Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only Chopped/cut down barrel big bored

Couldn't find a full length pic of my old/retired 375HH bear rifle I build off a Mauser, But this is the end of the barrel after I further shortened the barrel from around 22-inches down to around 20-inches, and had the gun hard coated. Never was quite satisfied with overall balance, and never quite pinned down a particular barrel length. I think I ran that gun at three different barrel lengths over about a decade or so.



Built a couple of these modeled after Phil Shoemaker's 416 light rifle to replace my old 375. The last one ended up very light with perfect balance having a 22-inch barrel. Really like the last one at 22, but it had a ton of work and light weight parts, so I was able to move some weight around with the final bedding of the stock to place the balance point exactly where I wanted it to be, while still reaching my overall weight goal.



All of my 416s were replaced with a non-magnum factory Sako, which has a barrel closer to 20-inch, but it is even lighter and more handy. The balance and feel of the rifle is near custom like to my dimensions and preference, but it is box stock.



In the end, the overall balance and handling of my rifle is of greater importance to me than any specific barrel length. Running barrels anywhere in the 20 to 22-inch range works well for me, as long as the rifle is well balanced and handy. I find this a good middle ground. Much shorter and it becomes too quirky, much longer and it becomes sluggish.

Best