PlatinumCore16
New member
In researching what rifle I'd like next(really already have made the decision), I came to a question: what really is the difference between muzzle lengths? There are a plethora of threads here on the subject of muzzle length vs. velocity in general, slightly less so on the .308 specifically. A few link to some awesome articles/experiments including, but not limited to:=
Ballistics By The Inch
Chuck Hawks
Long Range Hunting
If you've never read BBTI, go check it out. Their handgun caliber experiments interested me the most, but they have more than just that.
However I found another experiment with direct affect on my rifle choice (looking at .308):
Rifle Shooter
Now personally for my .308 I am looking for a general purpose rifle/hunting rifle. If I was to get a long range target rifle, I would get 300WM. The Savage Scout 11 has an 18" barrel, which I kind of wondered about accuracy from, specifically 500yds plus, though I understand accuracy is made up of a lot of things. Their standard line of 16 is a 22" in the .308 and I wanted to know if I was losing out on anything except handiness. Also many AR10/semi auto .308 rifles have sub 20" barrels and I never really read anything about them being inaccurate(bolt action vs. semi auto is not within the scope of this post).
So it turns out that a shorter barrel just loses you some velocity (which we already knew), but just how much is extremely dependent on many variables and doesn't really affect accuracy as much as people like to quote. Personally I'll be fine with an 18" barrel and if I need more velocity, I'll be handloading.
Ballistics By The Inch
Chuck Hawks
Long Range Hunting
If you've never read BBTI, go check it out. Their handgun caliber experiments interested me the most, but they have more than just that.
However I found another experiment with direct affect on my rifle choice (looking at .308):
Rifle Shooter
Now personally for my .308 I am looking for a general purpose rifle/hunting rifle. If I was to get a long range target rifle, I would get 300WM. The Savage Scout 11 has an 18" barrel, which I kind of wondered about accuracy from, specifically 500yds plus, though I understand accuracy is made up of a lot of things. Their standard line of 16 is a 22" in the .308 and I wanted to know if I was losing out on anything except handiness. Also many AR10/semi auto .308 rifles have sub 20" barrels and I never really read anything about them being inaccurate(bolt action vs. semi auto is not within the scope of this post).
So it turns out that a shorter barrel just loses you some velocity (which we already knew), but just how much is extremely dependent on many variables and doesn't really affect accuracy as much as people like to quote. Personally I'll be fine with an 18" barrel and if I need more velocity, I'll be handloading.