Author Topic: Barrel length for a silhouette rifle (Read 1052 times)

Peter · « **on:** December 05, 2003, 08:47:22 AM »

I bought Hart barrel cal. .260,twist 8" and it will replace the barrel on my Sako rifle-.243Win.I have silhouette stock and it will be chambered for .260Rem.
As ment for the silhouette shooting, what is the mostly used barrel length-to get a good velocity to well balanced rifle combination?Muzlle thickness is 0,71" and it is Douglas tapper.
Thanks for any advice.
Regards,Petr

PS: Thanks to all of you for your answers.I should have mentioned that we compete according to IMSSU.I am not afraid of too heavy rifle,but I would like to have it less muzzle heavy-therefore I was considering barrell length anything from 22" as min. to 24" as max.I would like to know your opinion.

nomad · « **Reply #1 on:** December 05, 2003, 01:44:03 PM »

Peter,

It's unlikely that you'll gain anything useful by going beyond 26-27 inches.
Since you'll be using it in what we normally refer to as a 'standard' rifle and aren't limited to hunting rifle specifications, you really need to base your choice on personal balance and 'feel' preferences.
You need to get a 139-142 gr bullet to about 2750 fps for the ram line and that is pretty easily achieved...
Out of curiosity, where are you located and where do you shoot? (I have friends in Germany -- in Tirschenreuth; you can see the border from their house -- who are serious hunters and who might be interested in silhouette if there were a range where they could try it. (Of course, I have no idea how difficult it is to travel between Germany and the Czech Republic with a firearm.)

Troy G · « **Reply #2 on:** December 05, 2003, 04:57:01 PM »

Nomad why could Peter not use his newly chambered rifle for Hunter as well as Standard if he can make weight? Did Sako not ever chambered a .260? I would cut the barrel based on what weight you needed to make, either Hunter or Standard. I have tried to make my Silo rifles as light as possible and then get my barrel as heavy as possible at 26 inches so I still make weight.

I would not cut the barrel below 24" though. What are you gearing up for Peter, Hunter or Standard, both?

nomad · « **Reply #3 on:** December 05, 2003, 05:43:13 PM »

Troy,

Maybe he can.

However, since he's in the Czech Republic, I'm assuming that he's shooting under IMSSU rules which are not exactly the same as ours. (Unless they've redone their rules, they require that a hunter rifle meet the old criterion of matching the factory output; also, AFAIK Sako never chambered .260 or used a taper that matched that of Douglas. And he did say he has a silhouette stock.)

IMSSU has a pretty good website and, unlike us, they publish their rules. (I looked.) Now, if they haven't updated... ?

Of course, I've been wrong many, many times before so, if I'm off base again, it won't surprise anyone -- and I know what happens when I 'assume' things!

Troy G · « **Reply #4 on:** December 05, 2003, 06:52:28 PM »

I was just curious as to why he may not be able to shoot both and thought there was probably a reason I was over looking. Thanks for answering my question as well as Peter's.