barrel ?

Guy Miner

Master Loader
Apr 6, 2006
17,836
6,313
Well... Starting to think about yet another new barrel for the good ol' Green Machine... This one is a Krieger, in the Remington Varmint contour, 24" long with a 1:12 twist and is of course chambered in .308 Win.

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Kind of tugging at me to change up and go to something else this time... Doesn't need a new barrel yet, but we're getting there. These Kriegers are usually good for 5,000+ rounds before I kick 'em loose. I figure this one should expire sometime this coming winter.

Good Reasons to stay with the .308 Win:

Am really used to the .308 Win, it's been one since I got the rifle in 1995.
Have at least 1,000 .308 Win cases on hand.
Have a couple of thousand .308 bullets on hand: match, varmint and hunting.
Have a set of really nice Wilson dies for the .308 Win.
The .308 Win typically gives me very good barrel life.
General purpose cartridge in a general purpose rifle, I've done everything from SWAT/sniper duties, to shooting matches, to shooting varmints, to hunting medium game like deer & bear with this rifle.
Still get some "free" .308 Win match grade ammo for practice...

Reasons to go with something else:

Sometimes I get bored with the .308 Win, kind of want a hot-rod...
Wouldn't mind lighter recoil during the matches.
Flatter trajectory & less wind drift would be nice, might save some 10's...
A .243 AI looks soooooo cool!

Hmmm... quite a few practical good reasons to keep it a .308 Win. Sigh... OK... Might be time to call Krieger again soon.

Guy
 
Guy,

For what you are doing, tough to beat a 308 Win. If you want to hot rod a bit, maybe a 308 AI would fit the bill. You could use all your brass and the surplus ammo you get. Just a thought....

JD338
 
shoots_5":22g1gz76 said:
Sounds to me like you need 2 new barrels and 1 new action.... :mrgreen:

I'm think the same thing or maybe work on building the .243AI before the .308 barrel expires and see if you like it. If you do make the other one something beside a .308 or .243AI. A .284 or .30-.284 would be cool.
 
"Sounds to me like you need 2 new barrels and 1 new action.... "

That's NOT helping! :grin:
 
IMO - There's too much history and success with you and that gun to not re-barrel in .308Win. It is what it is and it's a keeper. I would think about 30 years down the road when your son says to his bud or child, "my pop used this gun to ....".

Find some other floozy donor to switch cartridges with. Not your sweetheart.
 
shoots_5":3luv3h4d said:
Sounds to me like you need 2 new barrels and 1 new action.... :mrgreen:

Good idea, get a second used Remington 700 short action for cheap and do a 308 and 260 Remington. Or buy a heavy barrel Savage 6.5 Creedmoor or 260 and rebarrel when the throat gets toasted :)
 
Guy Miner":1p2yoab9 said:
"Sounds to me like you need 2 new barrels and 1 new action.... "

That's NOT helping! :grin:

Great enabling minds think alike... Get in line for another .308 tube, and put together another rifle in .243 AI, .260, or (probably my choice) 6.5x47 Lapua.
 
Guy do another 308 on the one you have and get a 6.5-284 for your new hot-rod toy! Or maybe a 6.5-06 or 6.5-06 AI! :grin: The guys are right, you need two my friend!
David
 
Guy,
You are getting sage advice from some very wise men! Your going to need something to shoot when old faithful needs to be rebarrelled. 6.5x284 or 6.5 Creedmor would be singing to me right now! If Mike and Scotty were to chime in about now you'd have feel like you were being manuevered on but the rest of us have only your best interests in mind. :lol:

Scott
 
What? I don't have Guy's best interest at heart when I urge him to think about another rifle and a rebarrel of that one? :mrgreen:

Seriously, it would be difficult for you to surrender your .308. It is a seriously great cartridge and it can be made to perform so very well.
 
DrMike":v2aw26kj said:
What? I don't have Guy's best interest at heart when I urge him to think about another rifle and a rebarrel of that one? :mrgreen:

Seriously, it would be difficult for you to surrender your .308. It is a seriously great cartridge and it can be made to perform so very well.

I'm with DrMike. Everyone should have at least one 308 in their safe.
 
Guy -
Didn't you say you really liked the Creedmor? That would be a sweet change for a caliber or the .260.

One thing to keep in mind if you ever gave F-class matches a try, the 308 will allow you to shoot FTR instead of F-open class.

Like most others, I think you need two... :)
 
Did somebody say 243AI?

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It's been a fun one! It can push 70 BT real fast and handles 105 Amaxs very well at distance. Don't need to tell you anymore about the 105 Amax since somebody else on here will tell you all about it :lol:
 
Woodycreek":116rn29d said:
Did somebody say 243AI?

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It's been a fun one! It can push 70 BT real fast and handles 105 Amaxs very well at distance. Don't need to tell you anymore about the 105 Amax since somebody else on here will tell you all about it :lol:

LOL THAT IS FUNNY!

Guy, for some reason that Green rifle of yours just does it for me. It just looks like its all business. If you wanted to stay with the 308 family the .243 AI would be a great round. Heck even a 260 AI would be pretty dang cool! Maybe a 6-284? or a 6.5-284? The later might be better served in a long action though. I'll be very interested in your choice, as I'll be picking one of these in the next year or so for my savage .243.
 
Hard to go wrong with the 308 and then a 6.5 for a secondary bullet slinger. You have so much history with your 308, it would be tough to go too far off the res..
 
Yes, how can you not accept all this free advice :wink: from such wise friends :lol:
I have not even had a chance to work up a load for the new lady in my life (Ms. WHelen) and I am having trouble not making plans for a new girl to join the harem of rifles :).
On the way back yesterday I stopped at the lake to pick up my 2 labs from my son's place and 2 of my nephews told me that they wanted my new rifle and one of them is a lefty. I told the one who I have had hunting with me since he was 5 years old now 27 that if my grandson is not a lefty then the rifle was his. My son then piped up stating that was not going to happen because he is going to start shooting left handed.
gerry and I have told you guys many times it is just a matter of time! You will all be thinking right and shooting left :mrgreen:

Blessings,
Dan
 
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