E. Arthur Brown vs. Gun Shack E.R. Shaw Barrels

[30-06shooter]

I noticed on gunshack.com they advertise an er shaw varmint barrel 30-06 small shank as 26" and eabco.com advertises it at 24". Are these the same barrels with a misprint on one site or are they completely different?

[J.Baker]

ER Shaw makes barrels for quite a few vendors (Midway, Brownells, GunShack, Eabco, etc) and they're basically made to the specifications each vendor orders. I would assume Gunshack specified a 26" length for theirs and Eabco specified a 24" length for theirs.

[Robinhood]

Yep Jim, I agree. 30-06, I tried one of those and was happy with the group but not with the cleaning problems. Save your money and buy one of the prefits from one of our sponsors or re sellers of lapped barrels. if you are a discerning shooter you will be happier.

[30-06shooter]

What kind of cleaning problems did you have? What do you mean when you say "prefit"?

[wbm]

EABCO has two types of Savage prefits. One is made by Shaw and the other, their Accuracy Barrel Kit, is made from Douglas blanks. Have had two of their "Accuracy Barrel Kits" and both were finished very well inside and out....had no cleaning issues and great accuracy.

[30-06shooter]

One more question. This is going to be for a long range(1,000yrds) rifle build. Will the 26" make a huge difference over the 24" barrel for accuracy?

[Texas10]

One more question. This is going to be for a long range(1,000yrds) rifle build. Will the 26" make a huge difference over the 24" barrel for accuracy?

The answer is, it depends, and you'll have to do some research on 30-06 ballistics and gyroscopic stability using the expected FPS, bullet B.C., actual bullet length, twist rate, altitude, temperature of your proposed load.

What you're looking for is to verify that the bullet is still going 1350 fps or faster at the target distance, and has a SG of 1.5 or better ( see Berger twist rate calculator) so that you're getting the benefit of your bullets maximum B.C. (ballistic coefficient). The 2 inch barrel length advantage of a 24 inch vs a 26 inch should be around 50 fps and if that translates into 1300 vs 1350 fps at the target, it could make a huge difference in accuracy. 1350 fps is the transonic speed where bullet stability tends to go to pot, and of course, accuracy with it. Some bullets are more stable at transonic velocities than others, so bullet choice is also factor.

Of course, lighter bullets launched faster will typically be faster at 1000 yds than a heavier bulllet however, they will also be influenced by the wind to a much greater degree. So there's a trade off to account for.

If your plan is to punch paper at 1000 yds, your set up will be different than if you're planning to shoot game at that distance, as the two disciplines are mutually exclusive.

In short, if you're punching paper at 1000 yds from a bench rest position, a heavier, stable platform and longer barrel generating more velocity is your friend, and 30 inch barrels seem to do better. Conversely, you don't want to be lugging a 30 inch bull barrel 10 miles over a mountain for a chance to take a long range shot only to be completely exhausted by the time you get there.

[RC20]

What kind of cleaning problems did you have? What do you mean when you say "prefit"?

Pre Fit Savage has the threads cut into the chamber end and the chamber is complete, you just need a nut and to screw it in, head space it, tighten down the nut and you are good to go.

A blank would mean a gun smith or one of the barrel suppliers would have to turn the threads and do the chamber.

Cleaning issue is that a rough barrel is hard to clean (Savage is rough, they don't lap them, or very minimally - Mr. Furious may have the skinny on that)

While its new to me, EABCO per the above poster has Douglas barrels that are finished (lapped) and smooth.

It makes cleaning a whole lot easier or even fully doable (a bit of crud is not going to kill you but I like them as clean as possible)

A rough barrel can shoot tack driver fine, and we are talking about button rifle here, most cut rifled are well dressed (lapped)

A hammer forged barrel is also smooth but the better ones (CZ) lap them, not sure if they actually over do the hammering and then open them up.

[30-06shooter]

Thanks for all the info guys.

[RC20]

Youi are welcome. Going to shoot 1000 I would go with 26 inch. Hevier on bench is fine, more better stailbity wise.


Of course, lighter bullets launched faster will typically be faster at 1000 yds than a heavier bulllet however, they will also be influenced by the wind to a much greater degree. So there's a trade off to account for.

I am not sure that is correct. Heavier bullet carries more speed? - though there is a cross over in very heavy

[Robinhood]

BC, like diamonds, lasts forever.

[GaCop]

EABCO has two types of Savage prefits. One is made by Shaw and the other, their Accuracy Barrel Kit, is made from Douglas blanks. Have had two of their "Accuracy Barrel Kits" and both were finished very well inside and out....had no cleaning issues and great accuracy.

Good to know, thanks.....

[30-06shooter]

Thanks for all the help on this guys. It was painless and only took about 30 minutes. I went with the 24" ER Shaw Varmint barrel from EABCO. Made a barrel vise out of a block of wood and used the barrel wrench and go/nogo gauges that came with the barrel.