 

[DrMike]

Fortunately, there are a number of barrel makers who produce a quality product. SJB358 named several that would make you smile--Krieger, Bartlein and Brux. I'd add that I've had excellent luck with PacNor and Hart on some of my own builds. ColColt names Lilja, which is another good name. Choosing from among these should allow you to find a tube that will approximate the profile and finish of your rifle.

 

[SJB358]

Without a doubt. I am sure you can find a smith in your area or ship your rifle off to any other. There isn't hardly a bad barrel maker in the bunch. They will all make tubes just as Mike described.

 

[iXanadu]

Without a doubt. I am sure you can find a smith in your area or ship your rifle off to any other. There isn't hardly a bad barrel maker in the bunch. They will all make tubes just as Mike described.

I think that starting with the gunsmith is the best way to go. Retail for the same X-Bolt barrel from Browning is $600, and I suspect that does not include installation charges. I'm googling each of the barrels suggested, and it seems like they range from $310-350. One shop I found (online) installs for $275. So if I can find a gunsmith I like and a barrel, it looks like about a $600 mistake including installation. If I go original Browning replacement probably significantly more.

When looking at barrels, I see 22" and 28". The Nosler book shows that barrel they tested to be a 24" 1-10 twist Shilen. So what difference can I expect between a 24" barrel and a 28" barrel. I was intrigued about the idea of getting a 24" but have no idea how a 28" would factor into things. I hate being out of my comfort zone, but I guess that is the way we (I) learn.

 

[SJB358]

You can do anything you'd like, but a 24" would get pretty much everything you can get from a 270 before it would become unwieldly in the woods, in my opinion. I have a couple 25" barrels and one 26". I don't find them terrible, but 24" seems really good for the 06 based cartridges.

I think your spot on finding the smith to do the work and having a barrel of your liking put on it. You can't go wrong and you'll like the benefits of a smooth barrel from any of the makers we have written about.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Yep...24" will get you easily into what the 270 Win was intended to do...with careful loading of course.

As to the bore sight...we all endure some hard lessons from time to time...yours was a bore sight, mine was blue Loctite.

Learn from it and carry on...

 

[DrMike]

[So what difference can I expect between a 24" barrel and a 28" barrel. I was intrigued about the idea of getting a 24" but have no idea how a 28" would factor into things. I hate being out of my comfort zone, but I guess that is the way we (I) learn.

Figure between 25 and 35 fps for each inch a barrel is lengthened.

 

[Dr. Vette]

As a caveat, note that Browning barrels are supposedly installed quite differently from most other rifle barrels. I believe that they also use thread locking compound (red Loctite?) As a result, you want to find a gunsmith that is willing to rebarrel the rifle AND knows what they are doing based on Browning experience. Your average gunsmith won't have a clue.

I'd call Browning and see if they have any recommended gunsmiths in your area.

 

[DrMike]

Good point; not every gunsmith will work on a Browning for this reason.

 

[bobnob]

I'd be cutting that barrel down to about 18 inches with a hacksaw just as a fun experiment to see how it shoots before getting it rebarreled.

Have some fun with it and turn a bad experience into a slightly more enjoyable one.

Good news that no one was hurt. No harm done.

 

[iXanadu]

I wonder if this would be better in a different thread given we are so far away from finalizing my handload for a 270.

Looks like getting a barrel for a Browning X-Bolt is going to be a major problem. Browning will only replace them "with" the receiver and it must be done by them. Price is $600 plus $80 hour . . . I'm estimating total cost in the $800-$950 range. They offer a special gun replacement cost that would probably be of similar cost.

I spoke with one of their "authorized" repair facilities (http://www.reesersgunsmithing.com/reair ... le_Repair_). Guy was really informed and nice. Said problem with the X-Bolt is that it is so new, hard to find data or parts. Browning won't ship the barrel/rec assembly to anyone, and no one he knows (or that I can find on the net) has documented the threads so that he could work up a "blank". Browning isn't telling. Trade secret kind of thing (I call BS). They did confirm that the X-Bolt and A-Bolt are not interchangeable so I can't go that route. If I'm able to get the dope on the threads and if they are metric, this gunsmith can't do it, because he has only one lathe big enough for the job and its a bear to re-setup for metric for a single job.

I've got about 3 hours googling barrels, x-bolt, gunsmiths . . . It doesn't look very promising. I'm not inclined to pay $900 to have the gun rebarreled. Paying $900 for a replacement "might" be an option. I really love this gun, and you can see it shot really well while I was developing my load.

Another option is to get another .270 for hunting for now, and put this pretty gun in a closet for a few years until parts start becoming more available. I want a good shooter, something I can develop a load and dial in cloverleafs at 100 yards, and hold 1.5-3" upto 300 yards. Next gun doesn't have to be pretty. I wanted on "heritage" weapon, and I have it bulged barrel and all.

Any thoughts? Should this be in a new thread?

 

[sask boy]

If that is what you are thinking there are a awful lot of nice rifles out there :wink:.
I don't know why I am saying this but a Model 70 should be very close to the top of your list. I personally have a CDL in the 270win and with the 24" tube it really is a excellent rifle as well.
I have also heard good things about the Ruger American and the Tikka as well.

Blessings,
Dan

 

[DrMike]

.I don't know why I am saying this but a Model 70 should be very close to the top of your list..

Blessings,
Dan

Because you're being seized by a fit of common sense and wisdom. See, we're rubbing off on you, Dan. :mrgreen:

 

[bobnob]

There must be someone out there that'll do it. That sounds like a ridiculous situation. Who'd buy an X Bolt if that's the story?

I think your plan to put the gun on ice until it gets better support might be as good as any. In the meantime get yourself a Vanguard or Howa which will probably shoot just as good.


A bit of an aside: I understand the pursuit for fine accuracy and top speeds. But chasing surgical-type accuracy and top speed sometimes is counter productive. If the thing will put three shots consistently under 1.5 inches at 100y, that's enough most of the time.

Is it possibly your pursuit for finer accuracy and high speed distracted you to the extent that you made such a mistake?


I am not criticising you mate, not at all. Just putting up a question.

 

[Dr. Vette]

I see Medallion x-bolts on Gunbroker for $850 brand new, so having yours rebarrelled for the same money or more doesn't make a lot of sense. Given that, if you can find someone willing to use heat on the rifle you can always see if the barrel can be removed. The worst thing you end up with is a 2 1/2 foot tomaot stake.

Alternately, as noted above having the barrel cut down and using it as a "brush gun" isn't the silliest thing in the world either.

 

[super-7]

Well that's a shame , I was looking forward to a positive range report.
There was a member of our local range that on his second trip out with a new muzzle loader got distracted and fired a triple load of Pyrex and a 500 gr bullet , no prob but he forgot the ramrod in the barrel. When he woke up it was determined he was ok the muzzle loader was not.
All the Japanese Brownings are metric threads as are the howa / vangaurds.
As mentioned it could be cut down and recrowned , but again velocity and muzzle blast will likley be issues. I would go shopping for a new or new to you rifle.

 

[iXanadu]

There must be someone out there that'll do it. That sounds like a ridiculous situation. Who'd buy an X Bolt if that's the story?

I think your plan to put the gun on ice until it gets better support might be as good as any. In the meantime get yourself a Vanguard or Howa which will probably shoot just as good.

A bit of an aside: I understand the pursuit for fine accuracy and top speeds. But chasing surgical-type accuracy and top speed sometimes is counter productive. If the thing will put three shots consistently under 1.5 inches at 100y, that's enough most of the time.

Is it possibly your pursuit for finer accuracy and high speed distracted you to the extent that you made such a mistake?

I am not criticising you mate, not at all. Just putting up a question.

I found two gunsmiths late yesterday afternoon that are familiar with the nuances of working with Browning rifles, including the x-bolt. Both can do the job. One can, but is relocating his shop, and has 15-20 jobs in the queue once he sets up. The other is researching barrels for me. So I'm back in the hunt for a replacement and more encouraged.

Your point is well taken. There is no doubt that the anticipation of seeing how the new and probably final recipe was going to shoot factored into my error. But the real reason was simply not paying attention. It could have been anything that distracted me and at the end of the day, I need not to be distracted when handling a firearm. I have never shot much better than MOA with this rifle using factory loads. When my third handload had 3 touching, I was hooked. Once I knew what the gun would do, anything less than that wasn't going to be acceptable. The point in handloading for me, is to build the "best" load for any particular firearm. If the gun would only shoot MOA, then I want the best load for MOA. Since it shot a cloverleaf multiple times, I wanted the best load that would still shoot a cloverleaf.

Now that I've had a gun that could shoot that standard, it will be hard for me to not to want the same. I think when I've accumulated and shot as many firearms as the average person on this forum, I'll have a more relaxed comparison point.

 

[iXanadu]

I see Medallion x-bolts on Gunbroker for $850 brand new, so having yours rebarrelled for the same money or more doesn't make a lot of sense. Given that, if you can find someone willing to use heat on the rifle you can always see if the barrel can be removed. The worst thing you end up with is a 2 1/2 foot tomaot stake.

Alternately, as noted above having the barrel cut down and using it as a "brush gun" isn't the silliest thing in the world either.

Yeap and I have not ruled out getting one for now. When I rebarrel this one, I'll pass that to a kid or grandkid. I have just one "pretty" gun, the white-gold medallion. I think I paid mid-upper $1300's for it. Retail is a tad over $1400. There is much for me to like in the x-bolt line, and I could probably be happy with a less expensive configuration. If I can't get this rebarreled quick enough, I'll pick a more conservative x-bolt configuration, built the best load it can shoot and go hunting. Ultimately I'm looking forward to a 24" barrel on this gun. It will "have" a story that my grand kids can learn from and appreciate.

 

[iXanadu]

Well that's a shame , I was looking forward to a positive range report.

Well I've learned a ton, and with the mishap, even more than I bargained for. I'll eventually have a report on a pair of loads (ballistic tips/accubonds) for either this gun or its replacement - and depending on timeline probably both. I'll have to start over, because the chamber will be new. I'll have to recalculate the OAL, creep up in powder/oal . . . But it won't be my first time around so I won't ask as many questions along the way and will report back the results, or the next point I'm in need of experienced input.

Wonderful group here. I frankly expected and probably deserved a bit more hazing.