20 Vartarg Barrel Length/contour??

H

Huntinherrington

New member
Building a 20 Vartarg to shoot PD's and to just shoot from a bipod. I will not be lugging it around or hiking rough terrain. Most of my current rifles have 26" Rem Varmint contour barrels. I'm leaning towards a 26" Rem Varmint or bull barrel. Looking to get good velocity, minimal barrel heat, & least recoil. I know the 20VT already has all those things going for it so I guess what I really need to know is at what point is the barrel too long/heavy for a 20 Vartarg. I'm use to the mentality of long heavy barrels to gain velocity and tame recoil but the 20VT is known for good velocity, low barrel heat and low recoil so i have no idea what barrel to get.
 
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I would probably go with a 24".

I had my CZ with the thinner 204 Ruger factory varmint barrel rechambered in 20VT and cut down to 20" and threaded for a can.
 
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Key words in your statement, is low recoil. I take it that you are wanting to see your bullet impacts?

So, along those lines, I am assuming that you have a table gun or a gun that is shot off a bi pod on the ground, you want to see your hits, and not get a lot of recoil.

Something to remember, depending on how much you shoot, a barrel can have more than one chamber cut on it. You accomplish this by having about 5" of straight section on the back of the barrel. So, when you get your throat shot out, the barrel can be set back about an inch on the first chamber, then two inches on the second chamber, then up to 4" on the third chamber which may mean that you have to go to a barrel nut.

The barrels that you can do this with is the Max Heavy varmint countour, they will have 5" of straight at the rear, then will be about .900 at 26".

Barrel weight helps eliminate muzzle rise during recoil, so you can see your impacts. For a table gun, get the longest barrel you can stand, since it will not be a walking varminter. This long heavy barrel will kick like a bb gun, and you may get 10,000 rounds on the barrel with the set backs. I have been setting back barrels since the mid 80's on custom guns starting off with the Max heavy varmint or better yet, the unturned blanks.

Most guys think in terms of getting one chamber out of a barrel, nothing could be further than the truth, but the barrel has to be assessed with a bore scope and oversize bushings or pin gauges to determine where the wear stops from throat erosion. I can go into further detail for you if you like. The key to barrel set back is how much straight shank you have on the breach end, along with barrel wear. Some powders eat barrels while others are very gentle.

Best wishes
 
I understand everything you are saying. Yes, I want to see bullet impacts. That's the main thing. The other being able to shoot PD without over heating the barrel. I just don't know at what point is the barrel too long for the 20 Vartarg velocity wise. At what point does it not offer any performance gain? I'm going to get the longest barrel worth having performance wise and get the heaviest contour. I just don't know what length that is. I'm trying to balance barrel length, barrel performance, and weight. Meaning if it doesnt make sense to get a longer barrel performance wise then I will just get an unturned barrel to compensate for the weight of a shorter barrel. If it will benefit from a 26" barrel then i will get it with a unturned barrel to further aid barrel heating and recoil. Weight of rifle is not an issue, However I'm not looking to build it with a 30" barrel just for the heck of having more weight either. I have to draw the line somewhere.
 
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I had a 20 vartarg built as a bench rifle with a 24" remington varmint contour
I would do it exactly the same if I were to do it over again



 
Huntinherrington, you are probably using up all the powder within 21-22", but with short light barrels, you may have an issue again with seeing your impacts.

Buster may be able to give you some insight on this muzzle flip issue.

A 26" Max heavy varmint would be a dream to shoot. Overheating a barrel is an issue of how "Rich" your target environment is. I have over heated a 17 AH to the point to where I had to cool the barrel, time and time again only shooting 12g of powder. Same thing on a 22 Mag, bolt gun with only a 5 and 10 shot magazines.
 
I know its not the same thing but i don't think there would be much of a difference. I run a 16 1/2 RVC barrel in 17 fireball with a 20gr Vmax @ 4025fps, I don't think i give up very much FPS with the short tube and watching your hits is nothing... Your stock choice would probably make a bigger difference than barrel length or weight to a certain extent...

Besides it pretty dang handy in and out of the truck...


 
Thanks for all the replies. I'm going with either a 24" or 26" bull barrel. Looking to record my prairie dog hunt thru the scope. I'm putting a Remage barrel on a R700 223 action. Going to use a fireball style bolt and use it as a single shot. I might later put FB parts in or find a complete fireball rifle later and swap the barrel to have a repeater.
 


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