7prc barrel length

[cwatson308]

So quick question, what is considered to short? I know there are many factors involved but I'm curious if say 20" barrels would have a good amount of powder waisted.

 

[Idaho Lefty]

I'd say 22 inches is Minimum,.. My Son went, 24" to get Complete Burn and good "Use" of his, PVA Brake.
His Proof 24" on a TIKKA action is, shooting around, a .400 groups with,.. Factory 175 ELD-X's
2,950 FPS average Vel. and MILD,.. muzzle Jump / Recoil

 

[Monteria]

What's your objective? Your post leads me to believe your objective is to not waste powder. Who cares?

My objective was short as possible while getting 2700fps from 180ELDMs. I went 18". Achieved my goal and all that wasted powder puts a huge smile on my face.

 

[dogbuster0006]

Take a look at the specialty handgun section on this forum, there are folks running 14-18" barrels with good effect. There's a couple videos showing velocity/drop in 18,20,24" with factory ammo.

 

[cwatson308]

What's your objective? Your post leads me to believe your objective is to not waste powder. Who cares?

My objective was short as possible while getting 2700fps from 180ELDMs. I went 18". Achieved my goal and all that wasted powder puts a huge smile on my face.

By waisted powder I'm in sorts referencing loss of potential velocity. I understand that its a personal preference boiling down to the convenience of having a shorter barrel vs velocity loss. Im selling a new 7prc 22" built barreled action to finish a 338 build that I'm currently working on, but soon after I will be looking into another 7prc build. May go longer and may go shorter. 18" is very tempting though!

 

[Idaho Lefty]

As an Old guy, I find it hard to understand WHY anyone, would take a FINE Cartridge like, a 7 PRC going 3,000 FPS, Chop Bbl, and, MAKE,..
almost a,.. .30-30 out of, IT,.. SMH

 

[HuntnPack]

As an old guy myself, that's not my approach to building a short barrel rifle.
I optimize every component to maximize & achieve the desired results I'm after.

YMMV.

 

[Monteria]

As a middle aged guy, I have a hard time understanding why anyone would care so much about velocity, and so little about grammar or punctuation...

 

[Small Lady]

Mine is 22 inches long, but from my reading would perform a wee bit better if it was 24 instead.

 

[7.62 Gunner]

As an Old guy, I find it hard to understand WHY anyone, would take a FINE Cartridge like, a 7 PRC going 3,000 FPS, Chop Bbl, and, MAKE,..
almost a,.. .30-30 out of, IT,.. SMH

Cuz young guys have figured out its not 1960, and modern high BC bullets don't care if they're traveling 200 fps less from an 18" barrel wearing a suppressor.
And at the end of the day saving your hearing while enjoying stupid light recoil is worth that extra 150 yards of max effective range.

 

[Small Lady]

Cuz young guys have figured out its not 1960, and modern high BC bullets don't care if they're traveling 200 fps less from an 18" barrel wearing a suppressor.
And at the end of the day saving your hearing while enjoying stupid light recoil is worth that extra 150 yards of max effective range.

Why intentionally give up 200 fps when it's so easy to have.
And hearing protection is cheap.

 

[Kimber7man]

Why intentionally give up 200 fps when it's so easy to have.
And hearing protection is cheap.

Give up about 100 fps going from a 24" to a 20" barrel length, makes it handier with a 7" suppressor.

Once you lose your hearing due to muzzle blast, no amount of money can buy it back...

 

[Small Lady]

Give up about 100 fps going from a 24" to a 20" barrel length, makes it handier with a 7" suppressor.

Once you lose your hearing due to muzzle blast, no amount of money can buy it back...

A suppressor is illegal here anyway.

Also it wasn't me who came up with the 200 fps number, it was the person whom I quoted.
And as far as I can tell though, 4 inches less barrel in 7prc is about 200 fps.

 

[Mikecr]

My approach to barrel length is a little more complicated than asking around.
In QuickLoad, I'll set a 26" barrel to begin, and run powder what ifs -for highest velocity -with 104% load density -at SAAMI max pressure -with a given bullet.
That gets my powder.
Then I tweak barrel length for muzzle pressure no higher than 8Kpsi.
That gets my barrel length.
For examples, 6XC put me at 27", 6BR/26", 223Rem/24". The magic number for 6PPC is ~22".

This is where it all comes into play (in the long run):
With a 260AI capacity cartridge, my barrel length by this standard comes in at 28".
This provides a mid node MV of 3025fps, with 140gr bullets, at SAAMI max. There is no animal on Earth that I couldn't kill with this.
To match it with a 6.5-284, same length barrel, you will burn way more powder and give up ~650rds of accurate barrel life and a lot of brass life to mine.
Go with a shorter barrel in 6.5-284, and forget getting anything near my 260AI capacity. You won't get the velocities OR the barrel life OR the brass life.

You can go smaller capacity, with a barrel length comparable to a suppressed length, and then you shouldn't need a suppressor.
A lot of things get better as you leave that behind, -but not everything.
A 28" barreled gun is longer, so it weighs more. You may need to add weight to the butt stock for balance.
It needs to be planned out (like any other path). Perhaps considering fluting or a carbon wrapped barrel.