223 Rem barrel length velocity test - 12.5 inch vs 16.1 vs 20 inch

[todbartell]

Winter boredom test #1

Fired four different factory loads through a few 223 rifles

Ammuntion :

• Federal Predator 40gr Vmax (rated @ 3800 fps / 24" test barrel)
• Hornady Superformance Varmint 53gr Vmax (rated @ 3465 fps / 24" test barrel)
• Federal American Eagle 55gr FMJ (rated @ 3240 fps / 24" test barrel)
• Hornady Match 73gr ELDm (rated @ 2790 fps / 24" test barrel)

Rifles :

• BCL Bison 12.5", 1:7 twist
• Ruger m77 Gunsite Scout 16.1", 1:8 twist
• Tikka T3x CTR 20", 1:8 twist

*All velocities shot on same day, measured by LabRadar doppler

Results :

40gr Federal Predator Vmax

• 12.5" BCL Bison ~ 2990 fps (239 fps per inch)
• 16.1" Ruger m77 ~ 3239 fps (201 fps per inch)
• 20" Tikka CTR ~ 3634 fps (182 fps per inch)

53gr Hornady Superformance Vmax

• 12.5" BCL Bison ~ 2787 fps (223 fps per inch)
• 16.1" Ruger m77 ~ 2999 fps (186 fps per inch)
• 20" Tikka CTR ~ 3277 fps (164 fps per inch)

55gr Federal American Eagle FMJ

• 12.5" BCL Bison ~ 2615 fps (209 fps per inch)
• 16.1" Ruger m77 ~ 2774 fps (172 fps per inch)
• 20" Tikka CTR ~ 2943 fps (147 fps per inch)

73gr Hornady Match ELD

• 12.5" BCL Bison ~ 2375 fps (190 fps per inch)
• 16.1" Ruger m77 ~ 2500 fps (155 fps per inch)
• 20" Tikka CTR ~ 2678 fps (134 fps per inch)

On average, looks like about 60 fps per inch can be expected to gain/lose

I may try this with some handloads just to compare the results

 

[guntech]

It would be nice to throw an actual 24 inch barrel in there... but it wouldn't be much different...

This data proves what we have known for years...

 

[todbartell]

some random info :

For the predator hunters : 40gr Vmax Maximum Point Blank Range + / - 2" vital zone radius) :
12.5" Bison ~ 225 yards
16.1" Ruger ~ 241 yards
20" Tikka ~ 265 yards

&

53gr Vmax Maximum Point Blank Range + / - 2" vital zone radius) :
12.5" Bison ~ 226 yards
16.1" Ruger ~ 241 yards
20" Tikka ~ 261 yards

____

For long range shooting : 73gr ELDm stays above transonic speed (1340 fps) to :
12.5" Bison ~ 625 yards
16.1" Ruger ~ 690 yards
20" Tikka ~ 780 yards

 

[rubberdonuts]

Good info. Appreciate it

 

[FatCatsDad]

Am I right in interpreting this data as a 20" bbl length gives a complete powder burn ?

 

[guntech]

Am I right in interpreting this data as a 20" bbl length gives a complete powder burn ?

What constitutes complete powder burn? A barrel longer than 20 inches is going to have an even higher velocity...

 

[nitroxace]

Excellent post. Thanks for sharing.

 

[FatCatsDad]

What constitutes complete powder burn? A barrel longer than 20 inches is going to have an even higher velocity...

I don't know the answer which is why I was asking if I was interpreting the results correctly.

What length of barrel give complete powder burn ?

To me a Coyote will fall over stone dead if hit with any of the listed barrel lengths.

I'd likely. Ever see a Coyote past 200 yards

 

[257Wby]

Some interesting test results ….


https://rifleshooter.com/2014/04/22...gth-a-man-his-chop-box-and-his-friends-rifle/

 

[guntech]

I don't know the answer which is why I was asking if I was interpreting the results correctly.

What length of barrel give complete powder burn ?

You would have to spread a very wide and long sheet in front of the muzzle and capture all the un-burned powder blown out of the barrel to determine if there was complete powder burn.

 

[Johnyy]

Hey, thnx for this. Nice info, Sounds ike a 'good' afternoon!
I remember in the AR days, looking into this type of info online, & allot of 'Professionals" I watched being interviewed, obviously at some point in the Future, as per: Navy Seals, covert teams / guys who went on "missions", dropping from Planes into Jungles type stuff. One guy, he said they Tested from 10.5 to 20", & choose the 14.5" as the perfect sweet spot, not much benefit going with a 20" & noticeable improvement over 10.5". I still love a 10.5. but if only one, allot of those in the know, said 14.5".

This was 80's & 90's, mind you. I guess the 15.7" Colt uses now, I'm sure they did allot more/thorough testing, in Modern times, to get to that exact size. Still, pretty close to the original 14.5" touted' for many years.

 

[stang]

You would have to spread a very wide and long sheet in front of the muzzle and capture all the un-burned powder blown out of the barrel to determine if there was complete powder burn.

It's Canada, shoot over new snow.

 

[CZ Shooter]

I had read somewhere, that the max efficiency point at which the 223 bullet will no longer accelerate inside the barrel would be right around the 24in mark for the average 55gr load.
Could be wrong of course.

 

[old303]

Those lighter bullets out of such fast-twist barrels can't be grouping well downrange, can they? Nice velocity numbers, but have to wonder where they went!

 

[Buckmastr]

Nice test. I’m glad a chop saw wasn’t used in this experiment.

 

[pathfinder76]

Really, that’s the only way to know for sure. If all barrels produced the same velocity, load development would be pretty easy.

 

[Gatehouse]

Can you show us a pic of your BCL Bison? Sounds like a nice handy hunting rifle.

 

[bcsteve]

Am I right in interpreting this data as a 20" bbl length gives a complete powder burn ?

Complete powder burn occurs in the first few inches of barrel. You would also have complete powder burn in the 12.5" Bison.

 

[MRP]

Here’s 223 down to 3”
http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/223rifle.html

 

[todbartell]

Those lighter bullets out of such fast-twist barrels can't be grouping well downrange, can they? Nice velocity numbers, but have to wonder where they went!

I've shot a decent amount of 40gr Vmax in the Tikka CTR and it is usually sub moa, occasionally half moa 5 shot groups at 100y

What length of barrel give complete powder burn ?

here's a Quickload chart for the 12.5" Bison w/ 55gr Vmax - you can see the one column is amount of powder % consumed by the time bullet leaves the muzzle

Cartridge          : .223 Rem
Bullet             : .224, 55, Hornady V-MAX
Useable Case Capaci: 27.815 grain H2O = 1.806 cm³
Cartridge O.A.L. L6: 2.260 inch = 57.40 mm
[B]Barrel Length      : 12.5 inch[/B] = 317.5 mm

Predicted Data for Indicated Charges of the Following Powders.
Matching Maximum Pressure: 55000 psi, or 379 MPa
or a maximum loading ratio or filling of 104 %
These calculations refer to your specified settings in QuickLOAD 'Cartridge Dimensions' window.
C A U T I O N : any load listed can result in a powder charge that falls below minimum suggested
loads or exceeds maximum suggested loads as presented in current handloading manuals. Understand
that all of the listed powders can be unsuitable for the given combination of cartridge, bullet
and gun. Actual load order can vary, depending upon lot-to-lot powder and component variations.
USE ONLY FOR COMPARISON !

23 loads produced a Loading Ratio below user-defined minimum of 80%. These powders have been skipped.
Powder type          Filling/Loading Ratio  Charge    Charge   Vel. [COLOR=#ff0000][B]Prop.Burnt[/B][/COLOR] P max  P muzz  B_Time
                                      %     Grains    Gramm   fps     [COLOR=#ff0000][B]%[/B][/COLOR]       psi     psi    ms
---------------------------------  -----------------------------------------------------------------
Alliant AR-Comp                     99.2     24.6     1.60    2823    99.0    55000   14656   0.659  ! Near Maximum !
IMR 3031                           104.0     24.9     1.62    2811    95.3    54661   15147   0.661  ! Near Maximum !
Winchester 748                      95.6     26.4     1.71    2777    90.6    55000   14840   0.660  ! Near Maximum !
Hodgdon H322                        96.2     23.9     1.55    2763    94.5    55000   14314   0.663  ! Near Maximum !
Ramshot BigGame                    103.2     28.2     1.83    2756    86.2    55000   14704   0.659  ! Near Maximum !
Hodgdon CFE223                     103.1     28.8     1.87    2752    84.2    55000   14759   0.674  ! Near Maximum !
Hodgdon BL-C2                       98.0     27.4     1.78    2752    88.9    55000   14817   0.667  ! Near Maximum !
IMR 4895                           102.6     26.3     1.70    2752    87.1    55000   14915   0.668  ! Near Maximum !
Alliant Reloder-10x                 93.4     22.6     1.46    2748    97.7    55000   14031   0.676  ! Near Maximum !
Shooters World Match Rifle         100.5     26.5     1.72    2747    91.7    55000   14691   0.692  ! Near Maximum !
Hodgdon H335                        90.5     25.3     1.64    2745    93.0    55000   14328   0.667  ! Near Maximum !
IMR 4198                            92.7     21.3     1.38    2744    98.7    55000   13228   0.664  ! Near Maximum !
Shooters World Buffalo Rifle        80.7     19.3     1.25    2742    98.7    55000   13510   0.671  ! Near Maximum !
Norma 203B                         103.9     26.6     1.73    2740    87.0    55000   14711   0.669  ! Near Maximum !
Norma 202                          100.4     25.3     1.64    2740    93.0    55000   14366   0.671  ! Near Maximum !
Hodgdon H4895                       99.5     25.5     1.65    2737    88.2    55000   14596   0.670  ! Near Maximum !
Winchester StaBall 6.5 KESTER TUNE 104.0     28.7     1.86    2735    85.9    52386   14596   0.686  ! Near Maximum !
Alliant Reloder-15                 103.3     26.5     1.72    2735    86.0    55000   14651   0.669  ! Near Maximum !
Vihtavuori N540                    102.6     26.6     1.72    2732    92.8    55000   14293   0.670  ! Near Maximum !
Alliant Reloder TS 11               89.3     22.0     1.43    2728    98.8    55000   13193   0.671  ! Near Maximum !
Vihtavuori N530                     95.9     24.7     1.60    2727    89.6    55000   14219   0.668  ! Near Maximum !
Vihtavuori N140                    102.6     25.8     1.67    2727    93.6    55000   13929   0.668  ! Near Maximum !
Norma 200                           89.4     22.4     1.45    2726    98.4    55000   13858   0.686  ! Near Maximum !
IMR 8208XBR                         97.9     25.1     1.63    2718    89.5    55000   14063   0.669  ! Near Maximum !
Hodgdon H4227                       84.0     19.7     1.28    2714    99.8    55000   12501   0.655  ! Near Maximum !
Vihtavuori N120                     90.4     21.2     1.37    2711   100.0    55000   12369   0.678  ! Near Maximum !
Alliant Reloder-7                   87.7     21.7     1.41    2711    98.3    55000   13293   0.679  ! Near Maximum !
Shooters World Precision           104.0     25.9     1.68    2711    89.3    54580   14265   0.677  ! Near Maximum !
Accurate 1680                       81.1     21.7     1.41    2711    96.0    55000   13346   0.671  ! Near Maximum !
Vihtavuori N125                     85.5     20.4     1.32    2709   100.0    55000   12386   0.679  ! Near Maximum !
Vihtavuori N133                    101.9     23.9     1.55    2708    96.5    55000   13241   0.670  ! Near Maximum !
Norma 201                          100.9     25.3     1.64    2707    89.5    55000   14228   0.679  ! Near Maximum !
Vihtavuori N130                     96.0     23.0     1.49    2704    97.6    55000   13204   0.676  ! Near Maximum !
IMR 4227                            83.6     19.6     1.27    2702    99.6    55000   12424   0.654  ! Near Maximum !
Shooters World AR Plus              92.1     25.3     1.64    2700    90.7    55000   13903   0.677  ! Near Maximum !
Hodgdon H4198                       89.7     21.6     1.40    2698    94.6    55000   13079   0.667  ! Near Maximum !
Hodgdon Benchmark                   96.8     24.4     1.58    2692    90.9    55000   13586   0.673  ! Near Maximum !
Hodgdon H380                       104.0     27.2     1.77    2690    83.3    54266   14169   0.692  ! Near Maximum !
Ramshot X-Terminator                94.8     25.9     1.68    2684    87.3    55000   13709   0.673  ! Near Maximum !
Shooters World Tactical Rifle       91.4     25.0     1.62    2682    89.0    55000   13460   0.671  ! Near Maximum !
Ramshot TAC                         97.1     26.8     1.74    2675    83.0    55000   13712   0.672  ! Near Maximum !
Hodgdon VARGET                     104.0     25.8     1.67    2668    85.2    52854   13637   0.674  ! Near Maximum !
Hodgdon CFE BLK                     88.8     24.1     1.56    2666    90.2    55000   13239   0.678  ! Near Maximum !
IMR 4064                           104.0     25.2     1.63    2641    85.1    51796   13475   0.684  ! Near Maximum !

It's not unusual for less than 100% of the powder to be burnt during the bullet's journey down the bore. A 30-06 165gr load with IMR 4350 only burns about 96% @ 22" barrel