Looking at a Remington 700 bolt action 223 rem. for target shooting. I shoot about 50 rounds in about an hour and a half, maybe two hours. Do I need a bull barrel to keep the barrel from over heating ? Is the bull barrel anymore accurate than a standard barrel ? I really don't want the extra weight if I don't need it.
bull barrel or not ?
- Thread starter rebs
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reynolds357
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A thin barrel heats up faster than a bull barrel. The midigating factor is that a thin barrel also cools faster than a bull barrel. In theory, a bull barrel is no more accurate than a thin barrel. Theory vs practicality is a whole other ball game. A Remington barrel is far from perfect. Remington's gunsmithing is far from perfect. In a Remington factory rifle, the bull barrel rifles will almost always be more accurate than the thin barrel rifles due to poor tolerances. In a custom build, with a custom match grade hand lapped barrel, put together by a good gun smith, the thin and bull will shoot the same. In a production rifle, the bull is your best bet. Heavy varmint or even light varmint contours might be a happy compromise. You could buy a pawn shop 700 and have a match grade barrel put on it.
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
Purely in the FWIW department: I have a Ruger 77 Mk II light sporter in .223. I've regularly done half-MOA five-shot groups, and more rapidly than a shot per 1.5 to 2 minutes.
So far, I've not messed with the forearm bedding. Various bullets in my handloads. Doesn't seem to vary the performance any.
The POI didn't shift in any notable manner during a day of prairie dog shooting, out to 200 yards.
If I have a point to all this, I guess that for me, so far, I've not had a problem with sporter-weight barrels and sub-MOA groups. But I've not done serious bench-rest shooting. Once I'm down toward half-MOA, I'm satisfied.
So far, I've not messed with the forearm bedding. Various bullets in my handloads. Doesn't seem to vary the performance any.
The POI didn't shift in any notable manner during a day of prairie dog shooting, out to 200 yards.
If I have a point to all this, I guess that for me, so far, I've not had a problem with sporter-weight barrels and sub-MOA groups. But I've not done serious bench-rest shooting. Once I'm down toward half-MOA, I'm satisfied.
At 50 rounds in an hour and half, I don't thing you'll have a problem. I shoot my 243 Winchester about that fast and as long as it's not 100 degrees out I don't have an issue.
Opinions vary on this subject. In my humble opinion, and the only reason might be the weight they add, but I have found them to be more accurate.
That statement should be your deciding factor. If you don't want the extra weight, for whatever reason, why force yourself to use it?
Allen says he's found bull barrels to be more accurate.
I do think they're easier to shoot accurately because their extra weight means the rifle's muzzle axis will move less off its intended angle while the bullet's going through the barrel.
The rifle's line of sight swings slower about an aiming point when hand-held if the barrel's thicker/heavier. Which is why they're favored for competition.
I do think they're easier to shoot accurately because their extra weight means the rifle's muzzle axis will move less off its intended angle while the bullet's going through the barrel.
The rifle's line of sight swings slower about an aiming point when hand-held if the barrel's thicker/heavier. Which is why they're favored for competition.
recoil junky
New member
I have three .223's that I take varmint hunting. Two 788's with the "varmint weight" barrel and a newer 700SPS Varminter. 50 rounds in under an hour is pretty normal for each of those rifles if the ground dwelling rodents are thick. The heavier barrel on the 700SPS doesn't get hot as quick, but it does take longer to cool off.
RJ
RJ
reynolds357
New member
Bart, it was a generalization. Notice I said that a bull barrel is no more accurate than a thin one if the barrels and gunsmithing is of high quality. Take a thin barrel that is not properly stress relieved, and stick it on an action that is a little bit out of square, and as the barrel heats up, it will shift POI. With a bull barrel that is not properly stress relieved on an action that is slightly out of square, the POI shift will not be as noticeable as quickly due to its ability to sink heat.
Perfect barrels with perfect gunsmithing and the bull and thin profile have the same theoretical accuracy potential.
Perfect barrels with perfect gunsmithing and the bull and thin profile have the same theoretical accuracy potential.