The Ideal Hunting Rifle

By Scott Fletcher

“Best” should only be used as an adjective to describe compromise or your significant other.   -  Scott Fletcher

The word “best” is not in the title. That omission serves notice that I am not smart enough nor experienced enough to even speculate, then publish what that rifle might be.

For what it’s worth, I have not seen nor experienced anything to dispute what   John Taylor eloquently stated concerning that subject in his 1948 book African Rifles and Cartridges. When asked if there was such a thing as an all-around rifle, his response was one that is chambered in 375 H&H. He stated, “In fact, there is no other weapon in existence with which such a wide variety of animals can be shot with an equal degree of certainty and satisfaction”. I figure someone who used virtually all chamberings in all configurations of rifles available through several decades to shoot literally thousands of animals in Africa for both his livelihood and his survival has more credibility than just about anyone pontificating on that subject today.

Maybe one day I will write an “Amen Brother” article providing my unwashed testimony to the perceived universal terminal performance virtues of the 375 H&H. If I do, however, it will be in the context of this article’s theme of “ideal”, certainly not “best”.

So, just what is an ideal rifle? One that has components that are easily adaptable to any hunting circumstances and is able to launch a bullet that has been selected based on a hunter’s terminal performance preference and a personal tolerance for risk. Thirty years ago, it would have been called a switch-barrel rifle. Today, it would likely be called a modular rifle.

Photo 1 shows my personal version of a switch-barrel/modular rifle (SBMR) based on a custom magnum-length action. Photo 2 shows my personal version of a SBMR based on a blue-printed, mass-produced short action. Other than a switch-barrel, 1000-yard benchrest light gun and a switch-barrel 1000-yard benchrest heavy gun, the “rifles” shown in the photos are the only bolt-action centerfires I own.

Photo 3 shows the basis of what constitutes a SBMR: the case chambering is cut into the rifle barrel. The shank cutaway shown is from one of my old heavy-gun barrels chambered in 338 Norma. Thus, changing barrels changes the chambering, not necessarily the “caliber”, as caliber refers to the diameter of the bullet being launched through the barrel. The ability to change the chambering housed within the barrel allows bullet selection that is appropriate for the animal and the circumstances of the hunt.

The barrels with their attendant chamberings shown in both Photo 1 and Photo 2 are ones I use for hunting. Barrels shown in Photo 1 are chambered in 375 H&H, 35 Whelen, and 300 Winchester. All barrels have a threaded muzzle to allow attachment of a muzzle brake. Barrels shown in Photo 2 are chambered in 358 Winchester, 6.5-284, and 22-250. All barrels except the one chambered in 6.5-284 have their muzzles threaded to accept a muzzle brake. I have other barrels/chamberings (not shown) for target shooting that use the actions shown in the photos, as well as other stocks (not shown) that use the actions shown for target shooting. Although these chambered barrels and stocks will not be discussed, they underscore the flexibility and versatility of a SBMR.

Note that the same scopes are shown in both photos. This is because both actions have had Picatinny rails attached, and all the scopes have Picatinny-compatible scope rings. This scope attachment method allows the flexibility/versatility to match a scope to the hunting circumstances that are expected to be encountered. Hunting circumstances with worked examples showing scope-selection judgements can be found here and here. Furthermore, the ability to quickly detach and then reattach a scope facilitates the ease of actually switching the barrels, as will subsequently be described. Scopes shown are a 1.7-10 power, a 3-18 power, and a 12-42 power, with the latter used for load development and target competition.

Photo 1 shows two bolts. One has a bolt face that accommodates the rim diameter of the 375 H&H and 300 Winchester case (0.532 in/14 mm), and the other has a bolt face that accommodates the 30-06-based rim diameter of the 35 Whelen (0.473 in/12 mm).

With a SBMR system, only one action with its attached trigger is used instead of multiple rifles with multiple actions and triggers. This singularity allows both economy and an efficient investment in better accuracy and quality. The action can be custom, or a mass-produced action that is trued (blue-printed) by a gunsmith. The trigger can be custom or trued by a gunsmith. The action is custom-bedded to a stock or a selection of stocks, depending on the system’s application. “System” is defined as the completed assembly of the action, trigger, stock, barrel, and optics.

The barrel is custom on a SBMR system, typically match-grade, with the chamber and the threads machined to far tighter tolerances than can be obtained from a mass-produced rifle. The barrel can be specified with a preferred material, contour, length, and twist rate judged to be appropriate for the system’s application and bullet(s) that will be used. Furthermore, the chamber can be extended (throated) by the gunsmith to accommodate any “long” bullets that will be predominantly used.

Photo 4 exemplifies the advantage of a custom-throated chamber. The case shown is a 300 Winchester. SAAMI specifications for the chamber reamer are based on a maximum cartridge overall length (COAL) of 3.340 inches (8.48 cm). The case on the left has the bullet shown seated to this SAAMI-specified COAL. The bullet seated to this COAL obviously encroaches significantly on the case’s powder capacity, occupying space that could otherwise be used for powder. The case on the right has a bullet that has been seated based on a custom-throat length that results in an increase in the case volume available for powder.

This throating is not the “best” for this particular bullet because the transition between the bullet’s boat tail and bearing length falls below the transition between the case’s neck and its shoulder. However, this throating can be considered a reasonable compromise when viewed in the context of Photo 5. The throating selected can be considered “ideal” because it reasonably accommodates the seating of two other bullets that will be shot from the same barrel. The bullets shown, left to right, are a 2oo-grain Woodleigh Weldcore, a 220-grain Sierra Pro Hunter, and a 240-grain Sierra Match King with a hand-installed poly tip. This chambering and these bullets were used in the South Africa zebra management hunt described here.

This bullet selection also exemplifies that the twist rate for the barrel is not the “best”. The barrel used is a gain-twist down to 9.4, a twist considered to be applicable for the 240 grainer. However, the “best” twist for the 200 grainer is considered to be 12, and the “best” twist for the 220 grainer is likely 11. The 9.4 gain-twist is considered “ideal” because it accommodates the longest 240 grainer, but does not compromise the potential accuracy of either the 200 or 220 the grainer.

There is a further advantage of having a custom match-grade barrel, as custom, chamber-specific resizing dies and a bullet-seating die can be fabricated. Such dies have tolerances superior to off-the-shelf dies. Purchasing a personal chamber reamer allows a very tight-tolerance resizing die to be fabricated, as the die reamer dimensions can be referenced to the chamber reamer dimensions. Regardless, the reamer used to cut the chamber can be used to cut the bullet-seating die.

Such dies are shown in Photo 6. Left-to-right, a custom full-length resizing die that has provisions for a neck-resizing bushing, a custom neck resizing die that has the ability to control the length of the neck resize to the nearest 0.001 inch (0.02 mm), and a custom bullet-seating die that controls the bullet-seating depth to the nearest 0.001 inch (0.02 mm).

The tools and equipment required for switching barrels are shown in Photo 7. Top-t0-bottom:

-         Clamps for securing the barrel vise to a bench or work table.

-         Barrel vise. The one shown is used for switching barrels in the field or at the range. The vise used in the shop has holes drilled through it and is permanently bolted to the work bench.

-         Breaker bar with sockets for both tightening the barrel vise and attaching to the action wrench to loosen and tighten the action to the barrel.

-         Action wrench to grip the action in the bolt’s locking-lug races during loosening and tightening the action to the barrel.

-         Torque wrench for torquing the action to the barrel.

-         Torque wrench for tightening the barreled action to the stock.

Using the tools and equipment just identified, switching a barrel is relatively simple. The following sequential steps describe the barrel-switching process.

-         Remove the scope. (Not required, but advised.)

-         Remove the action with the attached barrel from the stock. (Photo 8)

-         Tightly wrap a thick layer of newspaper (or other selected material) around the barrel to protect it from being marred in the vise.

-         Secure the barrel with the attached action in the barrel vise.

-         Insert the action wrench and loosen the action. Photo 9 shows the barreled action in the vise prior to loosening. The action wrench is visible in the action, as is the newspaper used to protect the barrel from being marred. Note that a slotted Picatinny-scope rail is attached to the top of the action, and that the trigger is still attached to the action.

-         Unthread the action from the barrel.

-         Loosen the barrel vise and remove the old barrel from the vise.

-         Insert the new barrel into the vise and secure it. (Photo 10)

-         Thread on the action and tighten it with a torque wrench. I use 75 foot-pounds (102 Nm). (Photo 11)

-         Remove the barreled action from the vise.

-         Attach the barreled action to the stock.

-         Torque the action to the stock per the gunsmith’s recommendations.

-         Reattach the scope, if required.

Implementing a SBMR requires collaboration with a competent gunsmith. I strongly suggest that gunsmiths be interviewed face-to-face and retained on their credentials and the results of the interview. Quality costs money and folks need to make a living. Besides, the interview is a two-way street: you need to give the smith a first right-of-refusal or the opportunity to bake in a premium based on his appraisal of you! Regardless, implementing a SBMR provides a system capable of producing targets like those shown here and here.