Bart,
You are right. Should have typed it best velocity OR accuracy. or perhaps AND/OR as I have some rifles that give some fantastic velocities AND excellent accuracy. ( RL-33 and RL-17 come to mind)
Sully 2:
I stand by my comment on not trying to go with a faster powder just because the barrel is shorter.
The follow may clear up this misconception:
Excerpts from thread on Shooter's forum:
link:
Burn rate and Barrel length - Shooters Forum
Rocky Raab's
Beartooth Regular Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Utah
Posts: 3,316
Nope, in all respects. It's MUZZLE FLASH THAT CONVINCES PEOPLE that powder is still burning. But if you believe the Naval Weapons Lab knows anything at all about ballistics, Muzzle Flash should convince you that flash is something else entirely.
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Naval link on muzzle flash:
Muzzle Flash
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Burn rate and Barrel length
While perusing this forum I found a comment by Rocky Raab that seemed to debunk my assumtion that faster burn rate powders would perform best in shorter barrels(and vise versa) for a given cartridge. Upon some more searching I found this nugget from Unclenick that sums it up very nicely. It seemed like it should be brought out into the light a little more in a separate thread. The amount of knowledge shown here on this forum is amazing. Thanks to all those who take the time to share!
"On barrel length: Depending on the powder, in typical rifles peak pressure occurs when the bullet has moved somewhere between one and three inches down the bore. Just before reaching that peak, the initially ignited powder will switch over frôm progressive to digressive burning, at which time the remaining burning powder mass is around 20% or so. That number combines the tiny digressively burning pieces with the powder thrown forward with the bullet that never got started burning very well in the first place (the stuff that burns when you put a match to floor sweepings at an indoor range; not recommending you do that, btw—lead hazard). It burns in ever decreasing temperature and pressure, so it doesn't contribute much to velocity. Once the bullet has got maybe five or six inches down the barrel, you could stop burning the rest and would still get to about the same muzzle velocity as if you'd left it burning.
The result of the above is, until you get down to a barrel length under around five or six inches, the same powder that produces the most velocity in a long barrel will also produce the most velocity in a shorter barrel. Period. So, be clear that if you move to a faster powder for, say, a 16" as opposed to a 24" barrel, you are doing it to reduce muzzle blast and recoil. That can help accuracy, so it is often a good idea frôm that standpoint, but it will come with a velocity penalty."
----------------Rocky Raab Rocky
Beartooth Regular Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Utah
Posts: 3,316
It's nice of you to try, but that burn rate/barrel length myth is more intractable. obdurate, and pernicious than crabgrass.
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