308 ballistics from a 16" barrel

[coyotestalker22]

I am thinking of building a .308 off of a 700 action and cutting the barrel length at 16". I have a #7 contour douglas match barrel. Has anyone done any chronographing with that short of a barrel and what powders would i want to use to get the most powder burnt with that short of a barrel. Also would it be a decent idea to ackley it to try make up for some of the loss in velocity on the barrel length. Thanks.

 

[Oliveralan]

If you want normal bbl length .308 performance from a 16" barrel, go 300wsm. Otherwise use powders with a burn rate of Varget or slightly faster. 300wsm would be a lot more practical than .308 AI.

 

[coyotestalker22]

ok thank you. the remington was originally a 243. Is there anohther caliber that would get decent ballistics with that short of a barrel in the 308 bolt face?
Im not looking to get anything over like 2600fps.

 

[liltank]

I have an 18" barrel .308. If you want to get into the 2600fps realm, you will need to shoot 155's or 168's. I have 178 BTHP Hornady's running right around 2450 with IMR4895. With RL17 I can squeeze out 2550 with 175's. 16" will be a challenge to get up to the velocity you want. Other calibers to consider would be the 260, 6.5x47 (would be my choice), 6.5 Creedmore, and 7mm-08. With the 6.5's running a 123 SMK, Scenar, Berger, or Amax would get the job done. Then the 6mm are always an option, but you want to go bigger in caliber. A short barreled 30-06 would be fun. That would give you 2650fps I bet out of a 16" barrel using 175's.

Tank

 

[J E Custom]

ok thank you. the remington was originally a 243. Is there anohther caliber that would get decent ballistics with that short of a barrel in the 308 bolt face?
Im not looking to get anything over like 2600fps.

For what you want. I would go to a 20" barrel and stay with the 308 Win cartridge. The AI version
needs more barrel than 20" to perform well.

22" is optimum for the 308,Longer will get more velocity, but at a price. (More powder and more pressure).

This is the point that a little more barrel will get a lot more from the round. 20" seems to be ideal
for the 7/08 and the 308. from 18" to 20" on a 7/08 I gained almost 200 ft/sec.

I have a 16.2" barrel on a custom pistol and I give up almost 300 ft/sec compared to the 20'' barrel.

The 20" barrels are still very handy and should fill your needs. Just a suggestion.

J E CUSTOM