No way. Jack O'Connor once wrote that he preferred his custom rifles with 22 inch barrels, but that 24 inch barrels were "not bad." Hunting rifles with 26 inch barrels were "for the birds" according to old Jack. I've owned one 26 inch barreled hunting/target rifle, a Remington 700 SFVS in .308. 10.5 lbs. with a 3.5-10X Leupold Varix III. Too long and too heavy for serious hunting rifle.
It took several years, I finally noticed something. From field positions, I could shoot that rifle better than any other I'd ever shot...... I mean, I once shot a, five shot, 6 inch group at 547 yds. from a sitting position w/ a shooting sling. Hmm.
So, my custom '06' came to need a new barrel. It is suppose to be everything I want in a hunting rifle. All steel parts. Mauser 98, CRF action. 24 inch Pac-Nor barrel w/ .600 dia. muzzle. Leupold 6X42 scope. 7 lbs. , 4 ozs. empty. But the guy that built it messed up the chamber. Tried setting the barrel back, but there was not enough shoulder left on the barrel after he removed as much metal as he could get away with.
So, a new Pac-Nor barrel was installed. The barrel was left at 26 inches. Frankly, if they would have asked if they could do that, I'd have said no way. But I played with it before I realized it was left that long. And I liked it.
The rifle now weighs about 8 lbs. thanks to the MPI Kevlar stock.
I just gave it it's first range "workout." What I do is wrap myself up in the sling as I go into sitting position and see how fast it settles down before I pull the trigger. What a difference ! It's now almost as fast as my M1A Squad Scout. Probably because the M1A is about 16 ozs. heavier with the Leupold 1.5-4X Scout Scope.
This is just what I need from a big game rifle. All of the 4 yr. old bucks I've shot, or shot at, where I hunt now have all been running shots. I really need the rifle to settle down, and get the shot off quickly. It also needs to "follow through." That means make it tough on guys like me who have the bad habit of stopping the gun just as the trigger breaks.
So, you might say this old dog has had his eyes opened by this "for the birds" 26 inch barrel. E
Last edited by Oheremicus; 10/25/17.
