No matter how good your action is or how light, rigid and well-built your stock is,

if the inside of your barrel isn't good, your rifle will never shoot well. This episode we're going to take a look at the

characteristics of good rifle barrels, both production and custom barrels. We'll talk

through the various types of barrel-making methods, rifling

techniques, and so forth, and we'll discuss how to choose the right barrel and how to

get the best out of it. I'm Joseph von Benedict and this is the backcountry hunting podcast.

Now before digging in, let's take a moment for our upfront Q&A section, brought to you this

episode by Simbaita Custom Knives, our favorite

maker of ultra-light hunting blades. This message is from a young chap will call Tell, writing in from Oregon with a cartridge question.

And Tell wrote, Hello, Mr. Joseph, I'm 13 years old.

This is my second year of hunting. I killed a deer, elk, and two bears with my 6.5

Creedmoor. I also have a 6.5 by 284 Norma in a savage 111. I want to shoot elk at 600 yards, so I need more power and so what I'm thinking is a 280-acly improved or 6.8 Western.

P.S. I really appreciate your podcast. And man messages like this are just fun to receive. He sent a follow-up note and said,

by the way, I've been reloading from my rifles for a year now.

Thanks, have a great day.

And so I responded and said, Hey tell, thanks for writing in and congrats on your stellar

year.

That's terrific.

I agree.

If you want to extend your lethal reach to 600 yards, you'll need a more authoritative

cartridge. Both the 6.8 Western and the 280 acly are outstanding choices. I'd just pick whichever is most readily available in the rifle

models you're interested in.

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