A-Weight .40 Cal?

Hello all! I have heard someone say that A-weight .40 caliber barrels are weak and that a B-barrel would be better.

Any truth in this? I'd like my rifle to remain light and easy to carry and shoot for hunting and target practice.

Thoughts?

I have also heard some shooters say their A weight 40 caliber was a good shooter. Sure, the A weight barrel will possibly be whippy'er than the B weight but it's not hanging out there by itself. I would limit barrel length to 38" or 42". After all, they do make the A weight in 50 caliber also.
The B weight will be the better shooter. I have one with a 38" rice 40 cal. barrel. But I don't consider it a light weight.

I have both A an B in 40 cal 38 inch barrels. Both shoot really good but the B feels quite a bit heavier but of course it should due to more metal an a tad more wood to cover it on the forestock. The A is more dainty as it should be. Which do I hunt with you ask. Both but depending on how far im gonna be carrying it. The B goes if its just a lazy morning in the wood right behind my house an the A goes if im gonna do a big circle an lots of walking. Im fat an lazy so if im putting in some distance I want light to carry so to give you my answer for your question it would have to be WHAT your gonna use it for :thumbsup:
The top pick is Delilah my Mike Brooks 40 with a Burton A weight. The bottom pic is Baby Sister my Don Bruton Boone pattern rifle with a Rice B weight barrel

Beautiful rifles :thumbsup:

I'm leaning "A", gang.

Looking for a slender, neat gun to go squirreling with and for spending good times on the line.

No squirrels in Vegas :idunno:

Plenty of Rats though..... :blah:

I have a .40 with a "B" wgt GM barrel. I don't consider it heavy but it definitely weighs more than my "B" wgt .50. Easy to tote, though, even with that small hole in the barrel.

That's the joy of squirrel hunting, it doesn't really matter what you're gun weighs.

You don't have to climb mountains, trek the plains or do anything special to hunt squirrels. Just park your truck walk 20 yards inside the woods, sit down and bingo!...You're squirrel hunting. On a sunny day I might even take a nap. :haha:

No but due to the nature of my job I move fairly often and it could be anywhere. Perhaps one day it will have squirrels.

Track of the Wolf has Rice's 44" A weight .40 listed as 4.6 pounds, and the B weight .40 as 5.1 pounds. So it is likely the difference between a gun a little lighter than eight pounds and one between eight-and-a-quarter and eight-and-a-half pounds. If you go for a 38" it comes down to 4 pound barrel versus a 4.5 pound barrel, so say seven and a quarter pound, maybe a couple ounces heavier, versus seven-and-three-quarter or a couple ounces heavier.

None of these are exactly heavy guns, and personally I'd favor the heavier barrel for better steadiness off-hand, based on my experiences with a B-weight .50. Not to mention that 19th century stock designs were intended for barrels that were four or five pounds heavier....

(I note that Rice's listed weights and Track of the Wolf's listed weights do not jibe.)

fwiw, I really like my Colerain A weight .40 ”¦ just one guy's opinion... free and no doubt well worth the price

Guys, THANK YOU.

Looks like I'm going with an "A" bbl. :thumbsup:

Going to call TVM on Monday (if they're open) or Tuesday to see what A weight .40s they've got.

Thanks!

I have a Mike Davis .40 A weight. I found it a little light but know soon it will be heaver[Gravity does that]. I put a brass ram rod in it, nice and steady now.

Also with a swamped barrel weight isn't as noticeable. My "B" wgt .40 doesn't feel heavy due to the barrel contour.

Smokey Plainsman said:

Hello all! I have heard someone say that A-weight .40 caliber barrels are weak and that a B-barrel would be better.

Any truth in this? I'd like my rifle to remain light and easy to carry and shoot for hunting and target practice.

Thoughts?

Click to expand...

How can a "A" weight barrel be weak?

Smokey Plainsman said:

Hello all! I have heard someone say that A-weight .40 caliber barrels are weak and that a B-barrel would be better.

Click to expand...

Just curious, but where did you hear someone say A-weight .40 caliber barrels are weak? The internet? Someone you were talking to? Just doesn’t make sense they would say they are weak? Colerain, for example, sells 40 caliber barrels in A weight. Don’t see issue, unless you don’t trust a companies like Colerain? Curious about source of concern.

You guessed it, I read it somewhere on the internet that they were too thin walled and were prone to bending.

How does one bend a barrel pray tell?

:hmm: missing a Royal 8pt 1600lb bull elk at 45 yds broadside with a large pine tree nearby? Leaning a rifle against the truck bed, forgetting its there are re-positioning the truck and driving over the barrel? Close calls both these from N AZ but have yet to bend one