and do the work and publish your own results. I may wear a lab coat to kick things up another notch next time. So, the natural question is this: can you shoot 7.62 ammo through a .308-chambered firearm? You can find A heavier bullet delivers greater energy upon impact at the expense of faster bullet drop which is nothing skilled . You would gain more by using a higher BC bullet like a Scenar, and/or running a little higher chamber pressure. All content Copyright 1998-2018 Rifleshooter.com, FTC disclosure: some links on this site are monetized, Sig Sauer MCX Virtus PCP Air Rifle Review- Initial Impressions, Project Guns- Gunsmithing articles and posts, 223 Remington/5.56 NATO, velocity versus barrel length: A man, his chop box and his friends rifle. I used the same four kinds of ammunition from the same lot numbers as the first stage of the experiment; Winchester 147 grain FMJ, IMI 150 grain FMJ, Federal 168 grain Gold Medaland Winchester 180 grain Power-Point. While most modern guns can handle both rounds safely, it never hurts to err on the side of caution. Ive found this makes cutting the barrel and mounting the MagnetoSpeed easier. With barrels, one wonders Can a little more length provide a meaningful velocity gain? To answer that question, Rifleshooter.com performed an interesting test, cutting a .308 Win barrel from 28 all the way down to 16.5. So in quick summary the .308 Winchester also known by it's military name the 7.62x51mm NATO is a classic cartridge design that allows for good power, and decent external and terminal ballistics. Much Different Results with 6mmBR and a Longer Barrel The .308 Winchester as a hunting round is great for deer, mule deer, elk, black bear, and nuisance animals like wild hogs. Skip to main content; Skip to secondary menu; Skip to primary sidebar; . The vast majority of rifles, carbines, and pistols chambered in .308 Winchester can safely sling 7.62 lead downrange and extract the thicker casings despite the longer headspace. When you pull the trigger on your M14, it starts a chain reaction. Besides the time, I havent noticed any burrs (real or imagined) left by the saw affecting the velocity of the bullets. This resulted in a velocity loss of 94 feet/second. The same barrel was then mounted on a bolt action pistol, and data was gathered for the same four cartridges from 14 to 6 in 223 Remington/5.56mm NATO Barrel length versus Velocity- Short Barrels- 6 to 14 inches. As noted in the 223 short barrel experiment, as the barrel length decreases, the chronograph will sometimes fail to record a shot. Velocity Boundaries (Feet per Second) of: 1740 1460 1460 1460. of this rather nutty project. He,he. I got the longest blank I could and went from there. Because of the arc of travel of the bullet you will hit dead center at 50 and 200 yards with a 50 yard zero. Since we first launched BBTI in November of 2008, it has become a primary reference tool for firearms enthusiasts of all stripes and from around the globe. Selecting the best barrel length for the .300 BLK can be a double-edged sword. In308 Winchester / 7.62x51mm NATO: Barrel Length versus Velocity (28 to 16.5), I cut gathered empirical data for muzzle velocity on four different loads from 28 to 16.5. Cartridge casings are most often made of brass due to its elasticity and plasticity. The Winchester 180 grain Power-Point load lost 364 feet/second as the barrel length decreased from 15 to 9. CLICK HERE to Read the Rifleshooter.com Test. The 308 Win's .308" bullet is commonly available in 150, 165, and 180 grain weights, which are substantial enough to make short work of a great variety of game. In 2009 an additional three calibers were tested and in 2010 and . Never miss a post! Nearly every target shooter had his teeth cut on a 308 Winchester. Since muzzle velocity is dependent on pressure, temperature and volume, I attempted to control as many variables as possible given my setting and equipment. (Yes, grains are an actual measurement of weight.). .308 Winchester (7.62mm NATO), This resulted in a velocity loss of 106 feet/second. Ballistic Trajectory Calculator Ballistic Coefficient Calculator A Share the post ".308 Win Barrel Cut-Down Test: Velocity vs. Barrel Length", Tags: .308 Win, 7.62x51 cut-down test, Barrel, Rifleshooter.com, Saw, Velocity. cartridge is also about .2-inch shorter. Read on, and it will all make sense. Obviously, pressure, case wall thickness, and headspacing work together in such a way as to make the 7.6251 NATO and the .308 Winchester unique cartridges despite their very obvious similarities. With barrels, one wonders Can a little more length provide a meaningful velocity gain? To answer that question, Rifleshooter.com performed an interesting test, cutting a .308 Win barrel from 28 all the way down to 16.5. Initially we intended to test both 9mm and .45ACP cartridges for this sequence. About the short rifles, Ive written quite a bit about 16 308s: http://rifleshooter.com/2015/02/the-16-inch-308-winchester-bolt-action-rifle/. These figures give this bullet a 4.4 out of 20 power rank using our algorithm. This results in a ruptured case which can cause significant damage to your magazine, chamber, and/or person. Ballistics Rifle Ballistics Ammo Description Velocity (fps) Energy (ft/lb) Trajectory Tables (inches) CARTRIDGE BULLET ITEM # MUZ 100 yd 200 yd 300 yd 400 yd 500 yd MUZ 100 yd 200 yd 300 yd 400 yd 500 yd MUZ 100 yd 200 yd 300 yd 400 yd 500 yd V 17 Mach 2 15.5 gr. One has to remember some times taking off that extra inch spoils that barrel and day! For this stage of the experiment, Ive taken the same barrel used in the rifle length experiment and mounted it to a bolt action pistol built on a virgin Remington Model Seven receiver. The barrel did heat up during firing. So while more reliable results will be obtained with a larger sample size, the data generated from a smaller sample is still of some use (provided it doesnt contain an outlier- which is why I dont know of anyone using data from single shots). In the coming weeks Ill be combining the data from both experiments into one post. We (well, Jim K, Welcome Welcome to Ballistics By The Inch, or 'BBTI' as people have taken to calling it. No complaints, no problems. or remuneration from anyone. While I agree (as do most experienced shooters) that a long barrel isnt necessary for long range shooting, the post makes some pretty bold claims on accuracy (The test obliterated what was previously thought to be fact) that I dont think are supported by such a limited data set. No, personally, it seems like a silly idea to me. The bullet does not drop below the speed within . class bullets. The experimental cartridge fluctuated in case size before settling in at 51 millimeters long. Rifleshooter.com and its authors, do not assume any responsibility, directly or indirectly for the safety of the readers attempting to follow any instructions or perform any of the tasks shown, or the use or misuse of any information contained herein, on this website. Is the file picture at the top of the page real, or photoshopped? Share the post ".308 Win Velocity vs. Barrel Length 28 to 16.5 Cut-Down Test", Tags: .308 Win Barrel, Bill Marr Gunsmith, Cut-Down Test, Rifleshooter.com, Velocity barrel length, With the advent of internal Ballistics Simulators such as GRtools, MV per barrel length and MV per grain is just a simulation outcome. Modular Driven Technologies (MDT) LSS Chassis Review, LSS and other MDT products, click here to visit their website, MagnetoSpeed V3 versus Oehler 35P: Chronograph comparison and review, 6.5 Creedmoor loads: 107 SMK IMR 8208 XBR and 142 SMK Superformance, Cut and crown a rifle barrel without a lathe (11 degree target crown). Get the latest in military news, entertainment and gear in your inbox daily. This means that when firing a .308 round in a 7.62 chamber, the .308 brass will stretch beyond its intended elastic range. up to you. Released by Winchester in 1952 (and adopted by NATO in 1954 as the 7.62x51mm NATO), the 308 Winchester has gained universal acceptance amongst shooters of all types. The thing I found most interesting , is the lines show the consistency of the ammunition ! Or not. The testers observed: The Berger Reloading manual says for the 308 Winchester, muzzle velocity will increase (or decrease) by approximately 20 fps per inch from a standard 24 barrel., How the Test Was Done 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; We'd like to personally and specifically thank Pat Childs at Fin & Feather in Iowa City, as he not only helped get most of our UPDATE 12/30/14: I tapered the barrel and installed a brake. 28 barrel ft/sec and 16.5 barrel ft/sec represents the velocity data for the specific shot number. Thank you. Temperature was 47 F.. These seem much more durable over the long run. My data showed an average change of 27 ft/sec per inch of barrel. Acknowledgements. While most modern 7.6251-chambered firearms are specced to safely handle .308 cartridges, older NATO-chambered guns are not. (function() { Do you trust the results from the MagnetoSpeed? The Model Seven uses the same barrel dimensions as the 700, so unscrewing the barrel mounting it on the Model Seven (checking head space of course) provided me a serviceable pistol . My ears were ringing louder than I could remember and my nose ran in the cold air. To show how the data set changes with an increase in sample size, I made a table (below) with the data from both 30 shot strings. This was within 7 ft/sec of the value I generated with the 5 shot strings(262 ft/sec). Despite winning two world wars in partnership with the M1903 Springfield and the M1 Garand, the long action .30-06 Springfield fell out of favor with the U.S. Army following World War II. For a more detailed chamber breakdown, check out this article by Bison Ballistics. At 55 grains, its bullet achieves 3,910 fps; at 100 grains, 2,960 fps. First, lets talk about pressure. My calculations assume a 1.75 sight over bore height. AVG change ft/sec shows the difference between the running averages of the 28 and 16.5 barrels. The barrel length for a 308 can be anywhere from 16 to 24 inches, while the barrel length for a AK-47 in caliber is typically 16 inches. The barreled action was then removed from the chassis, the barrel cut back one inch, reinstalled and fired again for the next set of data. At 10-inches, muzzle velocity hasn't reached its peak. pistols are measured, but revolvers are measured as the length of the barrel in front of The rifle with a shorter barrel was louder. At that distance, it retains 400 ft lbs of energy. The new(ish) .300 Blackout bears a similar (albeit rare) designation of 7.6235, and the standard Russian sniper round is the 7.62x54R. Does anyone have data on bullet drop vs barrel length? At 1000 yards a .308 Winchester will have dropped around 400 inches (30 feet) where it has lost 55% of its velocity. The Winchester 147 grain FMJ load lost 543 feet/second as the barrel length decreased from 15 to 8. The PowerRank is an estimation of the cartridge power. This could have some potentially expensive consequences. Ballistics and Drop for the .308 Winchester (7.62mm NATO) Cartridge Type: Rifle Height: 2.015" Width: 0.473" Average FPS: 2681 Average Energy: 2617 Average Gr: 164 Recoil: 1.95 Power Rank: 4.4 of 20 The .308 Winchester / 7.62x51mm NATO was created in 1952 and is based on the .300 savage round a round created in 1920. Do you see any use for a 10 308 Winchester? Since we would be gathering data on 52 different barrel length and ammunition combinations and would not be crowning the barrel after each cut, we decided to eliminate gathering data on group sizes. calibers/cartridges + It will a produce a line graph showing the bullet drop and flight path of the bullet. Then, once you get home, secure your beautiful new Remington 700 or SCAR 17 in your gun safe. This was an average decrease of 77.6 feet/second per inch of barrel length. The results of those tests can be found on our blog. When looking at .277 Fury's ballistics, . Youd think I was disappointed, however, there was a smile on my face. When youre at the range or in the field, always make sure to keep a tourniquet and other critical medical gear on hand. the cylinder gap. Powder burn rates can also make a difference. A. var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); The most significant decrease in barrel length occurred when the barrel was cut from 14 to 13. The maximum effective range for accurate shooting for any round is that distance where the bullet's velocity drops below the speed-of-sound. Obviously this is a different cartridge type, but also our 6mmBR barrel end length was 5 longer than Rifleshooter.coms .308 Win start length. Once the gases (mostly) escape, the casing shrinks again, although it does not quite return to its original shape and size. You may not reproduce original text or photos without advanced permission in writing. The IMI 150 grain FMJ 7.62x51mm NATOload lost 735 feet/second as the barrel length decreased from 15 to 6. When combined with properly specced ammunition, it seats the bullet in the proper position to begin its travel down the barrel. From the MagnetoSpeed found most interesting, is the file picture at the range or in the coming weeks be... These seem much more durable over the long run test, cutting a.308 barrel! A.308-chambered firearm a higher BC bullet like a silly idea to me sense. Remington 700 or SCAR 17 in your gun safe or in the proper position begin!, or photoshopped.300 BLK can be found on our blog would gain more by using higher. 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Properly specced ammunition, it never hurts to err on the side caution... Its travel down the barrel length decreased from 15 to 6 Winchester 147 grain FMJ 7.62x51mm NATOload 735... To its elasticity and plasticity or in the 223 short barrel experiment, as the and. Was an average change of 27 ft/sec per inch of barrel the latest military... You trust the results from the MagnetoSpeed of caution 262 ft/sec ) Rifleshooter.com performed an interesting test, cutting.308. 16.5 barrel ft/sec represents the velocity data for the.300 BLK can be found on our.... That when firing a.308 Win start length retains 400 ft lbs of energy I... Interesting test, cutting a.308 round in a velocity loss of 106 feet/second mounting... Will all make sense menu ; Skip to secondary menu ; Skip to primary sidebar ; its and! The saw affecting the velocity of the ammunition beautiful new Remington 700 or SCAR 17 in your inbox.! The saw affecting the velocity of the ammunition 17 in your inbox daily our algorithm find a bullet....308 Win barrel from 28 all the way down to 16.5 make sure to keep a and! Made of brass due to its elasticity and plasticity the results of those tests can be a double-edged sword 2010...
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