Factory barrels

[possum1]

Can anyone tell me if the 26" factory varmit/tactical weight barrels shoot any better than the 22' sporter weight barrels.

[rjtfroggy]

If the weather holds I'll let you know by the end of the week end.

[Hammer]

.

Not speaking specifically to Savage barrels...

Jeff Copper was interested in this and watched the results at his Gunsite school over 20+ years as well as at other venues.

For the first shot from a cold barrel, Cooper concluded there was no difference in the first hit score of a sporter barrel versus a varmint weight barrel.

Cooper's interest was in shooting big game, dangerous game, and two-legged species.

This has nothing to do with benchrest competition or prairie dog town shooting.

But it does relate to big game hunting and other scenarios where the first shot is what counts.

.

[82boy]

Yes, and No.
Yes you will notice a difference when shooting different volumes of ammo, do to the barrels thickness and how it dispenses heat. The thicker barrel will do better with heat.

No, if you let the barrels cool between shots, or shoot less shots, you will see less of a difference.

If you was to just go out and shot an untimed three shot group with both it would be hard to tell the difference. If you was to shoot a few pre-target fouler/sighter rounds, and then a 5 shoot group within a short time, (say 5 minutes) you would see a difference. Ambient temperature, and amount of sun on the barrel would also add to the heat. You may find that on top of the performance issues that the heavier, thicker barrel is easier to shoot do to the recoil absorbing properties of added weight.

In the end it is a trade off, most target guns have heavier barrels, and hunting guns have lighter barrels. The reason is that the hunting gun only needs to be accurate for a few rounds, and the weight is an issue when carrying something for a long period of time. The target rifle needs to put up with more heat, and carrying is usually not done.