Short barreled 30-06

DeadShot519 said:
I have a 16” 308, an 18.5” 3006, and am going to be cutting the barrel on a 300 win mag to 18.5”. My 18.5” 3006 pushes a 180gr TSX to 2600fps. I get 2400fps out of a 180gr partition in my 16” 308. Hoping to get 2800fps out of a 18” 300win mag. If it doesn’t work out I will rebarrel it to a 18” 338 win mag.

Unless you’re shooting long range, the velocity loss isn’t a concern. After running a short barrel my long barrel rifles don’t leave the house. Don’t listen to all these guys telling you not to do it. My short barrel rifles are much better for carrying through the bush, getting in and out of my side by side etc. you won’t catch me dead hunting with a 26” pipe ever again unless it’s in some serious long range shooting territory.
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For magnums would a 21” brl be a better option than 18.5. Magnum would have more muzzle jump and noise. I have a 18.5” 375 hh on tc encore for experience. What ever u do… DO NOT PUT A MUZZLE BRAKE ON IT
 
Dogleg said:
I’ve got an 18” 700 in 30-06; bought that way because it was stainless and already converted for 10 round detachable mags. I had a decent stockpile of ammo left in Australia of a load developed for a Cooper with a 24” pipe. 165s at close to 3000 fps.Anyways; I brought my son with me culling and he used up that ammo while I used a mixture of 180s in still another 30-06.


The short barrel shot fine, but the load that was 3000 in the 24” only made 2650 fps in the stubby. Thats the sort of thing that depresses me. Shots were short for the most part so it didn’t matter all that much. He even shot a water buffalo with it, which involved fanning a M700 like a sixgun.😂
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That sounds like television worth watching!
 
keith mokry said:
For magnums would a 21” brl be a better option than 18.5. Magnum would have more muzzle jump and noise. I have a 18.5” 375 hh on tc encore for experience. What ever u do… DO NOT PUT A MUZZLE BRAKE ON IT
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Depends what your goal is. If you want a 18.5" rifle that spits 180gr bullets at 2800fps you'll just have to live with the blast and recoil. Sure, a 21" pipe will get you a bit more velocity and a bit less blast/jump, but then you're dealing with a rifle that is longer, and that length might not be worth it.
 
I have a Rem. DM 700 - 30-06 with a 16" brl. that has sat in my safe since I zeroed it at 100 yrds. which is a long shot where I hunt. Carries very well in the bush ( it is a bit loud ) but when the crosshairs are on a deer you don't really hear the shot. I think that it will be the rifle for this season. At short range any velocity loss is moot.
 

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The Columbian FN 1950 Mauser comes to mind.

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pounder said:
I have a Rem. DM 700 - 30-06 with a 16" brl. that has sat in my safe since I zeroed it at 100 yrds. which is a long shot where I hunt. Carries very well in the bush ( it is a bit loud ) but when the crosshairs are on a deer you don't really hear the shot. I think that it will be the rifle for this season. At short range any velocity loss is moot.
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Who made the 16" barrel ?
 
I have a 1640 husky carbine 20” barrel and it shoots really well, the recoil is no different than my other 30-06’s, sound wise don’t seem that much different, muzzle lift and blast ain’t that bad at all! IMG_0684.jpeg
 
I am sure it’s fine but I just don’t see the point , it’s not going to effect weight all that much and size but will effect velocity in a negative way
 
jcpal said:
I am sure it’s fine but I just don’t see the point , it’s not going to effect weight all that much and size but will effect velocity in a negative way
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I'll take a 20" barrel over a 22" barrel on anything thats not a magnum every day of the week. There aren't a lot of cartridges that are good to 400 with a 22" barrel, but not still good to 400 with a 20".
 
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Winchester made a 3006 lightweight 20", I wouldn't mind having one. A 16ish would be better, IMO.
My 300wsm 39.5" overall length 19" barrel spits 150 superX at 3155fps 180 at 2900.
My other short stuff
8X57 19" 170 @ 2575
.308 16.5" 150 @ 2550
.44mag 12" @ 1644
 
My buddy has an encore pro hunter which he uses a 15 inch encore pistol barrel in .30-06 and he kills lots of big game with it. I have on my encore that I have a 15 inch pistol barrel on in 45-70 and the velocity from a 26 inch barrel to my 15 inch is less than 100 feet per second
 
Potashminer said:
If you look up Phil Sharpe on Internet - can probably find his experiment - I think he started with a 30" 30-06 barrel - 5 or six hand loads, I think - he cut an inch off at a time to determine what he would get - I think he ended up circa 11" barrel. Was likely 1950's - he probably went into the American "short barrel rifle" with that experiment. Parts of that experiment, with similar results, have been undertaken many times since then. You are NOT the first person to consider to shorten a 30-06 barrel.

As I recall reading about it - his experiment was purely about velocity - not about accuracy or precision - and he was from "old days" using a ballistic pendulum to calculate the resulting velocity - the hand arithmetic alone would have been fairly daunting to do - no calculator, no computer - just pencil and paper, as I recall.
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I believe Mr Sharp was an advocate of the "Powley Computer" which took a lot of guesswork/calculation time out of his experiments.

Mr Sharp's "experiment" was carried out by several different militaries, shortly after "smokeless" powders and "metal cased cartridges" were adopted.

Mr Sharp knew his stuff and followed up on those findings with powders currently available for the time period, and showed the sportsmen of the day, in "layman's" terms, what their rifle/cartridge combinations were capable of, for use in field hunting/match shooting situations, rather than battlefield conditions, where one firearm had to meet the needs of 98% of the situations which would normally be encountered.

His findings were quite a revelation for many shooters, after they were published and distributed.

We get bogged down with lightning speed velocities, because they look great on paper.

It's a very nice surprise when a rifle shoots its best at close to maximum safe pressures/velocities.

Most rifles don't.

The smart hunter/shooter finds the sweet spot and figures out how to utilize it within his/her priorities for their style of hunting.
 
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