medium heavy barrel or standard? whats the difference or benefits?

orrbull48

orrbull48

New member
im gettin ready to buy my a bolt 22-250 but dont know if i should get the varmint stalker with the heavier barrel...which
is a bit more or just a regular composite stalker? im not gonna be smokin 20 rounds at a time through either but just wanted some input? difference in accuracy etc. etc.??????
thanks guys!
 
Some folks find the heavier barrel's steadier to shoot and they seem to swing better for running game, some say just the opposite. Only thing I can say for sure is my 10 pound plus Remington stays in the safe for coyote hunting and the 7.2 pound CZ Varmint with a medium heavy barrel goes more often.

For the ground squirrel fields where you don't have to pack a rifle to several coyote sets the heavy barrel gun works fine.

How does it feel in your hands?
 
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As long as you don't heat up the barrel by burnin up a ton of ammo at a time, you won't see an accuracy differance.


what do you or anyone else consider a ton of ammo?
 
i think the weight difference is 6.75 compared to 8.3 on the stalker. both feel great one is just lighter, which i like better just dont want to sacrifice any accuracy or cause any damage to the light weight barrel
 
The big barrel killer is heat. If you keep your shooting to a pace that will let you keep your hand on the barrel it will last a long time. I've seen folks that simply couldn't do that and shot til you could brand cows with the barrel. Needless to say barrel life was a problem.

Big PD fields are where this is an important fact and most shooters simply bring several guns and when a barrel gets hot they put it under the bench with the bolt open and shoot another while the hot one cools.

Coyote hunting on the other hand is easy on barrels and if you shoot 20 rounds a day it's a lot. I shoot two rifles for calling guns now, a Ruger #1 243 and a CZ 527 Varmint in 204 Ruger. I've been shooting the 243 for the past five years and shot several different 22-250 for 30 plus years before that. All performed well.

With all that said a heavy barrel rifle like My Rem 700 VLS is easier for me to get good groups with than a really light rifle. This can translate into better field performance, but tight groups isn't all there is to predator hunting as many of the guys using short handy AR 15 platforms will attest to.
 
I like a barrel that is in between. You know, something on the order of the CZ 527 Varmint. It's heavy enough to give the rifle some mass (weight forward) which I like yet it is not so cumbersome that you need a side car on your vehicle to carry it.

Landrum
 
Here's some of the differences:

A sporter weight CZ 527. These come in around six pounds are very accurate and you can carry it all day without any problems. Makes a dandy walking around rifle.

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A CZ 527 Varmint. These weigh 7.2 pounds bear and when scoped and slinged about 8.5 and still are not bad to carry. This is what Landrum is talking about when he says "in between" This is my favorite calling rifle chambered in 204 Ruger next to a Ruger #1 in 243.

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Here's my Rem 700 VLS heavy barrel 243. It weighs 11 pounds with scope and sling and is certainly to heavy for a calling rifle your going to carry to several sets a day. It is on the other hand a real joy to shoot in the ground squirrel fields where a lot of shooting is done in a day.

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This is a Ruger #1B with a 26 inch barrel that weighs 8.5 pounds as shown and it's both very accurate and in 243 a dandy calling rifle as well as a great deer rifle.

Ruger1b.jpg


Some folks simply like a heavy rifle for calling and if you don't mind packing the weight then that's what works. I like the in between concept for a varmint rifle, but do use a light gun for deer hunting.

Everyone has a different concept for "what's right" and none of those concepts are wrong. You've just got to decide what's right for you.
 
get the varmint, i have one in 243 WSSM and it's a great rifle. it's not that bad to carry, just get yourself a good sling and your good to go

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and here is what i get @ 100 yds /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

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Generally, heavy barrel rifles tend to be more accurate. However, for the hunter, if first shot is dead on it should not make a difference.
 
Yes, I shoot an sps sporter in 223 and I have no problem shooting prairie dogs at 275 to 300 yards, ditto with my 25-06 varminter,but the barrel on the sporter heats up faster and will not hold its accuracy for as many shots. The heavy rifle is easier to hold steady than the lighter rifle. I would have no trouble taking out a yote with either one at 300 yards as long as I had a good rest and time to make the shot. Choose the one that feels the best and go hunting.
 
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Yes, I shoot an sps sporter in 223 and I have no problem shooting prairie dogs at 275 to 300 yards, ditto with my 25-06 varminter,but the barrel on the sporter heats up faster and will not hold its accuracy for as many shots. The heavy rifle is easier to hold steady than the lighter rifle. I would have no trouble taking out a yote with either one at 300 yards as long as I had a good rest and time to make the shot. Choose the one that feels the best and go hunting.



how many shots can you get out of the sporter before you start to lose your accuracy??
 
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