22" vs. 24" vs. 27" barrel; velocity differnce on a .260?

[WindTrax]

I'd appreciate any input folks might have on this! I was wondering if someone/s out there might have an idea of how much of a velocity loss there's likely to be if I have my 27"-barreled .260 using 140 gr. bullets reduced to either 24" or 22". Thanks for any info!

 

[brassprep]

no one can answer that question, the vel may actually go up! it depends on that one and only barrel, and the load. Even P.O. Ackley did tests on this question. Shooting, cutting , recrowning, firing:repeat, repeat. If you are going to be happier with a shorter barrel, cut it. Rework your loads as if it were a new gun.

 

[RT2506]

It has been my experience that for every inch you cut off of a standard caliber like the 260 you loose between 30 & 50 FPS per inch removed. For Mag calibers it runs 50 to 75 fps lost. It really depends on the powder you use and the case volume.
I have some model 96 Swede Mausers with 29" barrels in 6.5X55 Swede and one model 38 Swede Mauser with a 24" barrel in 6.5X55 Swede. With the same load I get 2850 fps from the 29 inch barrel and 2650 from the 24" barrel using AA4350 and 140 gr bullets. That is 40 fps lost per inch.

I have a 264 Win mag with a 27 3/4" barrel that is a real screamer compared to a 24" barreled one. The 27 3/4" barrel gets an average 80 fps more per inch than a 24" barrel.

It all depends on what you are going to be doing with your 260 as to if you should chop off the barrel. If you are shooting 1000 yards I would leave the barrel alone because you need all the velocity you can get. If you are going to deer hunt with it most deer are killed inside 100 yards and even the little 18" carbine barrels will get you enough velocity to get the job done. If you are going to hunt deer to elk size game out to 500 yards I would not go shorter than 24" myself. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[CapDog]

I think you'll notice a bigger difference if you use the slower burning powders. I found in my 260AI that with the 24" barrel there was a big difference using H4831, but using H4350 instead brought me back up and the difference wasn't as bad. This wasn't a direct comparison with my rifle, but a comparison against other rifles with longer barrels.

 

[Cowboybiker44]

Re: 22" vs. 24" vs. 27" barrel; velocity differnce on a .300WM?

Thanks for the input people. The concensus seems clear that a 28" barrel is likely to produce more velocity. I am considering buying a new Savage for long range hunting in CA & Western states. I currently have a TC Encore 26" and have had some accuracy success with 180g Hornady V-Max Bullets with 80.5g H180 powder. Savage seems to only offer a 24" barrel in this caliber.