barrel length for 215 Bergers

[TackDriver284]

Hi guys, I am having my .300 Win Mag built very soon, something has been itching me about barrel length. Most of my hunting rifles use a 26 inch barrel, and I was hoping to use a 215 Berger on this .300 Win Mag if I plan to hunt big game, if that is what most of you guys are using for barrel length for long range hunting in the 300. I checked Quickload and I see that the node is best with 180 bullets but not for the 215 Bergers if I use a 26 inch barrel, but the 24 inch barrel shows the node with 215 Bergers. What do you guys recommend on barrel length? Hoping to get the correct length so I won't regret it later if I get the wrong length.

Do I get to choose bullet weight that I plan to use to get correct barrel length in relation to use the perfect node? If I decide to use 180 grain bullets, then I need to use a 26 inch barrel and if I want to use 215 Bergers, then I need to stick to 24 inch barrel? I am a bit confused and hope for some insight. Thanks

 

[IdahoCTD]

I built 2 300wm's this year along with my 300wsm and they all had 26" barrels. All 3 shoot 215 Bergers around 2950fps in the .2" range. The 300wm's are shooting H-1000 and I shoot R-26.

 

[waveslayer]

The bullet you use has nothing to do with your barrel length, it's the barrel's twist. The twist will tell you how well your barrel will stabilize a certain Bullet.

Barrel length affects barrel harmonics and velocity. It's about 50fps per inch of barrel. So add or subtract that , depending how long or short you go.
QL needs to be tuned to your gun, powder, cases, etc.. so once you tune it then you can use it. Otherwise you're wasting your time. QL is good to start loads once you get all that data inputted, but it needs to be verified.
Also, a quick lesson on barrel length, the shorter and fatter it is, the easier it is to find a node and control barrel harmonics. Long skinny barrels move a lot and tend to be less accurate. Especially once they heat up a lot! So you need to decide what kind of gun do you want. A bench gun, hybrid, hunting rig.
You need to determine what you want and go from there. I just built a hybrid, it's a bench gun/hunting gun. I used a 26" Proof Research Barrel in a Sendero contour. That way it's semi light, light on the bench gun, a tad heavier on the hunting side. But I love it

My wife thinks I only have 3 guns

 

[Guy Miner]

Tackdriver - I'd urge you to contact Berger directly. They've been very helpful for people who wish to use their bullets. Years ago I had some questions, which were resolved very quickly when I contacted Berger.

Closest thing I've got to your rifle is a 24" .300 WSM that does very well with 210 gr Berger VLD bullets.

I suspect that you'd be just fine with a rifle barrel in the 24" - 26" range.

Regards, Guy

 

[.300winmag]

I have a 28" barrel and use H1000, I run 2,991 with ease in my .300. Dope confirming before hunting this year

 

[longrangehunter]

The berger 215 Hybrid target bullet requires a 1:10" or Faster twist. Barrel length doesn't matter, but twist does. Unless you're using your 300 WM for Tactical Applications or in dense close cover hunting situations, I stick with a 26" barrel length unless you are using a very thin barrel. A thin barrel is stiff if short, but not the other way around.