Carbon barrel for .308 or Bergara Wilderness HMR in 6.5 Creedmoor?

[WVmike]

Next year I would like to upgrade the barrel on my Remington 700 .308 and put a new scope on it or I have really been wanting to pick up a Bergara Wilderness HMR or HMR in 6.5 Creedmoor. I primarily use my .308 for shooting out to 4-450 yards for practice and during whitetail season here in WV. It has a choate stock with full length aluminum bedding and it's a really nice setup except that the barrel channel allows for a heavier barrel with which I would like to pick up a carbon barrel and offset heavier barrel/increase in weight. If I put a steel heavy barrel in say a bull or sendero profile, it would be well over 15 lbs or more I'm sure. If I pick up a 6.5 Creedmoor it would be used for the same season/shooting distances. I have handled the Bergara Wilderness HMR and it was a nice feeling rifle and I'm sure from what I've read they shoot lights out. It would also be used a couple of years down the road for my son who I just picked up a .243 for him to use this year and he is 8 and about 4' 8" and 140 lbs. He could use it after wanting to move up to something bigger or just keep shooting the .243, it would be his choice. Deciding on which is proving to be difficult. Any input would be appreciated.

 

[Farmerj]

I’d say use what you’ve got, take the time to work on a project with your son so when he’s ready to step out of the .243 Winchester, then you can work on that project together.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Why carbon over a similar weight steel barrel?

 

[turbobrick]

Just order a .264 1:8 twist carbon fiber barrel for your Remington and have your gunsmith chamber it in 6.5CM instead of 308. Then, if you want it to be light, picking up a good stock will be no problem with as common as the 700 footprint is.

 

[WVmike]

Why carbon over a similar weight steel barrel?

The weight difference mainly. The stock on it now is almost 5 pounds and if I put a sendero or bull contour in steel I would more than likely be at almost 15 lbs depending on the scope I would mount. The scope will either be a Leupold VX3 3-9 or 4.5-14. From what I have seen a carbon bull or sendero is at or under 5 pounds depending on brand.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

The weight difference mainly. The stock on it now is almost 5 pounds and if I put a sendero or bull contour in steel I would more than likely be at almost 15 lbs depending on the scope I would mount. The scope will either be a Leupold VX3 3-9 or 4.5-14. From what I have seen a carbon bull or sendero is at or under 5 pounds depending on brand.

You can get just as light of a barrel in steel and at the same weight steel barrels actually tend to be stiffer than carbon. The contour doesn't need to stuff your barrel channel to the max.

I understand people think they look cool but a carbon barrel that weighs the same as steel is more expensive and accuracy odds favor the steel barrel.

There are 2 reasons for buying a carbon barrel:
1. You think they look cool. You can say you have a carbon barrel.
2. You want more meat on muzzle for threads at a certain barrel weight and can find a carbon barrel on the shelf that accommodates this where as getting a custom contoured steel barrel that has extra diameter at the muzzle would be a custom order that takes longer.

 

[MThuntr]

Just buy the Bergara...the cost of a new carbon barrel and then gunsmith work to spin it on (possibly extra cost to true action) you're at or above the Bergara.

 

[WVmike]

You can get just as light of a barrel in steel and at the same weight steel barrels actually tend to be stiffer than carbon. The contour doesn't need to stuff your barrel channel to the max.

I understand people think they look cool but a carbon barrel that weighs the same as steel is more expensive and accuracy odds favor the steel barrel.

There are 2 reasons for buying a carbon barrel:
1. You think they look cool. You can say you have a carbon barrel.
2. You want more meat on muzzle for threads at a certain barrel weight and can find a carbon barrel on the shelf that accommodates this where as getting a custom contoured steel barrel that has extra diameter at the muzzle would be a custom order that takes longer.

I’m not trying to impress anyone so for the looking cool part, I don’t care about that. I’ve just started looking into the biggest difference between the 2 and figuring out if I want to upgrade or get another rifle in 6.5 creedmoor. Yes I would like to have a brake and the ability to get a suppressor down the road but other than that I don’t want my rifle to be almost 20 lbs as well.

 

[nhenry]

There are 2 reasons for buying a carbon barrel:
1. You think they look cool. You can say you have a carbon barrel.
2. You want more meat on muzzle for threads at a certain barrel weight and can find a carbon barrel on the shelf that accommodates this where as getting a custom contoured steel barrel that has extra diameter at the muzzle would be a custom order that takes longer.

It's also more consistent as it gets hotter, but YMMV.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I’m not trying to impress anyone so for the looking cool part, I don’t care about that. I’ve just started looking into the biggest difference between the 2 and figuring out if I want to upgrade or get another rifle in 6.5 creedmoor. Yes I would like to have a brake and the ability to get a suppressor down the road but other than that I don’t want my rifle to be almost 20 lbs as well.

A bartlein #3 contour (heavy sporter) would have enough meat for 5/8" threads if around 22" or shorter. 9/16" threads would be fine too if you want a longer barrel, and weigh around 3.5# give or take depending on length and bore diameter.

Remington Sendero (with a sendero contour) weighed something like 8.5#. I don't know how you're getting to 15 or 20#

The current prevalence of carbon barrels makes people think that's the way to go if they want it to be light when you can be just as light with a steel barrel. The point of my post is to point out that you're not really saving weight or getting better odds on performance than an appropriately contoured steel barrel.

It's also more consistent as it gets hotter, but YMMV.

Based on what I've seen and heard I'd argue to the contrary that a carbon barrel is more likely to walk when hot because they heat up faster and are more likely to have stress induced on the thin steel liners by the barrel wrapping process. If a carbon or steel barrel is done up right neither should walk but obviously some of both do have issues. The christiansen MPR is a good example if you search - lots of people complaining about stringing as barrel heats up.

 

[Seamaster]

A steel sporter barrel will weigh approximately the same as a sendero carbon barrel. A 26" steel sendero barrel will weigh about 1.5 lbs. more. Much depends on the length of the barrel.

My choice would be steel, sporter contour, threaded, and probably just a bit shorter than the factory barrel for a 308 Win. Of course if you are just looking for a reason to buy a nice Spanish rifle chambered in 6.5 Cm then nobody else's opinion really matters. Good luck with your project.

 

[WVmike]

For anyone else who knows nothing about barrel contours, I have educated myself and differences from this website. Turns out carbon barrels aren’t much lighter than their steel counterparts. Everyone is entitled to their opinion which is fine and one of the main reasons for joining the forum was to educate myself and others.

Contour Dimensions | Bartlein Barrels

www.bartleinbarrels.com

 

[Wind Gypsy]

For anyone else who knows nothing about barrel contours, I have educated myself and differences from this website. Turns out carbon barrels aren’t much lighter than their steel counterparts. Everyone is entitled to their opinion which is fine and one of the main reasons for joining the forum was to educate myself and others.

Contour Dimensions | Bartlein Barrels

www.bartleinbarrels.com

Worth noting - Bartlein carbons are a little heavier than others of similar contour because they leave more steel around the bores than most but that also makes me more confident in them than others. It seems like the weights on some contours have gone up? Maybe they changed the bore size it was based on? I’ve had a couple #3 bartleins done and I thought they used to be listed @ 3.5#.

 

[WVmike]

Worth noting - Bartlein carbons are a little heavier than others of similar contour because they leave more steel around the bores than most but that also makes me more confident in them than others. It seems like the weights on some contours have gone up? Maybe they changed the bore size it was based on? I’ve had a couple #3 bartleins done and I thought they used to be listed @ 3.5#.

This was on the site the other day so I assume it’s the most recent weights and dimensions. They also said it’s a 7-8 month lead time.

 

[nhenry]

This was on the site the other day so I assume it’s the most recent weights and dimensions. They also said it’s a 7-8 month lead time.

You gotta keep an eye on their in-stock selection. They have just what you're looking for sometimes

 

[MThuntr]

7-8 month lead is fairly common unless you can jump in on an in-stock deal as part of an over run or cancelation

 

[Wind Gypsy]

You gotta keep an eye on their in-stock selection. They have just what you're looking for sometimes

^This. Manufacturer in stock from bartlein, krieger, benchmark, etc plus stores like bugholes.com, redhawk rifles, and others that stock barrel blanks is the way to go. Hard to stomach the wait time on an order. This is the primary reason I bought my last carbon barrel - wanted to hit a certain weight and still have enough diameter for 5/8" muzzle threads and there were bartlein carbons in stock vs waiting a long time for a custom steel contour. My first barrel choice for a lightweight rifle these days would be custom contoured steel barrel with a light profile that gets thicker at the muzzle to accommodate 5/8" or larger threads. I have one that was an on the shelf blank at Krieger and I paid them extra to turn down the contour but leave it thicker at the muzzle. That said, they weren't willing to turn it down quite as much as I would have liked.

@WVmike if you look at off the shelf options, just be aware that contour #'s are different between different manufacturers. A Bartlein #3 is different than a benchmark #3. "sendero" contour is another good example of something that is not near the same amongst different barrel vendors.

 

[Seamaster]

Look hard at Douglas barrels (located in Charleston, WV) for this type of shooting. They are very good quality and have fast delivery. I use them on most of my big game and varmint rifles. They are far superior to any hammer forged factory rifle barrel and the price is right.

 

[nhenry]

^This. Manufacturer in stock from bartlein, krieger, benchmark, etc plus stores like bugholes.com, redhawk rifles, and others that stock barrel blanks is the way to go. Hard to stomach the wait time on an order. This is the primary reason I bought my last carbon barrel - wanted to hit a certain weight and still have enough diameter for 5/8" muzzle threads and there were bartlein carbons in stock vs waiting a long time for a custom steel contour. My first barrel choice for a lightweight rifle these days would be custom contoured steel barrel with a light profile that gets thicker at the muzzle to accommodate 5/8" or larger threads. I have one that was an on the shelf blank at Krieger and I paid them extra to turn down the contour but leave it thicker at the muzzle. That said, they weren't willing to turn it down quite as much as I would have liked.

@WVmike if you look at off the shelf options, just be aware that contour #'s are different between different manufacturers. A Bartlein #3 is different than a benchmark #3. "sendero" contour is another good example of something that is not near the same amongst different barrel vendors.

Even if certain manufacturers won’t turn down their in stock items, you can buy the barrel still and send it to McGowen and they’ll turn it down to anything you want for 60 bucks

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Even if certain manufacturers won’t turn down their in stock items, you can buy the barrel still and send it to McGowen and they’ll turn it down to anything you want for 60 bucks

That’s great intel, had no idea.