JUST BOUGHT NEW S20 AND.....

[bpul2113]

Just bought a brand new S20 in 300 win mag. I want to put a new barrel on it with a faster rifling for shooting the longer higher BC bullets. Anyone done this? Any one see any issues with doing this?
What barrel would you all replace the new one with? Any other ideas?

 

[Frank Alc]

Nice rifle. Never shot one but reviews are excellent.
I am no expert, but I would shoot out the original barrel first, then rebarrel.
If I am not wrong the S20 in 300 wm comes with a 1:11 twist. Not very tight but deemed adequate by Sako engineers.

Those are good to shoot up to 220 gr round nose bullets that are freaking thumpers. Perhaps also 230s or 240s round nose if you find them which are brutal.

If you are thinking long range you are good up to 210 gr Berger VLDs that have a pretty high BC. Perhaps even 215 Berger hybrids with a slightly higher BC but these are probably marginally stable in your barrel unless shot in high temps, humidity or elevation.

Just my 2c, cheers

 

[Mark MCMAHON]

Just bought a brand new S20 in 300 win mag. I want to put a new barrel on it with a faster rifling for shooting the longer higher BC bullets. Anyone done this? Any one see any issues with doing this?
What barrel would you all replace the new one with? Any other ideas?

Hart Barrels

 

[P04R]

If it's brand spanking new 2023 or -24 production you probably already have 1/10 rifling. Better check it before you wreck it. The twist rate is usually included in the caliber marking on the barrel. Production year is found on the proof mark.

 

[Frank Alc]

If it's brand spanking new 2023 or -24 production you probably already have 1/10 rifling. Better check it before you wreck it. The twist rate is usually included in the caliber marking on the barrel. Production year is found on the proof mark.

This ^^^^

 

[stonecreek]

This question reminds me of myself when I was very young.

Instead of obsessing about twist rate like today, at that time it was popular for every gun rag writer to preach about barrel "burn out" and how cartridges like the .220 Swift and .264 magnum would render a barrel useless in just a couple of hunting seasons.

It happened that I badly wanted a Sako and the only one available at the local gun store was in .264, so I reluctantly bought it. I immediately wrote a letter to P.O. Ackley, who was then the Q & A guy for one of the gun magazines, asking how difficult it would be to rebore it to 7mm Rem after it ate up the barrel -- something I was certain to happen before the third reloading of my 50-round brass supply.

Well, now more than a half-century and thousands of rounds later, that Sako .264 still puts the first shot exactly where it is supposed to and consistently groups less than an inch.

Bottom line: Don't make assumptions about accuracy or anything else. Only shooting the rifle with a particular load will tell you what works. And if a load/bullet isn't accurate, but the holes in the target are round and not oblong, then your problem still ISN'T TWIST, it's something else.

Now, I need to stop typing and go try to burn out some barrels. At my age I'm afraid I may ultimately fail to do so on that .264. Oh, and maybe I should measure its twist before I die. That might explain why it likes Noslers and not Sierras.

 

[paulsonconstruction]

Just bought a brand new S20 in 300 win mag. I want to put a new barrel on it with a faster rifling for shooting the longer higher BC bullets. Anyone done this? Any one see any issues with doing this?
What barrel would you all replace the new one with? Any other ideas?

WHY??? What great advantage do you foresee by putting a different barrel on? Wouldn't it be prudent to at least shoot the new gun first before assuming it won't do what you expect? You will be hard pressed to find an aftermarket barrel better than Sako's factory tube. This fast twist, high BC craze is more about chasing minutia than any real world difference, IMHO. Does some fraction of an inch difference in trajectory really matter? There are no "magic" bullets, no matter what you have been told.

 

[Bucktote]

WHY??? What great advantage do you foresee by putting a different barrel on? Wouldn't it be prudent to at least shoot the new gun first before assuming it won't do what you expect? You will be hard pressed to find an aftermarket barrel better than Sako's factory tube. This fast twist, high BC craze is more about chasing minutia than any real world difference, IMHO. Does some fraction of an inch difference in trajectory really matter? There are no "magic" bullets, no matter what you have been told.

Well put Mr. P
Always try the easiest thing FIRST !!
add 2 cents, B/T

 

[bpul2113]

A 1in10 twist is very old school and won't stabilize the newer longer bullets. It he same with the 7mm rem mag. This is the reason the PRC's have a twist rate that is much faster, a Sako twist rate is to slow to stabilize the newer heavier highest section density bullets....a sake 7mm mag has a 1 in 9.5 twist which won't stabilize a 175 gr bullet, much less a 195gr, same thing with the 300 win mag....a 1 in 10 twist won't stabilize a 220ghr plus 30 cal bullet

 

[P04R]

Is it really worth it? After some play with a ballistic calculator comparing the two 200 grain MatchKings Sierra is offering, one of which is stated to need 1/9 twist rate. With the same bullet weight I can assume same muzzle velocity, so only changing the BC from one to the other I got only 4% improvement in flight time, 8% improvement in end velocity and 200 mm less drop at 1 kilometer . 200 mm is what 2 clicks on MIL scope at 1000 meters? I didn't compare with the heavier bullets since they don't have older "high drag" siblings in same weight, so it would mean different muzzle velocity and everything, making comparison that much harder. Granted heavy bullet retains energy better.

Obviously I'm novice at this long range precision stuff, so I might have missed some critical point. Trying to educate myself. And naturally I live here where new barrel costs at about 500-1000 €, so I'd be hesitant to drop that kind of money for this gain.