how short can a .270 win barrel be

[davidp]

Hi, i am new to this forum. I have a .270 win rifle which I use for red deer in Scotland. i would like to cut down the barrel, but don't know how short to go. Max range will be to 300 yards. Any ideas or info on velocity loss gratefully recieved

[elkaholic]

Originally Posted by davidp

Hi, i am new to this forum. I have a .270 win rifle which I use for red deer in Scotland. i would like to cut down the barrel, but don't know how short to go. Max range will be to 300 yards. Any ideas or info on velocity loss gratefully recieved

Hi David, Welcome to the forum! A .270 W will lose approx. 40' per inch depending on the powder. A standard .270 24" barrel will max out around 3000' with a 150 grain bullet, so if you do the math, a 20" would be in the 2840' range. I would try the faster burning powders with a shorter barrel if I were you. I don't know how short you want to go, or even what legal length is in Scotland, but with a proper bullet, you should have no problem at 300 yards.......good luck/Rich

[RT2506]

Just for comparison Hodgdon's manual list data for the T/C Encore pistol 15" barrel in 270 Winchester. It list max velocities with 130 gr bullets between 2600 and 2700 fps and with 150 gr bullets 2420 to 2472 fps and the best velocity is still with slow burning powders H-414, H4350, H4831 and H1000.

[Jim Oliver]

Velocity aside, for me, 20 inches would be the practical minimum because of muzzle flash and sound. My 20 inch .308 is not fun to shoot with out ear protection, but OK for one or two rounds while hunting.

Fired a Rem 742 Carbine (18.5 inch bbl.) 30-06 just once, that was enough for me.

As usual, YMMV!

Jim

[davidp]

thanks for all the replies and so quick. i was thinking about 18 inches with a reflex moderator fitted to compensate for sound ect. out of interest our minimum legal barrel length is 12 inches as long as the gun is 24 inches (however all shotguns must have minimum 24 inch barrels) . the thought of looking at the contender info in the reloading books didn't even enter my mind as we can't have any form of handgun any more.

[winmag]

Originally Posted by Jim Oliver

As usual, YMMV!

Jim

What does YMMV mean anyway? I'm still having trouble with the basic acronyms like lol, & ttyl, but ymmv??? I guess I don't get it. What does it stand for?


O.P. out of curiosity, why do you want to handi cap your 270? Not that it'd matter much inside the 300 yds mentioned, but I was wondering if it was a weight issue or manuverability in thick cover or something ....? Why so short?

[elkaholic]

Originally Posted by winmag

What does YMMV mean anyway? I'm still having trouble with the basic acronyms like lol, & ttyl, but ymmv??? I guess I don't get it. What does it stand for?


O.P. out of curiosity, why do you want to handi cap your 270? Not that it'd matter much inside the 300 yds mentioned, but I was wondering if it was a weight issue or manuverability in thick cover or something ....? Why so short?

Me too winmag