300 whisper bolt-gun recommendations

[kurtz]

I am looking for recommendations on building a 300 whisper bolt-gun...I am thinking about using a Howa 1500 .223 action....any suggestions are much appreciated.

[tp555]

I liked the howa action. A metal trigger guard and beefy extractor.You shouldn't have any problem. regards.

[kurtz]

tp555....thanks for the info....on the subject: rate of twist and barrel length.....I would like to shoot sonic and sub-sonic loads....on the low end 220gr at 1050fps and on the high end 125 to 150gr at around 2000fps.....is the 1:8 a good all-around or do I need a different twist with the 125s and 150s at 2000fps.....what about barrel length??

[700X]

Hey kurtz,

I'm interested to see the responses to your last post. Should be some interesting differences of opinions. I have personal experience with Howa actions, and my rifle (a Weatherby Vanguard in .25/06) shot VERY well, so your choice should prove to be a good one, unless you have a 700 action laying around. If you do but don't want to use it, I'll give you a little somethin' for it!

Anyway, for the twist info. I'm betting you will get responses that may include it's not possible to do both things with the same barrel. My opinion is it depends on what you plan to do with the rifle and what degree of accurracy you will be happy with. You will have to choose a fast twist if you want to shoot big bullets, but what I am not sure of is how much accuracy potential you will lose by spinning 125gr bullets that fast. If you're just wanting to shoot deer out to 150 yards it may be a moot point, but like I said, I'm not sure.

Based on the general rule that you don't want to spin a bullet any faster than necessary to stabilize it, the light bullets in a fast twist barrel will push the limits considerably, but let's all see what kind of info comes back and we'll learn together. Good luck, X

[kurtz]

X...thanks for your experience with the Howa (sorry, no 700 short-actions in the safe)....the rifle that I would like to build would use primarily suppressed sub-sonic 220s.....the 125s or 150s would be for the occasional deer or hog hunting trip at around 100 to 150 yards....one of my concerns is that the faster/lighter 125-150 bullets over time may degrade the performance/accuracy of the barrel to a noticable level when using the 220s.....I realize that nothing lasts forever but I don't want to tear up a barrel out of my own ignorance, I would rather build (2) purpose built rifles, hope thats not necessary......hopefully someone will write in with experiences on a 1:8 barrel using heavy and light loads....

[700X]

You'll only be using 10-20gr of powder, so you'll have to TRY to shoot the barrel out, so I wouldn't let that worry affect your decision. I would bet a lot of money that whatever barrel you pick will still be punching moa groups long after you start "pushing up daisies". I doubt a fast twist will show any problems with your pig shooting, but like I said, there are people here WAY more knowledgeable than me with personal experience to back their opinion, so you'll get the advice you need.

[Scoop]

Originally Posted by 700X

.........but what I am not sure of is how much accuracy potential you will lose by spinning 125gr bullets that fast. If you're just wanting to shoot deer out to 150 yards it may be a moot point, but like I said, I'm not sure.

Based on the general rule that you don't want to spin a bullet any faster than necessary to stabilize it, the light bullets in a fast twist barrel will push the limits considerably, but let's all see what kind of info comes back and we'll learn together. Good luck, X

I'm using 125 gr Nosler BT's over 18.5 gr of H110 in my 6.5-twist PacNor barrel and getting better than 3/4 MOA. Usually right at half MOA. This load averages 2300 fps in this barrel. Go figure.

[bluesdaddy]

Rebarreling a Savage/striker pistol to a 300 whisper, I know the 8 twist is Ideal but I found a 14 twist, Will this work at 15 1/2"? Thanks a Newbie