Bartlein Barrel Size Recommendations

[scott.str]

Guys,

On to ordering my barrel for my custom 300 PRC im looking to take to 2000 yards.

Bartlein recommended a 1-9.5 to 8.5 gain twist barrel and im trying to decide on a barrel contour. Like the Palma sizes and not sure if i should go heavy palma or medium palma or possibly the sendero contour.

Weight is not to big of an issue but not looking for a 20lb gun. Barrel length will be 28" plus a break.

Any thoughts on someone who has been in my shoes or has a picture or two of what these may look like?

Thanks!

[-HIC-]

I would go M24 or GAP #7 (those are fairly close), The GAP #6 is not heavy enough in my opinion for a dedicated ELR rig. Also, You will not get to 20 with a contoured barrel unless you add 3-4 lbs of weight. I think my straight 1.25 26" barrel'ed rifle comes in around 18 pounds with 3lbs of weight added to the chassis.

This is all of the top of my head, I can weigh if you are interested.

Blake has a good picture of barrels side by side in a couple of threads. I am sure he will repost if you cannot find via search.

[-HIC-]

GAP 6 compared to M24. I have several others I can compare when I get some time. I will say that gold rifle is the same setup I would run in 300 prc for ELR that one is 6.5prc.

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[Cajun Blake]

Guys,

On to ordering my barrel for my custom 300 PRC im looking to take to 2000 yards.

Bartlein recommended a 1-9.5 to 8.5 gain twist barrel and im trying to decide on a barrel contour. Like the Palma sizes and not sure if i should go heavy palma or medium palma or possibly the sendero contour.

Weight is not to big of an issue but not looking for a 20lb gun. Barrel length will be 28" plus a break.


Thanks!

do you currently have your components: action, stock, scope, scope rings, trigger, bottom metal, suppressor ? If so weigh them to confirm ballpark weight before the barrel. I'm thinking the barrel will weigh approximately 5 lbs (Rem Varmint/Sendero) to 6 1/5 lbs (hvy palma). Personally I'd go with the heaviest contour to aid in rifle stability.

I just helped Jeff (Radar) put together a LR 1000+ yd rifle in 338 Lapua. He went with a Krieger Heavy Varmint since he got a great deal on the barrel. IIRC, his completed, ready to shoot rifle weighs around 18 lbs. with brake, no suppressor.

My advice to Jeff ... if building a rifle for a specific discipline (benchrest, ELR, F-Class, PRS, etc...) search the equipment list from each match. Will look something like this and provide you with valuable info on what the top shooters are using

[scott.str]

This should help alot. I do not have that yet. Im slowly building as we go. Have a TL3 long action and have most parts chosen but not purchased. No suppressor on this one although i could in the future my Specwar i have now can handle the 300PRC it just weighs a ton to.

I will use it to hunt but it will have a switch lug system so eventually ill have a light 6.5 prc or 7SAW barrel for hunting so a year or two of carrying a heavy bench gun to hunt a few hundred yards isnt a big deal.

Seems a heavy Palma wouldnt be a bad option to help with recoil and barrel heat over long strings. Reloading is a big thing for me so this thing will be shot alot.

Parts im shooting for:
TL3 long action
Manners EH-1 Adjustable (still picking but like this one)
Hawkins Bottom metal
AICS Long action 3.850" mags
Leupold Mark5 5-25x56

do you currently have your components: action, stock, scope, scope rings, trigger, bottom metal, suppressor ? If so weigh them to confirm ballpark weight before the barrel. I'm thinking the barrel will weigh approximately 5 lbs (Rem Varmint/Sendero) to 6 1/5 lbs (hvy palma). Personally I'd go with the heaviest contour to aid in rifle stability.

I just helped Jeff (Radar) put together a LR 1000+ yd rifle in 338 Lapua. He went with a Krieger Heavy Varmint since he got a great deal on the barrel. IIRC, his completed, ready to shoot rifle weighs around 18 lbs. with brake, no suppressor.

My advice to Jeff ... if building a rifle for a specific discipline (benchrest, ELR, F-Class, PRS, etc...) search the equipment list from each match. Will look something like this and provide you with valuable info on what the top shooters are using

[Cajun Blake]

Parts im shooting for:
TL3 long action .... 2 lbs.
Manners EH-1 Adjustable ... 3 lbs.
Hawkins Bottom metal ...... 1/2 lbs.
AICS Long action 3.850" mags .... 1/2 lbs.
Leupold Mark5 5-25x56 .... 2 lbs.

Weight would be around 8.5 lbs without the barrel. Sounds like you’re wanting to use the same stock and action platform for 2 different disciplines or shooting purposes .... 2000 yd LR gun and a lightweight hunting rifle.

Add the HV or Medium Palma barrel and you’re at 15-16 lbs. Add the Sendero barrel and you’re at 12-13 lbs., hardly a lightweight hunting rifle. There’s a noticeable difference in barrel profiles as a Sendero barrel in a stock inletted for a Heavy Palma would be very noticeable.

My suggestion since you’re wanting a switch-barrel gun, order a stainless steel Bartlein and a PROOF CF barrel in the same Sendero contour. Each would fit perfectly in the stock and achieve your goal of 2 different rifles utilizing 1 platform.

[Stick1]

If you’re serious about the 2k thing, I’d consider a couple things that will make success a little easier. First, as Blake said, build the rifle for the purpose. That means stepping away from the Palma contours. They are great for many applications, but the heavier contours will serve you better. Giving up weight on an ELR rig is very counter productive. If you can’t spot your misses, you can’t make corrections. Weight helps here. There is a reason PRS rigs are pushing 25 lbs and shooting tiny cartridges at 1/2 that distance now days. Weight is even more important shooting a round twice as big at twice the distance. A 30 cal bullet isn’t very big past a mile. Stack the cards in your favor to see it.

Stick to bullets in the 230-250 gr class. Over-stabilization is your friend when pushing through transonic. A simple straight 8 twist will provide that at the speeds the PRC is capable of producing, and it won’t shred them with the 2,900-3,000 FPS range you’ll be running in. Your looking at pretty much 300WM performance plus about 50ish FPS with the PRC in SAAMI spec. There is more to be had if you throat to THE bullet you plan to shoot. We’re seeing some impressive things with this cartridge and 250 ATips at distance.

The heavy varmint(or #9) is our go to contour for the 30 cal and under 28” ELR rigs. You’ll probably want to figure out a way to get some weight back in the stock for balance. You can use weight distribution to tune the recoil characteristics as well, again, seeing impacts being the goal. Most of our rigs are hitting the 24lb mark to come in under the 25 lb limit at some matches. I’ll certainly run heavier when I can with an adjustable weight system we made for the McMillan A-series stocks.

If you are just looking to shoot a few at 2k with your hunting rifle every now and then, this may all be useless info. But if your looking to be consistent at 2k with a 30 cal, these suggestions come from a lot of trial and error between my customers and myself over the past several years. One thing is certain no matter which direction you decide on.... it’s tons of fun.

[scott.str]

All amazing info! I think my goal is getting to 2000. Consistently probably not it’ll be more of a once in a while thing. The 225+ class bullet is my plan so having the throat cut a big longer would be a plan I think for me to gain a bit. Seems the above poster with a sendero contour and a proof sendero for lighter weight hunting is a cool option. Switch lugs toss all sorts of future options into the bin for me.

If you’re serious about the 2k thing, I’d consider a couple things that will make success a little easier. First, as Blake said, build the rifle for the purpose. That means stepping away from the Palma contours. They are great for many applications, but the heavier contours will serve you better. Giving up weight on an ELR rig is very counter productive. If you can’t spot your misses, you can’t make corrections. Weight helps here. There is a reason PRS rigs are pushing 25 lbs and shooting tiny cartridges at 1/2 that distance now days. Weight is even more important shooting a round twice as big at twice the distance. A 30 cal bullet isn’t very big past a mile. Stack the cards in your favor to see it.

Stick to bullets in the 230-250 gr class. Over-stabilization is your friend when pushing through transonic. A simple straight 8 twist will provide that at the speeds the PRC is capable of producing, and it won’t shred them with the 2,900-3,000 FPS range you’ll be running in. Your looking at pretty much 300WM performance plus about 50ish FPS with the PRC in SAAMI spec. There is more to be had if you throat to THE bullet you plan to shoot. We’re seeing some impressive things with this cartridge and 250 ATips at distance.

The heavy varmint(or #9) is our go to contour for the 30 cal and under 28” ELR rigs. You’ll probably want to figure out a way to get some weight back in the stock for balance. You can use weight distribution to tune the recoil characteristics as well, again, seeing impacts being the goal. Most of our rigs are hitting the 24lb mark to come in under the 25 lb limit at some matches. I’ll certainly run heavier when I can with an adjustable weight system we made for the McMillan A-series stocks.

If you are just looking to shoot a few at 2k with your hunting rifle every now and then, this may all be useless info. But if your looking to be consistent at 2k with a 30 cal, these suggestions come from a lot of trial and error between my customers and myself over the past several years. One thing is certain no matter which direction you decide on.... it’s tons of fun.

[Grumpy1911]

Wish i had a side by side pic. But i dont right now.
Bartlien 31” full palma.
Bartlien 27” 3B.
Ive been to one mile with the heavy one. It makes a huge diff holding gun steady going from one to the other.
Both are 28 noslers.
Obviously not gonna pack the full palma very far.


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[Grumpy1911]

Sorry. Both of those pics are pretty crappy. I will try to get some better ones.


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