Short barreled rifles accuracy

[vitriol]

What kind of accuracy can I expect from a .308 remington 700 with 20" or 22" barrel?

What other calibers could be suitable (good accuracy) for a short barreled rifle. I'm looking for a caliber suitable for hunting and target shooting, good barrel life, and accuracy with a small barrel (20-22").


Thanks!

 

[tiriaq]

A shorter barrel will reduce velocity, not accuracy. In general, small and medium capacity cartridges work best with shorter barrels. A short barrelled magnum will lose more velocity proportionately than a smaller capacity cartridge.
About the only time a short barrel can compromise accuracy is at long range, when retained velocity matters.
A .308 is excellent from the standpoint of accuracy, good barrel life, and hunting effectiveness.

 

[NAA]

Short Barrel Rifles...

I've got a Remington 788 'carbine' with a factory 18 1/2" barrel in 7mm-08 that is a tack driver. It may give up a little in velocity but gives up nothing in the accuracy department...

 

[Steve David]

700LTR hitting 6" steel plates @ 600 yards. Not bad for and out of the box factory 20".

 

[mikeelliot]

700LTR hitting 6" steel plates @ 600 yards. Not bad for and out of the ox factory 20".

Hom many FPS do you get? What load?

 

[Steve David]

I did not do it, it was an article on the 700LTR that Leroy Thompson wrote for SWAT magazine. All rounds were factory, 168gr and 175gr BTHP match I do believe.

 

[tiriaq]

Moa at 600 is very good, indeed. At some point the bullets are going to go subsonic, and accuracy will deteriorate. Precision matches generally don't go past 800, and the velocity with the 175s might hold up that far.

 

[ceriksson]

I have a 700LTR and at 100-300yds it is just as accurate as any longer length barrels.

I reload my own ammunition with usually 165gr btsp or 168gr matches with either blc2 or re15 powder (have loaded tons of 4064 though)

it is a super accurate rifle and with higher velocity loads, the shorter barrel length really doesn't make a distance.. but i'm not shooting out past 4-500yds though so it may make a difference there, but with a faster load it might not matter that much.

 

[JohnC]

i have a 16.5" barrelled Ruger Frontier in .300 WSM that gives me 3 shot groups of 0.3" at 100 yards with handloads.

Velocity loss is around 250-300 FPS relative to my 24 inch barrelled .300WM- so i'm getting the same as 30:06 velocities out of a conventional barrel.

supposdedly short barrels, being stiffer, are more accurate.

 

[Ian Robertson]

Longer is better. So get a 30-06.

 

[vitriol]

Thanks for the replies... Just what I was hoping for

 

[Kodiak99317]

Actually, benchrest rifles (100-300yd) use short 20 1/2" to 22" barrels and they shoot very well. Silhouette rifles can have even shorter barrels, less barrel time means better groups off hand.

Pics below are of groups fired from Hunter class rifles. Not group guns, but a score type rifles. Group guns are little cases like the 6ppc, Hunter rifles cases have to hold 45.5g of water (case cap. rule)

100 yds... 1/2 " bull 30x47 cartridge fired from a Stolle Kodiak

200 yds... 1" bull Full 308 (tight necked) with 154g FB fired from a trued Rem 700

300 yds... 1 1/2" bull Full 308 (tight necked) with 168g SMK fired from a trued Rem 700

The girls...

 

[KPA]

Barrel vibration amplitude increases with barrell length. Barrel thickness reduces the amplitude. There are several good articles available on the subject, one that comes to mind can be found at http://www.riflebarrels.com/articles/bullets_ballastics/long_barrel_velocity.htm

Some of the most accurate guns made are rail guns, very short, very fat barrels.

Jay