Some insight to why a light barrel and heavy barrel can be equally accurate.
08-16-2013, 11:50 AM
#1
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Central Pa.
Posts: 105
Some insight to why a light barrel and heavy barrel can be equally accurate.
I have been digesting many books over the last year from authors like Jack O'Connor and the like and about 20 years of the shooters bible. After 30 years of hunting and competitive pistol shooting, multiple Gunsite visits, etc...I still am amazed all the intricacies I am still learning about firearms and its wonderful.
Some myths that seem to be widely accepted but are not true....
Myth #1
A light weight barrel is not as accurate as a heavy barrel. This is not true. Any high quality lightweight barrel will be as accurate as any heavy barrel with in the first 4 shots all factors being equal. I never believed this until I saw it for myself. The reason is that it is easier to produce a cheaper heavy barrel rifle that is accurate. The stiffer barrel vibrates less and is less subseptable to heating up or showing a poor barrel to stock bedding. Many cheaper lightweight barrels or heavy weight barrels are not strait to start with. The difference is when the light weight barrel gets hot, they will start to unlink and start to string their groups. The heavy weigh barrel just takes more shots to see this. Therefore the quality of steel and manufacturing of a lightweight barrel has to be much higher than a thicker barrel. A lighter barrel must be bedded better than a heavier barrel because of the increased vibrations and fluctuations. This why cheaper heavy weight barrel guns like my Savage seems to be a tack driver even though the stock quality is rubbish. A well known custom gunsmith stated "it takes more skill to make a custom lightweight sportster rifle than it does a heavy weight barrel bench gun." This is why a high quality barrel isn't as sensitive to various bullet weights for repetitive accuracy.
A lightweight is just as accurate as a heavy weight barrel and will out shoot a poor executed heavy weight barrel. There is just more factors in manufacturing a light weight barrel that has to be done correctly for a high quality light weight barrel to shoot as accurate as a high quality heavy weight barrel.
I found this very interesting and wanted to pass it along.
Some myths that seem to be widely accepted but are not true....
Myth #1
A light weight barrel is not as accurate as a heavy barrel. This is not true. Any high quality lightweight barrel will be as accurate as any heavy barrel with in the first 4 shots all factors being equal. I never believed this until I saw it for myself. The reason is that it is easier to produce a cheaper heavy barrel rifle that is accurate. The stiffer barrel vibrates less and is less subseptable to heating up or showing a poor barrel to stock bedding. Many cheaper lightweight barrels or heavy weight barrels are not strait to start with. The difference is when the light weight barrel gets hot, they will start to unlink and start to string their groups. The heavy weigh barrel just takes more shots to see this. Therefore the quality of steel and manufacturing of a lightweight barrel has to be much higher than a thicker barrel. A lighter barrel must be bedded better than a heavier barrel because of the increased vibrations and fluctuations. This why cheaper heavy weight barrel guns like my Savage seems to be a tack driver even though the stock quality is rubbish. A well known custom gunsmith stated "it takes more skill to make a custom lightweight sportster rifle than it does a heavy weight barrel bench gun." This is why a high quality barrel isn't as sensitive to various bullet weights for repetitive accuracy.
A lightweight is just as accurate as a heavy weight barrel and will out shoot a poor executed heavy weight barrel. There is just more factors in manufacturing a light weight barrel that has to be done correctly for a high quality light weight barrel to shoot as accurate as a high quality heavy weight barrel.
I found this very interesting and wanted to pass it along.
Last edited by Mystro; 08-16-2013 at 12:04 PM.
08-16-2013, 02:51 PM
#2
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Port Neches, Texas
Posts: 5,514
Barrel thickness has very little to do with accuracy! The quality of the rifling, the crown, action and bedding is where the accuracy is going to come from, no matter if its a sporter weight or a 2" diameter!
08-16-2013, 07:04 PM
#4
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location:
Posts: 5,130
Some of these guyz (me included) are going to tell you that a "stiff" barrel is going to be more accurate (speaking ONLY of the barrel).
Any free floating and bedding is going to help that much more............................
Any free floating and bedding is going to help that much more............................
08-17-2013, 03:45 AM
#5
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Central Pa.
Posts: 105
And you would be wrong........
. This is why I posted this. All the information from the expert gunsmiths and those in the industry all confirm there is NO accuracy difference between barrel thickness. I can easily do single hole groups at 100 yards with a lightweight barrel. Under 2" groups at 300 yards. This got me investigating the barrel thickness accuracy myth.
. This is why I posted this. All the information from the expert gunsmiths and those in the industry all confirm there is NO accuracy difference between barrel thickness. I can easily do single hole groups at 100 yards with a lightweight barrel. Under 2" groups at 300 yards. This got me investigating the barrel thickness accuracy myth.
Last edited by Mystro; 08-17-2013 at 03:49 AM.
08-17-2013, 09:07 AM
#7
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Kansas
Posts: 3,902
Well thank you for the education, Mystro.
I'll have to sell all of my rifles and go back to pencil barrels, and I'll make some phone calls, I know a bunch of benchrest competitors that could be saving themselves a lot of money.
You know, cuz those guys that get paid to throw lead 1,000yrds don't have any idea what it takes to build an accurate rifle...
Shooting 2" groups at 300yrds doesn't impress anybody off a firing line.
I'll have to sell all of my rifles and go back to pencil barrels, and I'll make some phone calls, I know a bunch of benchrest competitors that could be saving themselves a lot of money.
You know, cuz those guys that get paid to throw lead 1,000yrds don't have any idea what it takes to build an accurate rifle...
Shooting 2" groups at 300yrds doesn't impress anybody off a firing line.
08-17-2013, 10:05 AM
#8
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Central Pa.
Posts: 105
Its not my theory. Or that matter its not a theory, this information has been posted in several books buy some of the most respected gun authorities in the last century. This didn't come from the local self trained gunsmith down the road.
All thing being equal....a thin diameter barrel shoots just as accurate as a thick diameter barrel. Forget all the various crap use in a 20lbs bench gun we are talking about the same barrel length just different diameters.
Meh,....I am not trying to impress you. Shot off sandbags on a windy day. Your welcome to post some of your own targets if you like and let's see what you can do with a light weight rifle and off the shelf ammo.
Two different days. Two different off the shelf ammo on less than ideal windy days. Using a 9x scope.
Wanna bet I can't get my groups under 1" on a calm day with better optics...?
All thing being equal....a thin diameter barrel shoots just as accurate as a thick diameter barrel. Forget all the various crap use in a 20lbs bench gun we are talking about the same barrel length just different diameters.
Meh,....I am not trying to impress you. Shot off sandbags on a windy day. Your welcome to post some of your own targets if you like and let's see what you can do with a light weight rifle and off the shelf ammo.
Wanna bet I can't get my groups under 1" on a calm day with better optics...?
Last edited by Mystro; 08-17-2013 at 10:43 AM.
08-17-2013, 02:08 PM
#9
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Central Pa.
Posts: 105
Ridge Runner, Leg to stand on? Really? What am I supposed to do, build a designated bench gun with the featherweight barrel? Your not comparing apples to apples here. So 2" groups at 300yards with a featherweight gun with off the shelf ammo doesn't impress you...
.. Whatever dude..
Enough already let's move on here to the original topic at hand, these are not my theories. These are facts by well respected professionals in published books. You act like I am pulling this out of thin air. Your missing the main point of what was originally posted. Others have grasp the idea. "Identical length barrels in identical guns. One with a feather weight barrel and one with a bull barrel". They both will shoot equally accurate all factors being the same...., I am not sure how else to rephrase the statement in question. It has nothing to do with how a bench gun verses a sporster gun shoots against themself. Do your own research since you obviously don't believe the messenger or published books.
Do you carry that rifle around the woods and hunt with it or is it a bench gun?? If its a bench gun then you are not comparing apples to apples.
.. Whatever dude..Enough already let's move on here to the original topic at hand, these are not my theories. These are facts by well respected professionals in published books. You act like I am pulling this out of thin air. Your missing the main point of what was originally posted. Others have grasp the idea. "Identical length barrels in identical guns. One with a feather weight barrel and one with a bull barrel". They both will shoot equally accurate all factors being the same...., I am not sure how else to rephrase the statement in question. It has nothing to do with how a bench gun verses a sporster gun shoots against themself. Do your own research since you obviously don't believe the messenger or published books.
Do you carry that rifle around the woods and hunt with it or is it a bench gun?? If its a bench gun then you are not comparing apples to apples.
Last edited by Mystro; 08-17-2013 at 02:54 PM.
