Shilen 6.5 barrel rachtet rifling versus standard.

Bill Costik

I'm looking at a Shilen barrel for my M96, and I see Shilen offers a rachet rifled 4 groove barrel and a standard rifled barrel. What is the difference? I have'nt heard of ratchet rifling before.

Also looking at a barrel for my .270, again a Shilen. Realistically, how much velocity would I gain from a 26 inch barrel versus a 24 inch? I will be using this rifle for deer, caribou, mule deer, etc, and shooting 140 and 150 grain bullets through it. Currently I live in NE PA and shots at deer here are usually 100 yards or less, so I'm not sure if the 26 incher would make any difference. Thanks

dcloco

Bill,
I am shooting my standard Rem 270 with 150 gr SP's at 3000 fps...1 1/4 - 1 3/4" groups at 300 yards.

Go for the 24" barrel.

sandwarrior

Bill,

Good to hear from you. Hope school is going well. Just my experience on this, but that would gain you around 100-150 fps. But the other thing it gains you in a long case like that is versatility of powders you can use. You can go with slower powders with a longer barrel. As you know that allows for filling the case better and having less variation in the powder stack.

The common thinking though is that shorter stiffer barrels produce better accuracy. I've got both long and short and seen both be accurate. The longer barrel will almost always give you better velocity. In a .270 that is about as close to 100% true as I can get.

Bill Costik

What do you guys think about barrel length for my M96? It will be in 6.5x55 of course. I'll be using a Williams peep sight and want the gun to be handy but am unsure of what length would be the best choice. I was thinking 22 inches.

nononsense

Bill,

This got pushed to the 2nd page so I figured it would be forgotten:

http://forums.forthehunt.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=225609

Best.

Heck with it, nobody uses these links anyway. Here's the text:

Bill,

I hope school is going well for you.

Shilen's Ratchet Rifling is a bevel on one edge of the land as opposed to the land being square. Broughton "Canted" lands have more of a slope or increased angle to the land. These are minor variations of polygonal rifling forms:

"Instead of the rifling being square and hanging down in the bore so that it can engrave a square notch in the bullet it has flats where the rifling would be. The bullet is not upset or stressed as much. Instead of having 6 or 8 sharp knotches it will have small flats that are very unnoticeable.

This makes the bullet fly better in the wind because there are no sharp edges to bite into a cross wind. The bullet jacket is not deformed as much so the chances of loose cores are much less. Since there are no sharp corners to burn off the barrel life is much longer and is dependent on heat checking alone to end its life. That is one major reason most barrel makers are not interested in them. It would decrease their business by half. They are more difficult to make than regular rifled barrels for a couple of reasons one being they are difficult to lap and give a cut barrel maker more problems due to tooling." - Gale McMillan -

Along with less stress to the bullets, these barrels are supposed to clean more easily since they don't copper and foul as readily. I have one Shilen Ratchet barrel set up for Hunter Benchrest in .30BR and it seems to be very accurate (not just a function of the barrel) and cleans up O.K., I haven't had the time I would like to have to really test it. Currently my 6.5's are wearing Schneider polygonals and Lothar Walther polygonals along with several custom cut-rifled barrels.

Best.

The basic variable is about 25 - 50 FPS per inch of barrel. In your use, not much difference when compared to your muzzle velocity and distances being shot. Even though I'm a fan of longer barrels, the 24" will probably be more handy in your PA hunting spots.

Best again...

Bill Costik

Nononsence, I did see that earlier, thanks. I figured that maybe more shooters and handloaders visited this here than A.T.E. I'm still trying to decide on barrel length for my 6.5x55.

sandwarrior

nononsense,

I should say thanks too. I learn something everytime I come here. And, I always read your links... In fact I'm ordering bullets from wildcat bullets. So as long as you feel like posting 'em, I'll feel like reading 'em. Thanks again.