.308 out of 16" barrel?
How well would a .308 round perform out of a 16" barrel?
Would accuracy and velocity be reduced severely?
Thanks, Don
Would accuracy and velocity be reduced severely?
Thanks, Don
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Yes, velocity will be similar to the 300 Savage from a 22" barrel. Accuracy has little/nothing to do with barrel length. In lightweight barrels, a shorter length MAY be more accurate than a longer due to lessened barrel whip during firing.
Muzzle blast will be obnoxious.0 -
The accuracy will be fine, just as long as the rest of your platform is ok. I have a 15 inch T/C Encore, and have no problems breaking hanging on a nail, clay pigeons at 200 yards off from a good rest.
The velocity is going to lag a little, but should still perform well, for a readily available cartridge.
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I've had fellows shoot over my shoulder "in stack" with 14.5" M-4's, that was annoying but not utterly evil.
ONE time I stood next to a buddy as he fired his M1A SOCOM 16". THAT was a filling-rattling experience matched only by a time when the guy on the next bench over was touching off his .340 Weatherby with a muzzle brake.
For some reason the .308 really packs a whollop for your ears when fired by short barreled guns... and yes, velocity will suffer a bit but it'll be more effective than you think.0 -
A number of short barreled, ( 16" ) commercial rifles, were been put on the market over the years. It seems like a neat idea for a compact handy rifle. They didn't sell well because of the muzzle blast factor that Mobuck noted, and were dropped like hot potatoes.
If you want to get some idea of what it feels like. Have someone shoot one of the Russian M 44 carbines, while your standing next to it without ear protection. And the Russian carbine has a 20" barrel, 4" longer then the .308 your inquiring about.0 -
"Reduced severely" No. Reduced yes. There will be more drop at longer distances since the bullet is in the air longer with the reduced velocity. Accuracy should remain constant when using the same bullet.
I have several Springfield M1A's, one is a Socom 16". It does have more bullet drop that the other full length barrels.0 -
quote:Originally posted by DONDALINGER
How well would a .308 round perform out of a 16" barrel?
Would accuracy and velocity be reduced severely?
Answering the second thing first, there is no correlation between barrel length and accuracy.
In fact, all else being equal, a short barrel may even be MORE accurate than a comparable long one because of increased stiffness compared to length and more favorable harmonics.
But ultimately accuracy is more about quality of the barrel, the gun build, and the ammo than anything else.
The only practical way a longer barrel is more accurate is just that the increased muzzle velocity translates into less drop at distance, and a longer effective range. If you want to shoot things FAR away, you want a longer barrel.
On velocity, no need to guess here. Its not like 16" .308s are some sort of exotic gun that nobody's seen before.
With the standard military ball ammo, these give about 2400-2500 fps from a 16" bbl, compared to about 2600-2700 fps from a 20" bbl. As a matter of practice, with ordinary loads, most of the powder gets burned here in about 19" of barrel, so you don't see much improvement in velocity past that length (though you can, if you use slow burning powders).
Whether or not 200 fps muzzle velocity loss is a "severe" difference is sort of subjective, but I assure you, anything shot with that round at less than 200 yards probably isn't going to be able to tell the difference. In practice the difference is more important at long ranges.
As mentioned, the biggest problem with these short barreled guns with .308 like-rounds isn't loss of velocity or accuracy, its the typically massive muzzle blast (noise) and flash.
As a short of frame of reference, here's a Russian M44, which shoots a round similar to a .308 from a 20" barrel. The noise and flash, of course, get proportionately worse with a shorter barrel:
Here's a picture purportedly demonstrating a .308 fired from a 16" Saiga rifle:0 -
"The only practical way a longer barrel is more accurate is just that the increased muzzle velocity translates into less drop at distance, and a longer effective range. If you want to shoot things FAR away, you want a longer barrel."
Again, I'll point out that velocity and range have nothing to do with accuracy. The ONLY place where velocity is a factor is when using bullets on the fringe of stability. This may be due to initial velocity or due to long range loss of velocity. An example of the first is the oft referenced twist requirements for long/heavy for caliber bullets in 223. The velocity ceiling for 223 may be too low w/o the use of fast twist barrels while a 220 Swift or 22/250 might stabilize the same projo due to the increased velocity. Example of the second condition is the point at which the velocity drops below the speed of sound at long range. Bullet weight in long range target loads is sometimes dictated by the need to keep the projo supersonic all the way to the target.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Mobuck
Again, I'll point out that velocity and range have nothing to do with accuracy.
I agree, muzzle velocity and precision are not related. In fact, at least in the handgun disciplines, typically the most accurate shooting is done with the SLOWEST moving bullets. Not merely subsonic, but actually slower than typical subsonic velocities for the calibers in question.
My point is only that you can't hit a target if the bullet won't get there. Velocity *is* a factor (though not the only one) in achieving long ranges. If you want to shoot things REALLY far away, long barrels can help.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Riomouse911
I've had fellows shoot over my shoulder "in stack" with 14.5" M-4's, that was annoying but not utterly evil.
ONE time I stood next to a buddy as he fired his M1A SOCOM 16". THAT was a filling-rattling experience matched only by a time when the guy on the next bench over was touching off his .340 Weatherby with a muzzle brake.
For some reason the .308 really packs a whollop for your ears when fired by short barreled guns... and yes, velocity will suffer a bit but it'll be more effective than you think.
It's that miserable muzzle brake.0 -
I would make it 16-1/4" just in case that the ATF has a short ruler. 0 -
No, you lose a little velocity, but no mechanical accuracy 0
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