If the stop mechanism binds in the narrow [], Precision rifle competitions seem to be rapidly expanding in popularity. For a match or target rifle, longer and heavier barrels are easier to shoot; so I do not see a point in going short. Yes, it did. No complaints, no problems. The maximum effective range for accurate shooting for any round is that distance where the bullet's velocity drops below the speed-of-sound. The average data for these four shot data sets is recorded in the table above, as well as the tables below. This was with Varget powder. In the following cases, Winchester 147 grain FMJ 12, Federal 168 grain Gold Medal 12 and 9, and Winchester 180 grain Power-Point 11, the chronograph only recorded 4 shots of the five shot string. Ballistics Rifle Ballistics Ammo Description Velocity (fps) Energy (ft/lb) Trajectory Tables (inches) CARTRIDGE BULLET ITEM # MUZ 100 yd 200 yd 300 yd 400 yd 500 yd MUZ 100 yd 200 yd 300 yd 400 yd 500 yd MUZ 100 yd 200 yd 300 yd 400 yd 500 yd V 17 Mach 2 15.5 gr. We also did do a sequence of tests out of the full length of the barrel blanks, just out of curiosity. 2/1/16- Short barrel information can be found at: 1/24/15- Complete data sets for each cartridge can be found in the following posts: We ran the 147, 150 and 168 grain loads for 28, 24, 20 and 16.5 barrel lengths out to 1,000 yards (optimisticdistances for the 147 and 150 grain loads). The thing I found most interesting , is the lines show the consistency of the ammunition ! Mag. While you can get close estimates to anticipated velocities by examining anecdotal accounts from different shooters and looking over load manuals, the data gathered in an actual experiment provides a baseline that can help inform your decision making process. NOTE: Many shooting newbies may see the number combination 7.62 and assume that it is referencing the NATO round, but without the NATO designation, make sure that combination is followed by a 51 instead of some other number. CLICK HERE to Read the Rifleshooter.com Test. The new(ish) .300 Blackout bears a similar (albeit rare) designation of 7.6235, and the standard Russian sniper round is the 7.62x54R. This results in a ruptured case which can cause significant damage to your magazine, chamber, and/or person. In fact the .308 Winchester 165gr bullet is traveling faster at 1000 yards than the .223 or 7.62x39mm at just 500 yds. All shooting was done from a bench, with a Sinclair rest and rear bag. We'd like to personally and specifically thank Pat Childs at Fin & Feather in Iowa City, as he not only helped get most of our _gaq.push(['_setDomainName', '.accurateshooter.com']); If you have a modern .308 Win. 30-30 Ballistics Chart & Coefficient. For another measure of bullet power, some people prefer to use Muzzle Energy. If your .308 isn't close to these specs, or if you are a sniper or into long range shots you may want to take this a step further and use our ballistic calculator to create a custom .308 ballistic chart to take into account variances. Once data was gathered for each cartridge at a given barrel length, the rifle was cleared and the bolt was removed. Shilen .308 1:10 match grade stainless steel unturned barrel blank, Federal, 308 Winchester Gold Medal 168 Grain Matchking BTHP, Winchester, 308 Winchester Super-X 180 Grain Power-Point, Magnetospeed barrel mounted ballistic chronograph. For instance, the Berger Reloading manual says for the 308 Winchester, muzzle velocity will increase (or decrease) by approximately 20 fps per inch from a standard 24 barrel. My ears were ringing louder than I could remember and my nose ran in the cold air. ALL Bulletin content is copyrighted, 2023 AccurateShooter.com. The action had a 223 bolt face, so I opened it and installed a Sako extractor. This could have some potentially expensive consequences. photo link: http://rifleshooter.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/custom-16.5-rem-700-308.jpg. Ive shot a lot of different firearms in my life and this wasnt pleasant. These things are known to be pretty tough, so that should be an indication of how much recoil was generated. Powder burn rates can also make a difference. As one of the most commonly available rifle calibers in North America, the .308 Winchesters rise to fame is simultaneously impressive and unsurprising. or 7.62 NATO ammo. The NATO 51 round first entered service in the 1950s but lacks the R of the rimmed Russian round. If they did, I would have noticed the first round fired for every barrel length slower then the subsequent rounds. In fact the .308 Winchester 165gr bullet is traveling faster at 1000 yards than the .223 or 7.62x39mm at just 500 yds. The 7.6251 NATO chamber is imperceptibly longer than the .308 Winchester, extending between 0.006 and 0.010 inches beyond the .308 SAAMI specs. With a barrel reduction from 28 to 16.5, the average speed loss of the four types of .308 ammo was 261 fps total. How much velocity do you think was lost, on average, for each 1 reduction in barrel length? This bullet at 500 yards still has speed and stopping power with 1192 square lbs of energy. The contents of Rifleshooter.com are produced for informational purposes only and should be performed by competent gunsmiths only. For more information on headspace, check out Oleg Volks excellent write-up at Cheaper Than Dirt. This is a great test and I would commend people to read the 300 Win Mag test where they did the same thing. I think data sets are great. The rifle is fine. At 1000 yards a .308 Winchester will have dropped around 400 inches (30 feet) where it has lost 55% of its velocity. The testers described their procedure as follows: Ballistic data was gathered using a Magnetospeed barrel mounted ballistic chronograph. I am cutting up a barrel. Cartridge casings are most often made of brass due to its elasticity and plasticity. Is the file picture at the top of the page real, or photoshopped? Ive been beating on the 510 and 517 for a while. It includes gauges in .001 increments. Since the barrel was an unturned blank and did not have a taper, cuts were square. My 16.5 308 Winchester (above) is a fun little rifle. While most modern 7.6251-chambered firearms are specced to safely handle .308 cartridges, older NATO-chambered guns are not. I had 100% extraction during the course of this experiment. This was an average decrease of 60.7 feet/second per inch of barrel length. Bill Marr 100% real. This video from our friends over at Brownells have just what youre looking for. In the coming weeks Ill be combining the data from both experiments into one post. In 1952, Winchester beat the Army at its own game and launched the new .308 Winchester to the civilian market, a good two years before the 7.6251 saw the Pentagons official green light. In 2009 an additional three calibers were tested and in 2010 and . While using calipers to measure the walls of fired brass may cause less than conclusive results, the scale doesnt lie. Trajectory for Custom .308 165 TGK #4667 AMMO at 2680 Feet per Second. It was only a few days after a historic blizzard passed through my state. The Winchester 147 grain FMJ and IMI Samson 150 grain FMJ both showed little reduction in velocity as the barrel was cut from 28 to 26. Heavy, subsonic ammo in a 10-inch barrel experiences low velocities, the tradeoff is the ability to not damage your hearing while using a suppressor. All these details have been generated using our . Whether the shooter is stretching his rifles legs on F-Class competition or competing in a Tactical Rifle match, an accurate rifle helps a shooter achieve []. The cuts were made in one-inch intervals with a rotary saw. _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); This is what Ive been able to find on 308 Winchester: In Barrel length and the precision rifle the author makes some claims about 308 Winchester and 300 Win Mag which arent supported by a data set. The 6.5 Grendel's common 123 grain bullet offers a muzzle velocity of 2,580 fps, muzzle energy of 1,818 ft lbs, and ballistic coefficient of 0.506. Comparing the data from the 30 shot strings (28 2824 and 16.5 2555) to the 5 shot strings (28 2823 and 16.5 2561) I found a loss of 269 ft/sec (23.4 ft/sec per inch) as the barrel was cut. It seems like the 7.62x39mm Russian performance is optimum at a 16 barrel length. Note: I also fired a 30 shots of the IMI Samson 7.62mm 150 grain FMJ with the 28 and 16.5 lengths- Ill discuss why later. The U.S. militarys 7.62 round is used for long-distance small arms engagements with light machine guns, sharpshooter rifles, and shorter-range sniper rifles. Wind Direction is: 3.0 o'clock and a Wind Velocity of: 10.0 Miles per hour. Try these too.. No, I did not. What are possible sources of error in your experiment? Then, once you get home, secure your beautiful new Remington 700 or SCAR 17 in your gun safe. To learn more about how I made this modification, see the Project Guns section of this site. The first number is the value of this cartridge, and the last number is the value of the most powerful round in our bullet database. Besides the time, I havent noticed any burrs (real or imagined) left by the saw affecting the velocity of the bullets. tweet/email or post a comment on the blog - one of us will double-check the original Tolerance is the acceptable degree of variance a manufacturer will allow for a product to meet quality standards. Released by Winchester in 1952 (and adopted by NATO in 1954 as the 7.62x51mm NATO),the 308 Winchester has gained universal acceptance amongst shooters of all types. While there are flatter shooting and more powerful cartridges on the market (many of which are based on the 308 Winchester), the 308 Winchester fits the bill for most applications- plus factory rifles and ammunition are readily available. At each barrel length, the rifle was fired from a front rest with rear bags, with five rounds of each type of ammunition. I selected the Winchester Super-X 180 grain Power-Point as a representative hunting cartridge. 308 Winchester/ 7.62x51mm NATO Short barrel length and velocity- A six inch 308 bolt gun? been much more difficult and perhaps impossible. This was the best one. Ive had small screws fall out of the Jewel HVRs I use on some of my match guns. I like them- in some ways you dont lose a lot. This resulted in a velocity loss of 94 feet/second. The PowerRank is an estimation of the cartridge power. We used products we The muzzle blast was so violent, it chopped open my Edgewood bag when it got too close. Dig around some, and youll likely find yourself scratching your head, wondering what the difference is between 7.62 and .308 rounds. DPX: Federal 240 gr. This includes detailed charts with inch-by-inch velocity numbers, multiple line charts, and complete data sets for each type of ammo. _gaq.push(['_setDomainName', '.accurateshooter.com']); I use a Forster Match Rife Headspace Gauge Kit. How you use the data is entirely This resulted in a velocity loss of 106 feet/second. All in all, this was a very thorough test by the folks at RifleShooter.com. _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); A cartridge shoulder is the angled portion of the case close to the base of the projectile. Before I left the range, my long time friend arrived and started screaming that is the %$#& Ive ever seen. This was noticeable from 19 inches and below. No, personally, it seems like a silly idea to me. With barrels, one wonders Can a little more length provide a meaningful velocity gain? To answer that question, Rifleshooter.com performed an interesting test, cutting a .308 Win barrel from 28 all the way down to 16.5. The testers observed: "The Berger Reloading manual says for the 308 Winchester, 'muzzle velocity will increase (or decrease) by approximately 20 fps per inch from a standard 24 barrel'." How the Test Was Done The testers described their procedure as follows: "Ballistic data was gathered using a Magnetospeed barrel mounted ballistic chronograph. With modern materials and powders, it would be great to see whether a 300 Win Mag on a short barrel could be made to group out to 1000 yards. The following is a 1000 yard .308 ballistic chart that was created using our free online ballistic calculator and details all aspects of the bullets trajectory from the millisecond it leaves the barrel until the time it reaches the 1,000 yd mark. Published Mar 29, 2021 12:55 PM EDT. At the urging of the federal government, the Small Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute (SAAMI) was founded in 1926 as an association of the nations leading manufacturers of firearms, ammunition and components. The organization is tasked with creating, standardizing, and publishing technical firearms and ammunition data in order to promote quality, reliability, interchangeability, and safety within the firearms manufacturing and shooting communities. As a Wildcatter it gets more so! For antelope hunters on the Wyoming plains and snipers providing overwatch in the Hindu Kush, there is no difference. My lathe is a two hour round trip to the range. When that happens Ill post a link there. We'd like to personally and specifically thank Pat Childs at Fin & Feather in Iowa City, as he not only helped get most of our ammunition and other supplies, he was the brilliant gunsmith who worked with us to make this insane project much more practical.Without his help all of this would have been much more difficult and perhaps impossible. ATTENTION: Effective Sept 1, 2020, the BBTI Project is in "Archive Status." No further tests will be conducted, but we will maintain this site and data for the use of Notice the rounds have similar external ballistics with the different barrel lengths out to 500 yards, past 500 the differences become significant. Since we would be gathering data on 52 different barrel length and ammunition combinations and would not be crowning the barrel after each cut, we decided to eliminate gathering data on group sizes. Do a search for .308 and you will find similar results, albeit with fewer references to 7.62. var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); This resulted in a velocity loss of 137 feet/second. Coming out of the muzzle, it maintains speeds around 2,750 to 2,800 fps. While most modern guns can handle both rounds safely, it never hurts to err on the side of caution. Thanks for the kinds words about the 308 and 300 Win barrel length posts. This results in a 7.62 case that is ever so slightly longer than its commercial brother. Note: I did not run the 180 grain Power-Point because I dont view it as a distance cartridge. And if you think you could do better, feel free to spend the money When we cut our 6mmBR barrel down from 33 to 28, we only lost about 8 FPS per inch. Your choice. The short answers to these questions are yes and maybe. There are plenty of good sources of information on this topic. ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? A was measured from the end of the barrel back to the breech face. the firearms community. The vast majority of rifles, carbines, and pistols chambered in .308 Winchester can safely sling 7.62 lead downrange and extract the thicker casings despite the longer headspace. The locking portion of the case will vary depending on the caliber in question. While this may sound contradictory, it isnt. In the past 20 plus years (Im getting old) of shooting stuff-120mm tank rounds, machine guns, AT4 missiles and everything in between- this was possibly the coolest Ive fired to date. Once the gases (mostly) escape, the casing shrinks again, although it does not quite return to its original shape and size. I fired 30 rounds of IMI Samson 150 grain FMJ at 28 and 16.5 and recorded the results. This means throwing .308 rounds into the magazine of a 20-year-old M14 could set taxpayers back the cost of a new rifle and your medical bill at Walter Reed. Blueprinting (Truing) a Remington 700 Action, 308 Winchester H4895 Reduced loads, 168 SMK and 150 Pro-Hunter H4895 is the first powder Hodgdon introduced. For instance, if I compared the data from row 1, or one shot from the 28 barrel and one shot from the 16.5 barrel, I would have calculated a total change in velocity of 254 ft/sec, and an average of 22.1 ft/sec per inch. 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