barrel length?

[longrange dog]

looking to shop for barrels for my .260 switch but wondering what length, i have read a article on a custom built .260 that had a 22" barrel and that short stiff barrels are as accurate as longer ones I've always used 24 to 26 preferably 26, any thoughts would be appreciated,thanks for the recoil lug help guys!

[sinman]

Is it for target shooting or hunting? what barrel contour are you looking at getting? If its a hunting rifle and a #1 contour there is no use in having a 30" long barrel but if its target and you want a bull barrel there is no use in having a 16" when a longer one would work just as good if not better.

[longrange dog]

some hunting mostly lr target though

[sinman]

I would probably go with a 26" varmint contour, should be fairly decent off the bench and still be carried some in the field, fluting would help on the weight issue too.

[358Hammer]

some hunting mostly lr target though

This answer is probably the number one reason many have more than one tool.
I hunt with 17" and I shoot paper and other stuff from the bench with a 17" barrel. Shortly I will have a couple of 19" barrels.
Benchrest shooters for many decades shot 20" barrels because their bullets got out of the barrel before the recoil affect. That is a school of thought.

Many in different disciplines today have extremely heavy long barreled shooters for both hunting and competition for various reasons. Recoil reduction and very slow burning powders pushing very large bullets need longer barrels to get the velocities they are looking for.

I have a super accurate bunch of handguns that will hit a golf ball at 300 yards every shot. A couple will break eggs very consistently at 500 yards. My 6.2 pound striker with 17" barrel shooting a 185gr TSX from a 338WSM Imp@ 3000fps is one that will take a cold bore golf ball at 300 yards every time. The barrel is so thin I NEVER shoot more than three rounds without cooling down. This particuler gun is a go to hunter and is taken out every other week and one shot is fired through it making sure the POI is the same from time to time.

SInce you reference target shooting i would opt for the larger barrels regardless of length just because it takes longer to heat up a barrel.

Neal

[Hammer]

... there is no use in having a 30" long barrel...

My heart just missed a beat and felt a sharp jab behind my eye.

[sinman]

Haha I thought you might see that hammer, a 30" #1 barrel, there are alot of reasons to have heavier that are that long.

[Smokey262]

Carrying a 26" varmint weight barrel while hunting builds character.

I tried it, for half a day.

Never again

[Hammer]

Build the character of the gun bearer, not the varmint shooter.

.

[Don - LongRangeSupply]

Benchrest shooters for many decades shot 20" barrels because their bullets got out of the barrel before the recoil affect.

Never heard that before. Any web links on the subject?

My understanding on the 20-22" length for benchrest was accuracy vs weight and it had to do with harmonics, not recoil.

Some compelling info in the story below, that would make one believe that 21 3/4" is the "ideal" length for a benchrest caliber.

http://www.angelfire.com/ma3/max357/houston.html

[Fjold]

I'm old, out of shape and have bad knees and I carry a 26" No 5 contour, laminated stocked rifle (11+Lbs) for a week at a time antelope hunting. I also carried a 25" barreled 375H&H (also 11+ lbs) with no sling in Africa for ten days.

It all depends on what you're used to.