“Short” Barrels, why not?

[luke moffat]

What powder are you using to get that velocity?

RL-16.

Same load in my dads 24” barrel gets just over 3k FPS with 135s

 

[ResearchinStuff]

RL-16

What's it do with h4350? Trying to decide how short to have my creed cut right now

 

[luke moffat]

What's it do with h4350? Trying to decide how short to grace my creed cut right now

No idea. I’ve only loaded RL-16 and RL-26 in my 6.5 CMs but a lot of rounds with each powder. It does well. I’m sure H4350 wouldn’t be a slouch.

 

[ElPollo]

RL-16.

Same load in my dads 24” barrel gets just over 3k FPS with 135s

I figured. Do you see much temp sensitivity?

 

[tak]

What's it do with h4350? Trying to decide how short to have my creed cut right now

If it's any help, I get 2665 with Hornady Factory 140 ELDMs in my 20" proof. I wouldn't want it any shorter.

 

[SOIHUNT]

18” barrel 6.5 Prc shooting suppressed 2941 fps. my elk from this year.

 

[Wingnut]

18” barrel 6.5 Prc shooting suppressed 2941 fps. my elk from this year.

What bullet/load? Thanks and nice bull!

 

[SBR Sarge]

I’m a short distance midwest hunter.

I hunt with SBRs. 9 inch 300 Blackout, and 13 inch 6mm ARC and 350 Legend.

I also hunt almost exclusively suppressed. The SBR-length barrel plus the suppressor is still a manageable, maneuverable tool.

For me, as long as I can put my bullet on target with enough velocity to perform as needed, extra barrel length is an extra encumbrance.

 

[rostkowski]

I recently switched over to a SBR bolt 8.6 and I have been very happy with it, under 34" OAL with suppressor.

 

[JRS3]

I have been using a 10.3” bbl .300 Blackout the past couple of years and it continues to disappoint. I quickly got away from 190gr Subs and shoot Barnes 110gr supersonic but the performance on deer and hogs have been very underwhelming. The gun is accurate but terminal performances leaves a lot to be desired.

I will keep the gun for plinking and general use but it has me guessing the viability of the cartridge itself for hunting. Would a 16” bbl be noticeably better due to higher velocity?

I have plenty of .300 BO ammo and accessories and am considering a 16” barrel OR getting a .300 HAM’R to hunt with.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

Speed kills, and anything subsonic doesn't have the speed.

 

[ACHILLES]

I have been using a 10.3” bbl .300 Blackout the past couple of years and it continues to disappoint. I quickly got away from 190gr Subs and shoot Barnes 110gr supersonic but the performance on deer and hogs have been very underwhelming. The gun is accurate but terminal performances leaves a lot to be desired.

I will keep the gun for plinking and general use but it has me guessing the viability of the cartridge itself for hunting. Would a 16” bbl be noticeably better due to higher velocity?

I have plenty of .300 BO ammo and accessories and am considering a 16” barrel OR getting a .300 HAM’R to hunt with.

My 16” 300blk out bolt gun left a lot to be desired with subs and light cup and core bullets for hunting. Switched to the 100gr blk out hammer bullet and at 2500fps they will pass through 200lb hogs broadside although they still run always. I run the same bullet at 2200fps in my 8” ar blk out. In the end I went back to my 12.5” 6.5 Grendel ar with 97gr absolute hammers at 2500fps.

 

[elim]

Been a big fan of short barrels. This is my 16” 308. I have a 900 yard range that I can reach out and hit the plate with the short 308 barrel. I have a fast twist 18” 458 American barrel on the way to shoot the heavies, up to 730gr for fun.

View attachment 426448

I love this rifle.........

 

[rbutcher1234]

Meh, as long as they understand all the implications of choices, all the reason someone needs to do something is “I think it’s badass”.

I just got a 20” 300NM barrel for my AI because it’s badass and I think it will be fun. Based on my loads for my 27” and figuring 30fps loss per inch, it’s over 1800fps past 800yards.

Do I know it’s absurd? Yes. Do I know I will have excessive recoil that’s counterproductive to hits relative to my 223/6mm? Yes. Do I think this is awesome and fun? Yes. Will this be a generalist do it all hunting setup? Absolutely not.

 

[_S_R_]

Speed kills, and anything subsonic doesn't have the speed.

458 Socom amazing cartridge. I wish I was good as this guy.

 

[ezwy]

For my varmint gun and if I’m not the primary shooter I am carrying 16”223 or 6x45. For elk hunting I’m getting a 21” 25 PRC. And I’ll never get rid of my 20” 6.5 creedmoor. The 24” 223 and 270 don’t come out of the safe that often and I sold the 24”300 win with a brake.

 

[AZ_Hunter]

I hunt AZ. Have also hunted CA and CO.

In AZ, my primary hunting rigs are AR’s, one is a 12.5” 6.8 SPC, the other is an 18” 25SPC. I have also used a 14.5” 556. All with cans. Back in the day (20+ years ago) my first “hunting rifle” was a 24” 300WSM. I used that once. I have also used a Tikka 22” 30-06, but have since chopped that to 19ish” for use with can. On a CA hunt, I used the tikka with no can in original 22” config.

For CO I used 16” 6.5CM with can…

I know it’s the “in” thing to shoot animals at 1k yards, but I have never done that. I am a member of private range with steel from 300 to 1k in a natural canyon type setting, and for a couple of years shot there every weekend. I just don’t feel comfortable shooting at an animal far out like that; so many variables and you can’t (shouldn’t in my opinion) walk your shots in. Wind down range can be a serious bitch.

In the real world, my furthest shot on an animal has been just under 400 yards. I have seen animals further, but I got closer.

So for me, short barrels have not been a hindrance at all and fit my hunting style. The 16” creed with 130tmk, depending on DA, can get out to 700 yards over expansion threshold… that is plenty for me.

Short and handy is the way for me.

 

[AZ_Hunter]

Hopefully relevant to the thread. Does anyone have before and after velocity numbers? I'm really considering cutting my 7mm Remington mag from 24" to 20". Maybe even 19". I've read the general rule of 25-30 FPS lost per inch. I didn't know if that was close enough to reality to bo with or not.

Sometimes it’s less. For example, my 22” 30-06 with my hunting load was a 180gr at 2750. I chopped it to 19” ish (say ‘ish’ because it was cut to just enough to thread in front of the flutes and it’s not a round number) and with a 6” can, the exact same load was… 2750.

I have over 10 years of suppressor experience, including building many (Form 1). In my experience, a can get anywhere from 20-40fps from “free bore boost”, and thus compensate for velocity lost with a shorter barrel.

Another before an after was a 243 from 20 to 18” with can. And a 25-06 from 22 to 19 with can. I don’t have exact data on this phone, but it was basically moot. Same loads, just naked barrel at X then chopped to Y with can. I think the 25-06 has like a 20fps delta. Irrelevant. 16” 6.8 vs 12.5” 6.8, 50fps… 14.5” to 16” 556, same.

All this will depend on your rifle, barrel, load, can etc etc. But it’s not as much as people think and the can will offset the loss.

 

[AZ_Hunter]

I'm just getting into the hunting game. My background is precision rifles, of which I have plenty of long, heavy contoured barrels.

For a hunting barrel, I decided to have my gunsmith spin up an 18" 6.5 Creedmoor in a contour similar to Bartleins 3B for my Mausingfield. I wanted to save on length, and especially weight, over my current barrels. I'll be using it with a 5.5" suppressor.

The short barrel is pretty slow with heavy projectiles. The original plan was to use 143 ELD-X Precision Hunter rounds, which I have a few boxes of just collecting dust. They only go about ~2500 fps out of this barrel, I was hoping for around 2650 fps but was apparently too optimistic.

Decided to reload for this barrel, and using 123 grain ELD's and 123 Scenars, I get a respectable 2800 fps. This is using Prime/Norma brass, 40.0 grains of VV N150, and CCI 250 magnum primers.

Try Staball 6.5

 

[wapitibob]

I cut my 26" stw down to 24, then cut to 20 yesterday. I think 20 is too short for me. 22 might be the ticket.