short barrel, vs long barrel

[Malachi]

hey "long range guys",



just trying to understand the barrel of length, and the pros and cons of getting longer.


if anyone can shed some light, or some reading material, that would be great.






personally im looking at a Remington .308 (thanks to Ritten), and the lengths seem to vary from 22" to 26"

 

[Ritten]

Decide on these things first, in order.

1. How far will you typically shoot.
2. What bullet do you want to be proficient with.
3. What twist do you need to push the answer to #2.


Longer barrel will allow a slower powder to fully burn and propel a bullet to faster speeds over a short barrel/faster powder. The heavier the bullet, the more barrel you may need to achieve decent velocities. If your powder burns too quickly, the extra barrel length will drag the bullet and slow it down.

Shorter barrels are stiffer and lighter when compared to the same contour in a longer barrel. There is less barrel whip during the shot and harmonic vibrations are minimized. The lighter weight allows weight to be added to other components when you have a ceiling weight to stay under in competitions. If your powder burns too slowly, you will get excessive muzzle blast and lose velocity because the bullet isn't propelled enough.

All of that said, in a .308, you shouldn't have any problems with 22"-26" at distances all the way out to 1000yds with most of the popular bullets. Look at a 1:11 or 1:10 twist if you're going to shoot bullet weights in the 180+ range.

 

[sonanth]

Decide on these things first, in order.

1. How far will you typically shoot.
2. What bullet do you want to be proficient with.
3. What twist do you need to push the answer to #2.


Longer barrel will allow a slower powder to fully burn and propel a bullet to faster speeds over a short barrel/faster powder. The heavier the bullet, the more barrel you may need to achieve decent velocities. If your powder burns too quickly, the extra barrel length will drag the bullet and slow it down.

Shorter barrels are stiffer and lighter when compared to the same contour in a longer barrel. There is less barrel whip during the shot and harmonic vibrations are minimized. The lighter weight allows weight to be added to other components when you have a ceiling weight to stay under in competitions. If your powder burns too slowly, you will get excessive muzzle blast and lose velocity because the bullet isn't propelled enough.

All of that said, in a .308, you shouldn't have any problems with 22"-26" at distances all the way out to 1000yds with most of the popular bullets. Look at a 1:11 or 1:10 twist if you're going to shoot bullet weights in the 180+ range.

You can't ask for a better reply, bro.

 

[headspace]

Ritten is the man. I've had the pleasure of shooting one of his builds. If I'm ever again in the market for something in that realm, I will look no further than him.

 

[Malachi]

You can't ask for a better reply, bro.

absolutly! that blew my mind!


Ritten, you just opened up a whole other can of worms!!!! twist rate. bullet grain.


search button, here i come!

 

[Ritten]

A .308 is the simplest way to start out. No need to research, just copy what others are doing successfully. Have you decided #1 yet? If not, then why are you worrying about #2 or 3?

The US Army put in millions of dollars and millions of man hours researching this exact topic. They settled on the 175gr BTHP (Sierra Match King) for the M118LR round and a 1:11.25 twist for the M24 as the optimal balance and utilization of the .308win cartridge.

 

[headspace]

A .308 is the simplest way to start out. No need to research, just copy what others are doing successfully. Have you decided #1 yet? If not, then why are you worrying about #2 or 3?

The US Army put in millions of dollars and millions of man hours researching this exact topic. They settled on the 175gr BTHP for the M118LR round and a 1:11.25 twist for the M24 as the optimal balance and utilization of the .308win cartridge.

exactly right. No question why rifle manufacturers have taken note

 

[Sugarbug]

Every time Ritten speaks it's like knowledge pulled from the sacred shooters' tome of knowledge.

 

[Ritten]

Every time Ritten speaks it's like knowledge pulled from the sacred shooters' tome of knowledge.

Easy with the sugar. My colon doesn't need that much cleaning. LOL

I just Google faster than a pedophile who just saw a Miley Cyrus video.

 

[Sugarbug]

Easy with the sugar. My colon doesn't need that much cleaning. LOL

I just Google faster than a pedophile who just saw a Miley Cyrus video.

rofl. well it's clean now.

 

[mickey]

Easy with the sugar. My colon doesn't need that much cleaning. LOL

I just Google faster than a pedophile who just saw a Miley Cyrus video.

Good stuff!

 

[Hattrick 22]

Not to get off topic but I was wondering if you could give me an idea on grain to go with on this rifle. I haven't shot it in years and don't remember the twist rate but I did get this far with google.

http://www.slickguns.com/product/remington-700-sps-270-540

 

[Ritten]

Not to get off topic but I was wondering if you could give me an idea on grain to go with on this rifle. I haven't shot it in years and don't remember the twist rate but I did get this far with google.

http://www.slickguns.com/product/remington-700-sps-270-540

 

[headspace]

Not to get off topic but I was wondering if you could give me an idea on grain to go with on this rifle. I haven't shot it in years and don't remember the twist rate but I did get this far with google.

http://www.slickguns.com/product/remington-700-sps-270-540

i have a Ruger MKII .270 that I bought new at sports unlimited... About that long ago, for $403+ tax.
Took me about 5 loads to find out it liked the cheapest thing I could find. Sellier&bellot 150gr round nose (soft).
Zero'd at 150 on a rest it shot a 3 round group that looked like a triangular hole in the X ring. My dad has the same gun and had similar results, so, since sportsmans guide had it for $7 a box, we bought a buttload.
In short, both .270's and one 25-06 I've owned have all preferred the heavier bullets.
Hornady light mags shot the second worse group and Winchester silver tips...well I gave those away.
Hornady standard 150 gr was a good round for me too.
Hope that'll get you started.

 

[Hattrick 22]

Yea last thing I put threw it was Remington core 130g that ammo and gun hasn't been used since I was 18. Last I remember was hit dead center at nicks after trying to zero the rifle for awhile and then we put the gun up without shooting anymore. Only rifle I've shot since then has been a .22.

Didn't mean to bother you ritten just seemed like you knew your stuff and I have no idea what the twist rate would be on the gun just figured you might have a idea. Normally I try to do my research on something that interest me but I forgot about the rifle altogether until I seen the thread here and ya'll guys talking twist rate and bullet weight.

Thanks for the info headspace. I've been wanting to go out to honey island since the weather has been really nice lately this is the perfect excuse might see if my dad wants to shoot some of his old guns too this weekend . I'll see what academy has to offer up for cheap round nose.

 

[bayoubell]

Its crazy how yall answerd what my exact question was going to be today.. I am looking to pick out my first gun on my own and i was thinking about a savage .308.. im not sure what the pricing is on them so im not sure yet.. but i was looking for a gun with not much recoil and could be swaped over from squirrel to deer. someone did mention a different type of shotgun but its pump action and i was told that has alot or recoil.. I mostly squirrel hunt but I am planning on hitting deer season this year.. im have a shorter frame and as a female i wanted something that would suit me. any suggestions?

 

[Ritten]

Didn't mean to bother you ritten just seemed like you knew your stuff and I have no idea what the twist rate would be on the gun just figured you might have a idea. Normally I try to do my research on something that interest me but I forgot about the rifle altogether until I seen the thread here and ya'll guys talking twist rate and bullet weight.

The facepalm was for the advice that I gave in post #2. You never said what you're using the gun for. We would be hijacking headspace's entire thread by going over the exact same advice. If you're just going to shoot it at 100yds then it really doesn't matter.....shoot whatever groups best.

 

[Ritten]

Its crazy how yall answerd what my exact question was going to be today.. I am looking to pick out my first gun on my own and i was thinking about a savage .308.. im not sure what the pricing is on them so im not sure yet.. but i was looking for a gun with not much recoil and could be swaped over from squirrel to deer. someone did mention a different type of shotgun but its pump action and i was told that has alot or recoil.. I mostly squirrel hunt but I am planning on hitting deer season this year.. im have a shorter frame and as a female i wanted something that would suit me. any suggestions?

The ONLY gun I would suggest hunting both squirrel and deer with is a shotgun. Recoil is subjective so try to get someone to take you to the range and shoot a few. Please...........PLEASE.....don't ever try shooting a squirrel out of a tree with a .308. It may be me or a family member 6-7 miles away when the bullet comes back down.

 

[Leonidas]

Are you hoping to hunt squirrel, or vaporize them? You could just get a 10mm and knock the tree down, or scare deer into surrendering.

 

[Malachi]

A .308 is the simplest way to start out. No need to research, just copy what others are doing successfully. Have you decided #1 yet? If not, then why are you worrying about #2 or 3?

The US Army put in millions of dollars and millions of man hours researching this exact topic. They settled on the 175gr BTHP (Sierra Match King) for the M118LR round and a 1:11.25 twist for the M24 as the optimal balance and utilization of the .308win cartridge.

#1 - yes, I WANT TO JOIN THE 600 YRD CLUB.



thanks for the info guys. this has turned into a pretty good thread.