24" barrel vs 20"
- Thread starter dfraser
- Start date
I’d always keep the 20" (or shorter). I’m a big believer in shorter barrel lengths for almost every caliber. It’s been proven over and over.. Just spend a bit of time on Sniper’s Hide and you’ll see what people are doing out to 1000 yds with a .308 and an 18" or 20" barrel. You’ll probably never get another 24" barrel again. I know I won’t.
Well, I'm unfamiliar with the characteristics of the particular round. How far down the barrel does the powder completely burn up?
-S.
He's talking about the 308Win with the 700 AAC-SD. From what I've read, approx 18" for a full powder burn but velocity still increases beyond that. For 308, there isn't a lot more velocity to be gained beyond 24" ie approx 50-60fps from 24" to 28".
For target shooting I use a 32" barrel. In 308, with 155s, I get 3050 fps.
If you are only shooting short range, then barrel,length won't matter, unless you are using iron sights. Then the longer sight radius helps.
If you are only shooting short range, then barrel,length won't matter, unless you are using iron sights. Then the longer sight radius helps.
mebiuspower
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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- Morontario
I understand the issue with barrel whip but the round needs to maintain velocity at longer distances. Can you provide links?
Really depends on what you are doing. You will rarely see guys shooting matches (PRS/tactical rifle style matches) with a barrel length of less than 24". You also don't see much .308 being used in those competitions anymore, as they are ballistically inferior to the 6 & 6.5 mm cartridges.
You have not giving us any information on what you will be using the rifle for, so I will be making the assumption that you are NOT shooting in competitions, nor do you really require any sort of ballistic advantage over what you currently have. With that assumption in mind, then no, going to a 24" barrel isn't going to get you much gains. If you really want to improve the ballistics of your rifle, then switch to a 6mm or 6.5mm caliber, with a 24-26" barrel.
If using a .308 in competition especially up against flatter shooting cartridges like the 6.5's I'll take every fps I can get. I would not want less than a 26" pipe, I want that 120 fps velocity increase over a 20" barrel. Barrel whip is much less of an issue in the kinds of heavy barreled rifles we are talking about here.
But if he/she is going to rebarrel to get a longer barrel length to get a competitive advantage, he/she might as well rebarrel to a 6 or 6.5mm caliber.
