16” Barrel on a .308

Is a .308 with a 16” barrel braked, too loud to be fun?

  • Way too loud to be fun to shoot at the range.

    Votes: 18 56.3%

  • It’s all good! Just don’t shoot next to someone you like.

    Votes: 8 25.0%

  • I have no idea, but I have to vote if there’s a poll!

    Votes: 6 18.8%
  • Total voters
    32
  • Poll closed .
I

ice monkey

New member
Does anyone have an AR-10 or a bolt in .308 with a 16” barrel? Do you have one with a muzzle break?

I’m pretty set on a .308 bolt gun with a 16.5” barrel, but I can’t resolve in my mind if it would be fun to shoot or not being it’s guaranteed increase in muzzle blast. I’ve read that it’s both a non-issue, and a major issue. I can’t seem to find any kind of consensus.

The plan is to put a break on it for range work, and take it off if hunting.

What says you? Meh, it’s all good! Or, what? What was it you said?


Please don’t talk about the loss in velocity, it’s not an issue for me.​
 
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Thanks T.O’Heir.

I read that story actually, and that’s where some of my reservation comes from because I really like thier stories. It’s funny though, because they (rifleshooter) have more than a few stories on thier 16” .308s - and not ever story concludes the way the story you cited did with them citing it’s too loud. Odd.

Note too that the story you cited at the end is saying not too on a 300 Win mag.

Like I said, I don’t want to talk velocities but it seems it’s going to come up in spite of that, so i’ll ask this, “are velocities out of a 20” barrel 308 ok?” Because you’re only losing 100fps between a 20 and a 16 inch barrel. Look at the story - they show those numbers. I’m not toting a 27” .308 anywhere lol. So I’m thinking 16 inches is just fine lol.
 
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I've shot 16" .308/7.62 guns with a brake, without a brake, and with a can.

While a brake enhances shooter control of recoil during rapid-fire strings, it definitely adds concussive lateral blast and absolutely will damage your hearing permanently in any 'real-world' shooting incident, especially if such took place inside a structure.

For competitive use (e.g., 3-gun matches), brakes have a place and can be advantageous.

Beyond match use, either run a shorty .308 unbraked or, better still, suppressed.
 
@agtman. Thanks. Hey, does the point of impact change brake on vs break off?
Click to expand...

Depends on the brake, the rifle, and the ammo. Several variables.

I'd anticipate a 2" to 4" POI difference @ 100yds, but you'll have to shoot to find out.

Brakes also change barrel harmonics in terms of accuracy.

Again, several variables are in play including the shooter. I've seen braked rifles that shot more accurately once the brake was removed. I'm talking about intrinsic accuracy off a bench-rested position. You have to shoot your rifle like that, braked & unbraked, to determine these things. There's no one answer, and the same goes when you run a can.
 
I shoot customers' rifles quite a bit, and I remember one particular 308 AR with an 18" barrel. Muzzle blast was unpleasant to say the least. Running it over a chronograph also showed some velocity loss, although you are still doing over 2,500 fps with 150 gr ball. So, not all bad, but the blast and velocity loss from a shorter barrel will increase the shorter the barrel gets. About 2 years ago, I shot a 14" 308 AR, and the muzzle blast was awful (didn't chrono that one, so I have no info on velocity).
 
They are loud for the shooter, and absolutely suck for anyone around the shooter.

Go-to-War sniper rifle.


For general use: 18" minimum, prefer 20-24"




Red
 
I have a FN SPR in 308. The gun writer i bought it from, had the barrel cut to 18” and a sure-fire break/suppressor mount installed.

It just plain SHOOTS, but its loud wih just the break on. I kinda wish it had a 20-21” barrel
 
Loud for sure, but not so loud as they're made out to be. Velocity loss for sure, but not so drastic as its made out to be, they're still pretty effective. Keep in mind there are some 12" .308s in limited military use.
 
Its not that the MB directs it at the shooter, its that it directs it at adjacent shooters who have no choice.
 
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I've got a Socom16 with a muzzle brake, I think it's fabulous. Occasionally I'll be in the stall next to it, when someone else is test driving it, and it's not my favorite place to be. Granted, shooting surplus, the muzzle blast is a bit more than my handloads. Worst ammo I've ever shot out of it was some steel-cased Russkie ammos... not only did it blow a 8" flame straight up out of the brake, but the blast even at the shooter position was a bit much. Crazy Russians...

As an aside, I thought it was the loudest rifle in the range... until dude lined up next to me with a Mosin carbine and Russian ammo.
 
Did ANYONE actually read the link O'heir posted. It basically confirmed my own personal results. The 168 gr was only 95 fps slower from a 16.5" barrel than a 22" barrel. That is about 6" difference in bullet drop at 500 yards and only about 75 fps difference in velocity. If someone can figure out 65' of drop, 71" won't be a problem.

This data was collected using the same barrel as it was cut shorter, which is the only meaningful way to determine how much velocity is actually lost.

In another portion of the link they show 283 fps loss between a 22" barrel and a 16.5" barrel. But since they used 2 different guns the results are meaningless. I've seen 2 different rifles with equal length barrels shoot as much as 130 fps different. I've seen 20" barrels from one gun match velocity from 24" guns and beat 22" guns.

This isn't uncommon at all. I own two 3006 rifles. One is consistently 90 fps slower than the other with the same ammo. I own four 308's Two have 22" barrels, one is 20" and the 4th is 18" There is always 30-40 fps difference between the 2 with 22" barrels and the 20" gun matches the slower of the 2.
 
I have a .308 bolt gun that's wearing a 17" Shilen barrel. After working with QuickLoad, I found a load that will launch a 168gn bullet at 2600 fps, and all the powder is burned around the 16" mark in the barrel. Unburned powder out the barrel is bad for accuracy, aside from being dissapointingly wasteful. I suppose the unburned powder may also increase muzzle blast/flash, but I'm not certain of that.

I ring steel out at 900 meters with this gun.

.308 Win is an excellent candidate for a short barrel. Rather, it does much better than many other cartridges when fired out of an unusually short barrel.

I don't shoot it much without a suppressor, but the gun wears a muzzle brake that the suppressor quick attaches to.

I say go for it, especially if you plan to reload for it.
 
Shuff at Shuff's Parkerizing - the Mini-G guy - obtained similar results regarding velocity loss from his 16" conversions ... in .308, 30-06, and .35Whelen.

The drop-off in fps isn't as much as you'd expect going from a factory test barrel of, say, 24", to a real-world Mini-G with a 16.1" barrel. This was with factory ammo, not handloads.

In .308, a 150gn bullet with an average velocity of 2800fps from a 24" barrel was averaging a chronographed velocity of 2666fps from a Mini-G with a 16.1" Criterion barrel.

For short-range use, which is really what a 16" .30-cal 'carbine' is designed for, you give up nothing in killing power and gain significantly in portability and general handiness.

Sure, short, stiff 16" barrels can shoot accurately out to 500-yds, but Shuff relates that the Minis in 30-06 and .35 Whelen he builds for his Alaskan clients are sought by them as fast-handling, hard-hitting "bush guns" against big bears, moose, etc.
 
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