Bull barrel or not?

S

SwwPlayboy

New member
I was talking to a buddy of mine not to long ago and he had mentioned he was selling a savage 11 in 22-250 cause he wanted a bull barrel and this particular one wasn't. I agreed with that hot of a round, bull barrel is probably best. Then it got me thinking about a gun I just recently ordered.

Its the Remington 700 VTR, with the triangle barrel. I was so sold by the look of the gun and the reviews of the barrel that I went ahead and ordered it. Now that I think of it, is this considered a bull barrel?
 
The VTR is a gimmick bull barrel. Gimmick in that it doesn't shoot as well as a standard round bull barrel. It's for looks and actually hinders the performance of the rifle. Can you cancel the order?
 
Do you know this from experience? I actually read really good reviews on it. I understand the triangle form is suppose to help dissipate heat, but I never read anything on this particular barrel causing accuracy issues.
 
I've never owned one, but know several people who have owned one or test driven one. Most are accomplished marksmen and didn't have anything favorable to say about it as compared to a standard bull barrel. It's regarded as a gimmick among accuracy and long range shooters.
 
While "bull" barrels hold a little easier, the main advantage comes when long strings of shots are fired.
A close friend told me about his triangle barrel disappointment a while back. He's not a benchrest quality shooter but he's not as bad as he described the accuracy he got from a new Rem 3 sided barrel.
 
No matter what product you are producing you sometimes experiment with new ideas. Some work, some don't. I think the triangle shaped barrel was an attempt to get some of the stiffness of a heavier barrel with a little less weight. Much like fluting a barrel.

As near as I can tell it didn't work as well as intended. I've seen a few people shooting them at the range, actually fired one belonging to another shooter. From what I can tell they aren't terrible, at least as accurate as a sporter weight barrel and probably better than most. But not quite up to the standards Remington was hoping for.

I have no problem with gun companies trying new stuff even if it doesn't work out. Over the last 500 years of firearms development there have been far more failures than successes. But if someone hadn't kept trying we'd still be shooting match locks.
 
I actuall own one in 223 which shoots quite well as good as most of my other bull barrels. I really like the little rifle smaller lighter easier to carry in field. Have shot a group in 20mph wind at 200 yards 5 shots under a inch. That's plenty good for what it is intended for not a target rifle good hunting rifle. Will shot under 1/2 inch 100 yards easy. Just have 12 power VX2 with CDS Leupold scope nothing fancy. I love mine. I have other Remington Savage Ruger rifles that are very good rifles to compare it to not here say.
Hope this helps
Roc1
 
Thanks for the info. I think I will hang on to it and see what I think. I didn't get it to be a competition rifle, just some varmint killin. From what I'm seeing, it will serve my needs well. I guess what I was really looking for is if the triangular shape really does handle heat better or equal to a regular bull barrel. I definitely don't plan on rapid firing this thing, but if I took it prairie dog hunting, I don't want to burn it up after a box of shells.
 
Like Roc1, I also own one in .223 which was one of the first rifles we bought when they introduced it years ago.

The triangular barrel is a bit of a "gimmick" IMO, but the rifle shoots sub-minute, so the barrel certainly shoots no worse than a traditional round barrel would (once I got it out of the Tupperware stock into a B&C). It does seem to heat up a bit less quickly than I'd expect from a round barrel. Never really analyzed the surface area comparison/ stiffness to a round barrel, but I'm sure someone has.

Hard to tell about the brake/porting at the top of the barrel, as the .223 has so little recoil to begin with.
 
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