Ideal .30-06 barrel length?

Scorch said:
It had a 20" barrel. It was accurate, but it was LOUD! 
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I agree shorter barrels are louder, that's why I've bought a suppressor! I just don't like 29" barrels when my suppressor is attached.
 
According to Berger expect 25fps difference per inch. Aka theoretically the 22" is 50 fps slower than the 24".

Essentially not enough to matter.

For the venerable 06', i prefer a 22" barrel.

600 yards, not a problem! :D
 
short 30-06

I've got a YZ, Mark X , full length stocked Mannlicher style '06 carbine that is extremely accurate with heavy bullets 180-200-220. Barrel length is 20" and the rifle is indeed loud and a hard kicker if loaded all up with the heavy slugs. Maximum heavy bullet loads do not come near to the specified velocities in the manuals either, but still kick like a mule. The rifle is a looker, and I enjoy hunting with it, and simply run it at .300 Savage velocities w/ 180 grain slugs, around 2400 fps plus, and it kills with authority and is easy to shoot.

Ideally, to realize the full advantage the '06 has over the .308, (the bigger case holding more powder) I'm inclined to suggest that I'd not want to take an '06 below 22" and might even go with a 24" if I wanted an '06 to reach it's full potential.
 
I have one 30-06 with 26" Bartlein (1/11.25 5r twist) barrel and another 30-06 with 25.6" Shilen 1/13 Rahchet twist, 4 groove, Super Match barrel.

All my rifle are for hunting and I had gunsmith use same reamer for both but are throated little different.

I've shot Berger 168gr target bullets in Shilen barrel 30-06 just to see how it do on paper @ LR.

Might want to read this

https://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek091.html
 
I have a Rem model 742 carbine. !8" tube and caliber 06 Springfield. Factory ammo is awesomely bright after dark and muzzle jump will garner any shooters attention.
So since I do not like muzzle flash or muzzle jump. The choice of re-load powder does make a difference. Since the rifle is Semi-auto IMR 3031 functions the action nicely with far less flash. Although muzzle jump is still a tiny problem my having to deal with.
 
Reynolds357,

1.5 is a commonly cited optimal stability number, not a minimum stability number. If Berger said otherwise, they are wrong, but I would be surprised to learn Bryan Litz let them publish that basic a mistake. 1.0 is the minimum for stability because that is how the gyroscopic stability factor is defined. Under 1.0 is unstable, over 1.0 is stable. It is true for all projectiles. It's just that being barely over 1.0, while stable, does not produce best accuracy and allows enough sustained coning motion in a spin-stabilized projectile to degrade BC some by adding to drag. The best value depends upon what authority you listen to. Spinning faster increases stability, but it also increases wobble due to any imperfections in the mass symmetry of the projectile all the way up until the thing spins so fast it flies apart. Where the best compromise between minimum spin and excessive spin occurs depends on the authority you are listening to. Harold Vaughn liked 1.4, Don Miller liked 1.5; Sierra told me long ago that 1.3 to 3.0 was good for hunting accuracy and 1.4 to 1.7 was for match accuracy.
 
"But for what you want to do it wont matter. Even from a 20" barrel a 30-06 is faster than a 308."

Using factory ammo, t'ain't necessarily so. A few years back I ran Winchester Power Point 180 gr. loads from a .308 Win. 22" barrel and the same ammo in 30-06 through three different rifles with 22, 24 and 26" barrels.
Both cartridges ran almost the same with about 1o to 20 FPS advantage to the 30-06 Velocity was 2610 from the .308 and 2630 IIRC from the 06. Speed picked up a bit in the 24" barreled 06 but the only rifle that came close to advertised velocity for the 30-06 was the Ruger #1B with 26" barrel.
FWIW, I have run 180 gr. Hornady Spire Points in a 22" 30-06 at 2820 FPS with a stiff load of H4350. Pressure appeared just fine and temperature was in the low 90's the day I ran them over the chronograph.

"I'd get a 1:12 twist 22" barrel for bullets up to 180 grains if best accuracy is important."

I'm not so sure about that. I have a 30-06 custom on a Mauser action with 24" 1 in 12" twist that will put five 165 gr. Nosler Accubonds into slightly over half an inch fairly regularly. I have never found a 180 gr. load that will shoot better than two inches from that rifle and that includes round nose bullets. Never have figured that one out. Granted a sample of one doesn't mean much statistically but it might cause one to thiunk about it.
Paul B.
 
Unclenick said:
Reynolds357,

1.5 is a commonly cited optimal stability number, not a minimum stability number. If Berger said otherwise, they are wrong, but I would be surprised to learn Bryan Litz let them publish that basic a mistake. 1.0 is the minimum for stability because that is how the gyroscopic stability factor is defined. Under 1.0 is unstable, over 1.0 is stable. It is true for all projectiles. It's just that being barely over 1.0, while stable, does not produce best accuracy and allows enough sustained coning motion in a spin-stabilized projectile to degrade BC some by adding to drag. The best value depends upon what authority you listen to. Spinning faster increases stability, but it also increases wobble due to any imperfections in the mass symmetry of the projectile all the way up until the thing spins so fast it flies apart. Where the best compromise between minimum spin and excessive spin occurs depends on the authority you are listening to. Harold Vaughn liked 1.4, Don Miller liked 1.5; Sierra told me long ago that 1.3 to 3.0 was good for hunting accuracy and 1.4 to 1.7 was for match accuracy.
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Actually, they call 1.0 to less than 1.5 "marginal".
 
old roper said:
Bart B. So?
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In the heyday of the 30-06 in NRA high power disciplines, match winners and record setters rebarreled at 2000 to 2500 rounds. The most accurate ones tested about 5 to 6 inches at 600 for 20 shots. Good enough with the target's 12" V ring inside the 20 inch 5 ring.

Of course, some went 2 to 4 times as many rounds. But they weren't producing the highest scores.

Again.... What's the standards and conditions for 4000 to 5000 rounds you referenced?
 
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Paul B. said:
""I'd get a 1:12 twist 22" barrel for bullets up to 180 grains if best accuracy is important."

I'm not so sure about that. I have a 30-06 custom on a Mauser action with 24" 1 in 12" twist that will put five 165 gr. Nosler Accubonds into slightly over half an inch fairly regularly. I have never found a 180 gr. load that will shoot better than two inches from that rifle and that includes round nose bullets. Never have figured that one out. Granted a sample of one doesn't mean much statistically but it might cause one to thiunk about it.
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22 inch 1:12 twist barrels is what the 308 Win started with. Shot 30-06 bullets about 100 fps slower.

I think your issue with 180's was not the case nor barrel. 24" 1:12 twist 308 Win barrels have shot 190's near half MOA through 600 yards. 22" barrels in M14NM rifles shot 180's winning matches and setting records with 1:12 twists.
 
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When comparing two 30 caliber cartridges in different barrels for muzzle velocity, ensure both barrels have the same bore and groove dimensions. Their pressure should be at SAAMI specs and both rifles held and fired the same way. The same bullet should be used in both cartridges.

The best source of data comparing two rifle cartridges is SAAMI's documents listing pressure and velocity values. The "Rifle" link in:

https://saami.org/technical-information/cartridge-chamber-drawings/
 
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Many '06s used to be 22", but everyone seems to want 24's today. I never heard a deer complain about a short barrel's lack of killing power.
 
Many '06s used to be 22", but everyone seems to want 24's today. I never heard a deer complain about a short barrel's lack of killing power.
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Correct.

Nor have deer, hogs, elk, moose, caribou, or bears ever voiced a complaint about being killed by '06s out of barrels as short as 20, 18, or 16.1 inches. :rolleyes:

Of course, it's also true that as these barrels get shorter, the practical hunting ranges also get shorter.
 
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