Hello all,
I'm debating putting my military Model 98 sporter on a little diet, and part of that is thinking about barrel length. It is a cut-down stepped military barrel, and the current version of the barrel is 22.5 inches long. Now, I fully understand that barrel length is important for powder burn, so I don't want to go too short, but can anyone offer some real-world experience on the 7x57 with various barrel lengths? This particular rifle is used exclusively for j-words and deer hunting, and the most common powder used is a stiff change of 4064 and the old W-W 175 grain round nose bullets. Accuracy is solid, at 1 MOA, with this load.
I'm looking at different options to try to get the gun down below 7 pounds with scope and sling, and using the old Parker-Hale aluminum trigger guard and floorplate, Weaver bases and rings, I'm close. I'm not committed to shortening and recrowning the barrel, but knocking off and inch or two, as well as looking at the other end for a lighter recoil pad, should keep the gun balanced and still shed some weight. Also on the list, slimming the stock - it's a nicely redone piece of light walnut, but I think there's some "heft" in there that can go away.
And yeah, I don't "have" to do any of it. As the rifle sits, it carries well, shoots well, and is still pretty light - 7 1/2 pounds. This is more about "can I do it" versus "I have to do it." Based on what I've seen, though, knocking the barrel down to 21 inches won't have a negative effect in "real world" performance, but I respect the knowledge base on here, even if this is a jacketed gun. I'd like to hear ya'll's insights!
Cree