bull vs. heavy
I saw an ad advertising a bull barrel. Later it was modified, and the author said that he was recently informed that it was really a heavy target barrel. It seems I could use a lesson on barrel types, because I mistook one for the other. What, then are the main barrel types, and their distinctive characteristics?
0
-
...don't know that there is a cut and dried answer for every senario, but a Bull Barrel is about the same diameter as the receiver (it's the largest diameter)....the other extreme is the "pencil" or sporter barrel (the thinest) usually what is found on most hunting rifles....then the heavy (or medium diameter) will be somewhere in between the two. 0 -
Hi, Good question. I would think heavy and bull would be the same. However, they do refer to three barrel weight that are common. Sporter medium and heavy. So maybe bull might be like a medium weight? I'm sure someone will know for sure. 0 -
they mean the same thing. "bull" barrel is an industry term which is also used by gun owners. A heavy barrel may be slightly smaller than a bull barrel, which is obviously Much thicker than a standard barrel, say in the neighborhood of .650"-.800" +/- at the muzzle, and a sporter barrel is what comes on hunting type rifles (pencil barrel). Your tactical rifles always have a Bull barrel. If they try to distinguish them from each other, it's spliiting hairs. Either it has a heavy barrel or it doesn't.
A barrel that is the same size as the action is what is known as a "straight tube". It is the original barrel blank, with a chamber and threads with no lathe work done to turn it down to a lesser diameter as it moves toward the muzzle. This is the type of barrel you will see on the Heavy varmit benchrest guns (if it will allow them to make their weight restriction). You may also see them a lot more in the unlimited class of 1000yd competition where no weight limit is imposed. Some of the rifles in this class weight 50-80lbs with straight tube barrels in the neighborhood of 40" and better.
I'm a man,....but I can change,.....If I have to,......I guess.0 -
"Some of the rifles in this class weight 50-80lbs with straight tube barrels in the neighborhood of 40" and better." That isn't a normal hand held target rifle. What competition uses an 80 pound rifle? Chunk guns is it? The course of fire shot off a chunk of wood, but not at 1,000.
Mind you, I know a guy who uses a 17.5 pound rifle in the DCRA's any rifle-any sight sniper competitions.
A 'bull' barrel is the no taper at all barrel. A Heavy barrel is anything else that's not considered to be a hunting barrel. Varmint barreled rifles have heavy barrels, but the marketing weenies needed to call barrels with different diameters at the muzzle something differen. So you get med. heavy, varmint, heavy, and all the rest.0 -
BR guns can be really heavy. These things aren't built for practicality, just precision. 30+ lbs for a BR gun is quite common. 0 -
My comments concerning this are based on how Winchester classified their barrel designations for the Model 52....bull is the heaviest. 0 -
17.5 lbs guns are in a different class, all others are in the unlimited class. What is the difference? neither one is a hand-held target rifle. They are shot from rests and bi-pods. The 17.5lb gun is only allowed in a limited amount of the benchrest 1000yd matches, in order to be qualified for both IBA and NBRSA competitions, in order to make the weight requirement, it must be 16.5lbs.
And no not from a chunk of wood, from a Hart, Bald eagle, or Ron Hoen, windage adjustable front rest, which can quickly run into the $400-$500 range without the rear bags. ALL of which are used in 1000yd competition.
Don't confuse sniper competitions with benchrest competitions, they are very different. Benchrest has NOTHING to do with snipers, and visa versa, they are completely different styles of shooting with totaly different purposes.
Try these books:
A varmint hunter's oddessey (sp)- A very recommended piece of lterature if you wish to pursue long range shooting
the ultimate in rifle accuracy (Glenn Newick)- chapter 15 "Unlimited Heavy Bench" will describe the rifles I mentioned. pg 113
and from the glossary of the above mentioned book:
"Bull Barrel"- A term for heavier than standard barrels made for target use. Heavier barrels dissipate heat better, and are usually more accurate than lighter barrels. (in other words, ...a target barrel) pg 180[|)]
I see Kingjoey has some knowledge of that of which I speak[8D]
I'm a man,....but I can change,.....If I have to,......I guess.0 -
OK, I read REM. post so I refered to the Winchester 52. This is how they discribed them:
Winchester Model 52-B Bull Gun/Heavy Barrel
Same specifications as standard Model 52-B, except Bull Gun has extra heavy bbl., Marksman stock only, weights 12 lbs. Heavy Bbl. model weighs 11 lbs.
So according to winchester a bull barrel is heavier. On this gun the bull barrel model weights one pound more that the heavy barrel model.0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
8 comments