For convenience sake and better in hand balance and maneuverability, I like 22" barrels on my hunting rifles... I have several WSM and Rem Mag cartridges that perform admirably at that length... mind you, I am searching for accuracy, not velocity with these rifles.
shortest .300 wm barrel for a hunting rifle ?
- Thread starter madashell
- Start date
Except multiple people have proven that wrong. No 19" 3006 I've seen spits 180s at 2950 fps... With the same barrel length, the 300wm wins every time, all the time.
Ruger #1 is the way to go. Get one that is chambered for the 300 and it will work as good as anything you will get anywhere else. The nice thing is that with the falling block you cut 4 inches of the overall length as opposed to a bolt action.
19" 300wm, 180gr Nosler Partition over 76.6grs IMR 7828ssc = 2925 fps
19" 30-06, 180gr NP. 56.3grs RL16 = 2715 fps
26" 30-06 = 2914 fps
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
IMHO, 20" represents the shortest barrel I want on a hunting rifle with a sporting contour barrel; any shorter and the rifle will feel butt heavy and clubby. There is no reason I can think of not to chamber a carbine for a .300 magnum cartridge if a short rifle is what meets your needs. A short barrel .300 won't do any worse than a long barrel .30/06, and a long barrel .30/06 ain't bad.
- Location
- In the shadows of the Rockies
Prefer shorter handier rifles but no burning desire to cut down the 24.4" barrel on my .300 Win. Mag. to lose ~50 fps muzzle speed per inch. Defeats the purpose of this so-called overbore design which requires a longer barrel to achieve higher muzzle speeds.
Non overbore rounds lose less muzzle speed with shorter barrel lengths. For example, an 18.5" barrel .45-70 has only about 100 fps less muzzle speed than one with a 24" barrel. The longer barrel makes the rifle unwieldly and to me isn't worth the marginal gain in muzzle speed.
Non overbore rounds lose less muzzle speed with shorter barrel lengths. For example, an 18.5" barrel .45-70 has only about 100 fps less muzzle speed than one with a 24" barrel. The longer barrel makes the rifle unwieldly and to me isn't worth the marginal gain in muzzle speed.
- Location
- In the shadows of the Rockies
(~3100 fps - 2925 fps) / 5 inches = ~35 fps/inch, give or take.
.300 Win. Mag. service rifle has a 26.5" barrel to take full advantage of the overbore design -
http://www.americanspecialops.com/special-ops-weapons/mk-13-sniper-rifle.php
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The results in the test by rifle shooter.com (posted above) found an average of 39fps drop. That varies though, sometimes it was over 60fps per inch, one time it actually went up 3fps.
They did the same thing with 308 (can be found at the bottom of that article) and found an average decrease of 20-25fps per inch, depending on the ammo used.
- Location
- In the shadows of the Rockies
Don't know of any factory 18.5" barrel .300 Win. Mag. carbines. Zastava makes one that has a 20" barrel.
http://www.zastava-arms.rs/en/civilianproduct/sporting-rifle-m70-fullstock
http://www.zastava-arms.rs/en/civilianproduct/sporting-rifle-m70-fullstock
The recoil, muzzle blast, and muzzle rise on the 300wm would be greater though.
It should be noted that the guy who did the test for rifleshooter.com said he had a headache after 50 rounds, even though he was wearing plugs and muffs. Obviously not a big deal if you're hunting and only shoot one or two shots, but it probably wouldn't be the most fun to spend a day at the range with a 18" 300wm.
a waste how? Many people hunt in places that will never afford them a long range shot and even fewer are practiced enough that they should even consider taking one at an animal in the field.
Imo, not having to lug around an extra 6-8" of barrel is well worth it for those hunters that must carry a magnum these days
But in the same train of thought, is a 18" barrel on a 3006 using it to its full potential? You can get pretty impressive velocities with a 26" barrel and slow powder in an 06. If I'm not mistaken, guys are pushing 180s to almost 3000fps in 26 or 28" barrels.
If the bush is that thick you can't shoot in it anyway ! 
lol RJ
- Location
- In the shadows of the Rockies
I like my short barreled non-overbore magnums for that reason. For example my .416 Rem. Mag. carbine has a 20" barrel and only gives up about 80 fps muzzle speed compared to a 24" barrel.
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