MRAD 338 Lapua Barrel length

[mikeg110]

I'm looking into buying a 338 lapua barrel for my MRAD. Does anyone have any input on the barrel lengths 20in, 24.5, 26in (heavy or fluted).

[brando]

To get the most out of that cartridge, I would default to the 26". That'll give you enough velocity to stretch a little bit beyond a mile. The shorter barrels are better if you need a bit of weight savings or are running suppressor and the OAL is a concern. I have a number of different length barrels on my SRS, all for various uses:

18" is great for hunting as its compact and can deliver a lot of energy out to 1000m. It a bit much for most suppressors though as it generates well over 10,000psi as the muzzle. It's a bear to shoot in dusty places but I use it quite a bit in competitions inside of 1000m as I live in the windiest city in the world and a 300gr bullet even at 2550fps bucks wind better than 175s

26" is the optimal in my book, able to run 250gr bullets to about 3100fps and 300s to about 2800fps. It's also great with a suppressor.

34" Improved is the most I could get out of the cartridges before moving up to a .375CT. It'll pus 300s to 3100fps easily which means in most cases it'll stay supersonic to nearly 2000m, which is almost .408CT performance.

[JMP]

I'd go 27-28" with a 1:10" Bartlein 5r. You'll want a heavy contour with a lot of rigidity. Take a look at AI and Sako and their barrel profiles. They really have that cartridge down. As for fluting, it is my belief that it is mostly cosmetic. It does save some weight, while it cools faster, it also heats up faster. If you have two barrels of the same contour, the fluted barrel will be less rigid. If you have two barrels of the same weight, the fluted barrel will be more rigid.

[mikeg110]

Thanks for the feedback. I think i'm going with the Barrett 26in heavy barrel